Geological Sciences

Course focuses on understanding how the Environment Impacts Human Health.  Air quality and water quality from both natural and anthropogenic sources can have a wide array of adverse health effects.  We will examine a wide array of contaminants, their health effects, and potential solutions. 

 

This course provides an overview of current research at the world-renowned Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Various Lamont researchers will present their latest research in earth, environmental, and climate science, providing students a cross-section of research projects across the LDEO divisions. Students are expected to attend each class, and meaningfully participate in class discussion.

Global Warming will dominate civic discourse and inform economic, social, and governmental policies throughout the 21st century, in all walks of life. This course will cover the basics of climate science, anthropogenic global warming, proposed solutions and policy challenges facing society in response to our changing planet. This course will increase your confidence and ability to engage in public discourse on the subject of climate change, climate change solutions, and public policy concerning our collective future.

The trip is restricted to first-years and sophomores from Columbia College/General Studies, Barnard College, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Early application is advised, please visit the course website below for the application deadline. A spring-break excursion focused on the geology of Death Valley and adjacent areas of the eastern California desert. Discussion sessions ahead of the trip provide necessary background. Details at: https://eesc.columbia.edu/content/eesc-un1010.

Prerequisites: high school algebra. Recommended preparation: high school chemistry and physics; and one semester of college science. Origin and development of the atmosphere and oceans, formation of winds, storms and ocean currents, reasons for changes through geologic time. Recent influence of human activity: the ozone hole, global warming, water pollution. Laboratory exploration of topics through demonstrations, experimentation, computer data analysis, and modeling. Students majoring in Earth and Environmental Sciences should plan to take EESC W2100 before their senior year to avoid conflicts with Senior Seminar.

Recommended preparation: high school chemistry and physics; and one semester of college science. Exploration of how the solid Earth works, today and in the past, focusing on Earth in the Solar system, continents and oceans, the Earth's history, mountain systems on land and sea, minerals and rocks, weathering and erosion, glaciers and ice sheets, the hydrological cycle and rivers, geochronology, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, energy resources. Laboratory exploration of topics through examination of rock samples, experimentation, computer data analysis, field exercises, and modeling. Columbia and Barnard majors should plan to take W2200 before their senior year to avoid conflicts with the Senior Seminar.

Prerequisites: high school algebra. Recommended preparation: high school chemistry and physics.

 Role of life in biogeochemical cycles, relationship of biodiversity and evolution to the physical Earth, vulnerability of ecosystems to environmental change; causes and effects of extinctions through geologic time (dinosaurs and mammoths) and today. Exploration of topics through laboratories, data analysis, and modeling. REQUIRED LAB: EESC UN2310. Students will be expected to choose a lab section during the first week of class from the options listed in the Directory of Classes. Co-meets with EEEB 2002

This three hour lab is required of all students who enroll in EESC UN2300. There are currently five lab sections.

This three hour lab is required of all students who enroll in EESC UN2300. There are currently five lab sections.

This three hour lab is required of all students who enroll in EESC UN2300. There are currently five lab sections.

This three hour lab is required of all students who enroll in EESC UN2300. There are currently five lab sections.

This three hour lab is required of all students who enroll in EESC UN2300. There are currently five lab sections.

The centerpiece of this course is a geological field trip during Spring Break in Barbados. The class will meet weekly before the trip to prepare for it and after the trip to synthesize what was learned and to create a field guide. Subjects to be covered: plate tectonics, convergent plate margins and accretionary prisms, local Barbados geology; ice ages, Milankovitch cycles, sea level; introduction to coral reefs and fossil coral reef geology; Barbados terrestrial ecology; limestone caves, hydrology; dating methods; overview of Barbados history, economy, culture. In order to observe the modern-day coral reef (the modern day live analog to the fossil coral reefs we will see) the class will go snorkeling. In order to observe the effects of cave formation and water flow in limestone terrains the class will participate in an extensive visit to a cave. The class will also participate in an exercise in geological mapping of a series of coral reef terraces.

