Sarah Smith

Sarah Smith is a PhD candidate at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory’s Ocean and Climate Physics division, and Columbia’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Her research focuses on understanding the dynamical processes associated with the long-range transport of aerosols to the Arctic, and the direct and indirect effects of aerosols on the Arctic radiative budget. Sarah uses both remotely sensed observations and chemical transport models to improve our understanding and model constraints of Arctic aerosol processes. 

She also holds an MA from the Climate School’s Climate & Society program. Prior to graduate school, Sarah provided environmental services for UNESCO sites in Indonesia and South Africa, working on-site in isiMangaliso, KZN, South Africa for several years. 

In her spare time, Sarah enjoys skiing, scuba diving, hiking with her dog, and looking at clouds. 

Honors & Awards

Edward Prince Goldman Scholarship in Science from the New York Community Trust (2023)

Outstanding Oral Presentation, 1st Place, American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Climate & Variability Conference (2021)