Columbia Climate School of Seed Grant Advance Interdisciplinary Research – State of the Earth
This week, Columbia Climate School announced seven interdisciplinary research teams received grants through its 2025 seed funding program. The selected projects are exploratory, mission-aligned initiatives aimed at promoting action collaboration and long-term impact at the school. Rewards range from $1,000 to $7,000.
“We are delighted to support these teams as they pursue bold ideas and collaborative research to address the most pressing challenges of the time,” said Janice Savage, research assistant at Columbia Climate School. “This year’s project reflects the school’s commitment to support transformative science, fostering innovation and strengthening the connections of our research community.”
Read more about the following items.
Examine the impact of land management on ecosystem services in the Hudson Valley region
PI: Yushu Xia, Assistant Professor of Research, Biology and Paleoenvironment, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory | Co-Pi: Jiaming Duan
Action Collaboration: Built Environment, Disasters
The project aims to improve land management in the Hudson Valley by developing data-driven modeling systems for various landscapes in the region. The team plans to integrate local field data, survey, remote sensing and environmental data to create a modeling framework suitable for the Hudson Valley. The project will deepen Columbia’s partnership with local organizations and provide valuable insights to better support American farmers, ranchers and land managers.
Living on a Traumatic Landscape: Investigating the Public Response of West African Coast to Social and Environmental Change
PI: Kristina Douglass, Associate Professor of Climate at Columbia School of Climate | Co-Pi: Abiola Ibirogba
Action Collaboration: Built Environment, Disasters.
The research project will integrate data from throughout history and geoscience to simulate how marginal communities around these events adapt and survive. Specifically, they proposed a survey of immigrant coastal communities that emerged along the coast of West Africa during the Atlantic period (the last 500 years of human history) to investigate settlement and mobility strategies, resource usage patterns and human decision-making. This study will help investigate the historical context of large-scale migration and ongoing demographic changes and provide new data on island colonization patterns throughout the West African coast.
Urban Sustainability: International Case Study
PI: Anyi Wang, Associate Research Scholar in Sustainability Policy and Management Research Program, Columbia Climate School
Action Cooperation: Food, Energy, Water, Built Environment, Disasters
In an urban context, sustainability means meeting the needs of the current urban system without compromising the needs of future generations inside (and outside) the system. This study aims to evaluate and analyze six global cities in five sustainability indicator areas: 1) economic development; 2) social welfare and livelihoods; 3) environmental resources; 4) emissions and consumption; 5) environmental management. By analyzing and comparing these cities, the project will help create a more sustainable urban environment globally the knowledge base.
A pilot study using existing fiber optic cables documented NYC HUM: Improving hazard assessment and smart city applications
PI: Andrew J. Lloyd, Assistant Professor of Research, Lamont Lamont, Geology and Tectonic Physics, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory | Associate School: Felix Waldhauser, Folarin Kolawole
Action Cooperation: Disaster, Built Environment
The project will conduct a distributed acoustic sensing trial using dark fiber cables from the Manhattanville campus to the Morningside campus, which crosses the 125th Street failure along Broadway and Amsterdam. Recorded data will be analyzed to identify seismic and man-made sources, evaluate spatial and temporal changes in noise, and image shallow subsurface seismic structures. Through this work, the team aims to image the underground structure of the 125th Street failure and explore the potential of “smart city” applications.
Exploratory sampling and (u-th)/California Gallock fault
PI: Stephen Cox, Assistant Professor of Geochemistry, Lamont Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Action Cooperation: Disaster, Built Environment
The Gallock fault is a key part of the Southern California tectonic regime. In the state, it is second only to San Andreas in length, posing a serious earthquake hazard to several densely populated areas. The project aims to refine the tectonic history of failures and related structures using a variety of advanced geochemical dating techniques. The ultimate goal of this work is to improve hazard models in areas with significant exposure to major earthquakes.
Cactus adaptation and knowledge exchange (cake)
PI: Zain Alabweh, Chief of Staff, National Center for Disaster Preparation II
Action Cooperation: Food
The project explores Jordan’s potential to expand cactus cultivation by focusing on the widely used edible cactus pads (called cladodes) in Mexico. By learning from Mexican experts, farmers and researchers, the project aims to bring valuable knowledge back to Jordan to bring valuable knowledge. The goal is to evaluate how these technologies can be adapted locally to improve food security, nutrition and economic opportunities. The project will use cactus cladodes for food, animal feed and other commercial uses.
Incorporating climate mitigation and adaptation: a case study of commuter vans in New York City
PI: Director and Research Scholar of the Center for Sustainable Urban Development Jacqueline Klopp
Action Cooperation: Energy, Construction of the Environment
Vehicle electrification efforts have recently expanded to shared mobility systems such as public and school buses, where commuter (“dollar”) vans serve low-income people and communities. While studies exploring the implementation and effectiveness of electrification of public transportation and school buses are emerging, these studies have not expanded to New York City’s unique commuter trucks, which may also offer a wider curriculum to the rest of the world. This study focused on the gaps and opportunities using strong community engagement and co-production approaches.