Priority: Priority is given to junior and senior majors and concentrators in Earth Science or Environmental Science at Columbia College and the School of General Studies, and Barnard College Environmental Science majors and minors. Others (non-DEES majors and non-Barnard Environmental Science students) may also be allowed to enroll if space permits. All students need permission of the instructor. Students who sign up will be put on a waitlist and will be considered after contacting the instructor.

Prerequisites: One college level science course or permission of the instructor. Anyone who has taken EESC BC1002 Introduction to Environmental Science cannot take this course. Brownfields considers interconnections between groundwater contamination, toxics, human health, government, economics, and law using the award-winning interactive learning simulation Brownfield Action, Through a semester-long, laboratory exploration of a simulated brownfield, students engage in an environmental site assessment and development of a plan for remediation and revitalization.

Prerequisites: One year of college science or EESC V2100 or permission of the instructor. Acquisition, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of environmental data, assessment of spatial and temporal variability. Focus on water quality issues and storm surges. Uses existing and student-generated data sets. Basic principles of statistics and GIS, uses standard software packages including EXCEL and ArcGIS. Includes a half-day field trip on a Saturday or Sunday. General Education Requirement: Quantitative and Deductive Reasoning (QUA).

Prerequisites: One year of college science or EESC V2100 or permission of the instructor. Acquisition, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of environmental data, assessment of spatial and temporal variability. Focus on water quality issues and storm surges. Uses existing and student-generated data sets. Basic principles of statistics and GIS, uses standard software packages including EXCEL and ArcGIS. Includes a half-day field trip on a Saturday or Sunday. General Education Requirement: Quantitative and Deductive Reasoning (QUA).

Course Overview/Short Description
This course will consider various ways that changing environmental conditions put stress on humans and our societies and political systems, with an emphasis on conditions in the Global South. Among other topics it will consider influences of climate change on violent conflict migration and impacts of heat and air pollution on human health and wellbeing. Students will develop data analysis skills to explore these relationships and complete projects on environmental security cases and questions of their own choosing.

Longer Description/Purpose/Intention of the Course
Variation and shifts in environmental conditions have challenged societies throughout human history. Today, climatic variability and change, along with resource extraction, pollution and other forms of environmental degradation, influence society in myriad ways, through water resources and agriculture, storms, sea level rise, and direct impacts of heat on living things, among others. Moreover, different human populations, across race, ethnicity, class, gender, age, occupation and other lines face different levels of exposure and vulnerability to climatic and other environmental stressors and tend to experience them inequitably. Students will consider the influence and disparate impacts of environmental conditions on human security, through pathways such as human health, food and water security and education; various sectors of the economy from agriculture to mining to manufacturing; governance and social capacities; and broader social and political conditions like conflict, leadership change and migration. We will also consider the various approaches humans are taking to adapt to these stressors, mitigate their harms and build resilience. Throughout, emphasis will be placed on how natural and social scientists studying these phenomena engage in the research process to learn about and detect these impacts and the disparities among them.

This is a highly collaborative and project-based course that aims to offer students the power to choose the resources they want to use and the topics and cases they want to study. There will be no exams, outside of possible brief quizzes to determine whether students are engaging with the course material. Instead, in the first portion of the course, the instructor will guide students through the study of a collection of key topics and cases in environmental security AND the development of key skill sets for gathering and processing data and analyzing environmental security questions. Students will then, in the latter portion of the course, build from this knowledge and use these skills to pursue their own investigations and questions and share what they have learned with the rest of the class. Over the course of the semester, students will
a) identify and share examples of environmental security narratives in popular media, and then assess the accuracy of those narratives,
b) debate and discuss the veracity of claims about climate-related conflicts,
c) find and teach the class about one or more useful datasets for researching environment-security links, and
d) write about and present on case studies: focused on particular countries or regions, or particular varieties (not already covered during the course) of environmental security challenges.
e) The course will culminate with a final project in the form of a research proposal or “pre-analysis plan” (see details below) for assessing one pathway through which environmental stressors are expected to affect human security.

Changing environmental conditions can challenge and harm human beings and our societies in numerous ways. In this class you will build the skills you need to understand, identify and assess those harms and then critically evaluate possible solutions!

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 16 students. One year of college-level science. Primarily for Environmental Majors, Concentrators and Minors. Lecture, laboratory and field study of regional forest types from upland to coast and from urban to rural, forest ecosystem services, impacts of land-use and climate change on forests, reconstruction of past forests, forest pests, forest fires and forest conservation (corridors).  Field trip sites for data collection may include:  maritime, pine barrens, eastern deciduous and NYC urban forests.   Format: lecture, student presentations, short labs, data collection/analysis and field trips (some on a weekend day in April in place of the week day meeting). 

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 16 students. One year of college-level science. Primarily for Environmental Majors, Concentrators and Minors. This class looks at the response of wildlife (birds and plants) to climate change and land-use issues from the end of the last glaciation to the present. Case study topics are: (1) land-use and climate change over time: a paleoenvironmental perspective, (2) environmental transformations: impact of invasive plants and birds and pathogens on local environments and (3) migration of Neotropical songbirds between their wintering and breeding grounds: land-use, crisis and conservation. We visit wildlife refuges along a rural-suburban-urban gradient in order to observe and measure the role refuges play in conservation.  Format: lecture, student presentations, short labs, data collection/analysis and field trips (some on a weekend day in April in place of the week day meeting). 

Process-oriented introduction to the law and its use in environmental policy and decision-making. Origins and structure of the U.S. legal system. Emphasis on litigation process and specific cases that elucidate the common law and toxic torts, environmental administrative law, and environmental regulation through application and testing of statutory law in the courts. Emphasis also on the development of legal literacy, research skills, and writing.

This is a calculus-based treatment of climate system physics and the mechanisms of anthropogenic climate change. By the end of this course, students will understand: how solar radiation and rotating fluid dynamics determine the basic climate state, mechanisms of natural variability and change in climate, why anthropogenic climate change is occurring, and which scientific uncertainties are most important to estimates of 21st century change.

This course is designed for undergraduate students seeking a quantitative introduction to climate and climate change science. EESC V2100 (Climate Systems) is not a prerequisite, but can also be taken for credit if it is taken before this course.

Prerequisites: any 1000-level or 2000-level EESC course; MATH UN1101 Calculus I and PHYS UN1201 General Physics I or their equivalents. Concurrent enrollment in PHYS UN1201 is acceptable with the instructors permission. Properties and processes affecting the evolution and behavior of the solid Earth. This course will focus on the geophysical processes that build mountains and ocean basins, drive plate tectonics, and otherwise lead to a dynamic planet. Topics include heat flow and mantle circulation, earthquakes and seismic waves, gravity, Earths magnetic field, and flow of glaciers and ice sheets.

Guided, independent, in-depth research culminating in the senior thesis in the spring. Includes discussion about scientific presentations and posters, data analysis, library research methods and scientific writing. Students review work in progress and share results through oral reports. Weekly seminar to review work in progress and share results through oral and written reports. Prerequisite to EESC W3901.

Guided, independent, in-depth research culminating in the senior thesis in the spring. Includes discussion about scientific presentations and posters, data analysis, library research methods and scientific writing. Students review work in progress and share results through oral reports. Weekly seminar to review work in progress and share results through oral and written reports. Prerequisite to EESC W3901.

Guided, independent, in-depth research culminating in the senior thesis in the spring. Includes discussion about scientific presentations and posters, data analysis, library research methods and scientific writing. Students review work in progress and share results through oral reports. Weekly seminar to review work in progress and share results through oral and written reports. Prerequisite to EESC W3901.

Guided, independent, in-depth research culminating in the senior thesis in the spring. Includes discussion about scientific presentations and posters, data analysis, library research methods and scientific writing. Students review work in progress and share results through oral reports. Weekly seminar to review work in progress and share results through oral and written reports. Prerequisite to EESC W3901.

Guided, independent, in-depth research culminating in the senior thesis in the spring. Includes discussion about scientific presentations and posters, data analysis, library research methods and scientific writing. Students review work in progress and share results through oral reports. Weekly seminar to review work in progress and share results through oral and written reports.

An overview of approaches to estimating ages of sedimentary sequences and events in Earth history-to be-co listed at Stony Brook and Rutgers. Intended for students with good backgrounds in the physical sciences, who want to use geochronological techniques in their studies. Because of the hands-on nature of geochronology and thermochronology, we are going to run the course as a series of 5 workshops held on Saturdays (possibly a Sunday depending on scheduling)

Pre-requisite: At least a year of calculus and physics; basic programming experience (e.g. EESC3400 - Introduction to Computational Earth Science).
Recommended: EESC2100 (Climate System), EESC2200 (Solid Earth), EESC3201 (Solid Earth Dynamics). 

The course aims to explore sea level changes that take place over a wide variety of timescales and are the result of multiple solid Earth and climatic processes. The course will step chronologically through time starting with long term sea level changes over the Phanerozoic, followed by Plio-Pleistocene ice age sea level variations and lastly modern and future sea level change. This is a cross-disciplinary course, which is aimed at students with interests in geophysics, cryosphere evolution, ocean dynamics, sedimentology, paleogeography, and past and present climate. 

The ‘Terrestrial Paleoclimate-From Science to Justice' course teaches the close relation and inter-connections between paleoclimate processes, modern climate impacts and solution ideas, and the resulting climate justice challenge.

The course starts with an introduction of the inter-hemispheric patterns of climate changes on glacial-interglacial, millennial and centennial time-scales. We introduce the most prominent and robust climate archives - ice cores, speleothems, mountain glaciers, lake cores and pluvial lakes -, ranging from the polar regions to the tropics- and discuss the methods used to precisely date these records and the various techniques to extract the wealth of climatic information these archives contain.

We focus on the paleoclimate signals from the last glacial cycle, its termination and transition towards the current interglacial, the Holocene period, including the last millennium. This is a climate concept course and the overarching goal will be to highlight the striking harmony of inter-hemispheric climate changes over this period and the inter-connectivity of the various key-elements of the climate system in light of the profound relevance of these climate orchestrations to ongoing climate change. 

In the second module of this course, we will discuss the state of the climate crises in the paleo-context, together with ideas and visions toward transitions to a more sustainable future, and the fundamental aspects of Climate Justice within these considerations. The final group project brings together all these aspects.

The course consists of formal lectures and discussion groups to recite and digest the new material, solve small problems and understand the connection to current climate events, solutions and Climate Justice. 

Pre-requisites: any introductory level earth, environmental or climate course

Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: a solid background in basic chemistry. Introduction to geochemical cycles involving the atmosphere, land, and biosphere; chemistry of precipitation, weathering reactions, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and groundwaters; students are introduced to the use of major and minor ions as tracers of chemical reactions and biological processes that regulate the chemical composition of continental waters.

Prerequisites: Compliments GU4937 Cenozoic Paleoceanography, intended as part of a sequence with GU4330 Terrestrial Paleoclimate. For undergrads, UN2100 Earth System: Climate or equivalent, or permission of instructor The course examines the ocean's response to external climatic forcing such as solar luminosity and changes in the Earth's orbit, and to internal influences such as atmospheric composition, using deep-sea sediments, corals, ice cores and other paleoceanographic archives. A rigorous analysis of the assumptions underlying the use of climate proxies and their interpretations will be presented. Particular emphasis will be placed on amplifiers of climate change during the alternating ice ages and interglacial intervals of the last few million years, such as natural variations in atmospheric greenhouse gases and changes in deep water formation rates, as well as mechanisms of rapid climate change during the late Pleistocene. The influence of changes in the Earth's radiation distribution and boundary conditions on the global ocean circulation, Asian monsoon system and El Nino/Southern Oscillation frequency and intensity, as well as interactions among these systems will be examined using proxy data and models. This course complements W4937 Cenozoic Paleoceanography and is intended as part of a sequence with W4330 Terrestrial Paleoclimate for students with interests in Paleoclimate.

Prerequisites: Physics W1201, Chemistry W1403, Calculus III, or equivalent or the instructors permission. EESC W2100 preferred. Physical and chemical processes determining atmospheric composition and the implications for climate and regional air pollution. Basics of physical chemistry relevant to the atmosphere: spectroscopy, photolysis, and reaction kinetics. Atmospheric transport of trace gas species. Atmosphere-surface-biosphere interactions. Stratospheric ozone chemistry. Tropospheric hydrocarbon chemistry and oxidizing power. Legacy effects of photochemical smog and acid rain. Current impacts of aerosol pollution and climate impacts of pollution reduction. 

 

What produced the change from the hothouse to the ice house Earth in the last ~60 million years? What caused earlier ice ages and huge swinges in sea level that covered so much of the continents with marine sediments? The possible answers, from weathering of rocks during periods of enhanced mountain building to changes in the rate of CO2 release at mid-ocean ridges, all involve plate tectonics. We review the development of the plate tectonic theory, including role Columbia researchers played in making the break-throughs that first confirmed the theory. We will discuss ideas about what might control plate motions on Earth as well as what we know about different kinds of tectonics on other planets. Researchers working on cutting-edge observations and models relating tectonics and climate will be invited to air their views to the class.

Current topics in the Earth sciences.

Individual research in the students field of specialization at the masters level. DEES PhD students register for this in the semester in which thay take their Masters Exam.

Basic techniques of linear and non-linear inverse theory, and the validation of numerical models with sparse and noisy data. Includes discussion of genetic algorithms and evolutionary programming, theories of optimization, parameter tradeoffs, and hypothesis testing.

Prerequisites: One year each of Chemistry, Physics, Calculus and Earth Sciences Overview This course explores the origin of magmas and their subsequent movements; their ascent, stalling and eruption; their transport of heat and mass through the earth; their formation of crust and creation of volcanoes. The course will explore magmatism itself - its chemical and physical underpinnings - and also develop magmatic tools used to understand other earth processes. Topics will be focused around Grand Questions. Example questions include: What do magmas tell us about the thermal structure of the earth? Why do magmas store and stall where they do? What drives the largest eruptions on Earth? Does continental extension drive melting or melting drive extension? Questions will evolve to reflect the state of the field and student interest. The course is designed to serve as an accessible breadth course for Earth Science graduate students in any discipline.

Prerequisites: the permission of the instructor in charge of the students field of research. Individual research in the students field of specialization. The research may lead to a doctoral dissertation or to contributions for publications.

Prerequisites: the permission of the instructor in charge of the students field of research. Individual research in the students field of specialization. The research may lead to a doctoral dissertation or to contributions for publications.

The course will focus on reading and discussing recent papers from the primary literature. Students will gain exposure to the primary literature, gain skills in evaluating published research, and acquire presentation experience.  In spring 2026, we will explore modern topics in geoengineering, including carbon capture and storage (CCS) and solar radiation management (SRM). For CCS, strategies to capture CO2 and store it in geologic reservoirs, in the terrestrial biosphere, and in the oceans will be covered. For SRM, recent global modeling studies will be discussed. Some course meetings will include guest lectures from members of the LDEO community and from outside experts.

In this seminar, we will explore the interactions between volcanism and climate. From week to week, we will discuss research related to the volcano-climate interactions and address questions such as: How do volcanoes affect global climate? How do we reconstruct the climate impact of past volcanic events? How and why are mass extinction events related to supervolcano and flood basalt eruptions? Can long term changes in climate affect volcanism?

The course welcomes participation from students with diverse academic backgrounds, reflecting the inherently interdisciplinary nature of the topic, which spans volcanology, atmospheric science, paleoclimatology, geophysics, and more.

The seminar will also be open to the broader Lamont community, welcoming drop-ins from all staff, postdocs and students.

This seminar will be focused on close readings and discussion of social science approaches to the sciences with a special focus on the geosciences and other sciences of the underground. Beginning with readings by historians of science, then moving to anthropologies of science and STS studies, and culminating with anti-colonial approaches to doing science, students will be encouraged to think through their own research. We will discuss ethnographic methods and other forms of “co-production” and “community engagement” while exploring at least one community-based project for practical application.

This will be a small, intimate seminar only open to advanced graduate students with research projects. Instructor approval required.