Research Interests
A central field of research is in the role of natural disasters in reducing or enhancing development opportunities, especially in poor and emerging societies. How much of the global inequality in development status can be attributed to the particular burden that the poorest people face from natural extremes such as hurricanes and earthquakes? Meteorological extremes are expected to increase as a result of human-induced climate change, and my work attempts to assess who are the most vulnerable to horrific natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina (http://www.katrinalist.columbia.edu ). I also examines these questions through the lens of human rights, asking whether rights attainment can predict disaster outcomes, such as the response to Cyclone Nagris in Myanmar, and how the norms and principals of human rights can provide guidance for climate adaptation strategies. The general theme of research follows the relationship between natural systems and human well-being, with particular focus on the vulnerability of poor societies to natural variations and extreme environmental conditions, as this could inform an understanding of the human response to natural changes at all scales and intensity. I lead the Earth Institute’s partnership with the UNEP’s Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, researching environmental degradation as both an outcome and driver of disasters and conflicts. I also work on understanding the underlying similarities natural disasters and armed conflict that go beyond the superficial imagery of the news media and speak to the development of underlying causes and the convergence of proximate triggers as climate change emerges as a common driver.
The other focus of my research is the use of marine seismology technologies to study processes in the formation of the earth’s crust and mantle at mid-ocean ridge and continental rift settings. I studied active rifting in the Woodlark Basin off Papua New Guinea. Much of the research from this study has been published but one paper remains in process. I was chief scientist aboard the Marcus G. Langseth, conducting the first 3-D seismic imaging experiment of seafloor spreading at the East Pacific Rise (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/3DMCS ). This study will reveal how magma rises from deep in the earth’s interior to create new crust and controls the distribution of biological communities at hydrothermal vent systems. In the last two years we have presented numerous abstracts at the Fall AGU meeting and will have several papers in manuscript for in the Fall in anticipation of a renewal proposal in the Spring of 2011.
In March I participated in a crucial NSF sponsored workshop on “Challenges and Opportunities in Academic Marine Seismology” and contributed to the development of ideas through the workshop Wiki sitehttp://www.unols.org/meetings/2010/201003mls/201003LW_details.html and discussions at the meeting.I am one of the principal investigators on the National Science Foundation-funded ADVANCE program (http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/advance/), which is designed to create institutional change that will improve the opportunities for women in earth science and engineering at Columbia. The active period of this project has now been completed.
I recently convened two NSF-sponsored workshops; “A Leadership Workshop to Meet the Challenge of Global Change” held in Washington DC, June 16-17th 2009 and prior to that an “Expert Roundtable on Research Priorities in Sustainable Development” held March 6, 2008. Each of these is designed to set goals for future research directions in these emerging areas and could be influential in funding allocations. The latter is available athttp://www.earth.columbia.edu/roundtable/sustainable_development/. The outcome of the former is in the process of being developed into several publication including an op ed for a national newspaper.
A central field of research is in the role of natural disasters in reducing or enhancing development opportunities, especially in poor and emerging societies. How much of the global inequality in development status can be attributed to the particular burden that the poorest people face from natural extremes such as hurricanes and earthquakes? Meteorological extremes are expected to increase as a result of human-induced climate change, and my work attempts to assess who are the most vulnerable to horrific natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina (http://www.katrinalist.columbia.edu ). I also examines these questions through the lens of human rights, asking whether rights attainment can predict disaster outcomes, such as the response to Cyclone Nagris in Myanmar, and how the norms and principals of human rights can provide guidance for climate adaptation strategies. The general theme of research follows the relationship between natural systems and human well-being, with particular focus on the vulnerability of poor societies to natural variations and extreme environmental conditions, as this could inform an understanding of the human response to natural changes at all scales and intensity. I lead the Earth Institute’s partnership with the UNEP’s Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, researching environmental degradation as both an outcome and driver of disasters and conflicts. I also work on understanding the underlying similarities natural disasters and armed conflict that go beyond the superficial imagery of the news media and speak to the development of underlying causes and the convergence of proximate triggers as climate change emerges as a common driver.
The other focus of my research is the use of marine seismology technologies to study processes in the formation of the earth’s crust and mantle at mid-ocean ridge and continental rift settings. I studied active rifting in the Woodlark Basin off Papua New Guinea. Much of the research from this study has been published but one paper remains in process. I was chief scientist aboard the Marcus G. Langseth, conducting the first 3-D seismic imaging experiment of seafloor spreading at the East Pacific Rise (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/3DMCS ). This study will reveal how magma rises from deep in the earth’s interior to create new crust and controls the distribution of biological communities at hydrothermal vent systems. In the last two years we have presented numerous abstracts at the Fall AGU meeting and will have several papers in manuscript for in the Fall in anticipation of a renewal proposal in the Spring of 2011.
In March I participated in a crucial NSF sponsored workshop on “Challenges and Opportunities in Academic Marine Seismology” and contributed to the development of ideas through the workshop Wiki sitehttp://www.unols.org/meetings/2010/201003mls/201003LW_details.html and discussions at the meeting.I am one of the principal investigators on the National Science Foundation-funded ADVANCE program (http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/advance/), which is designed to create institutional change that will improve the opportunities for women in earth science and engineering at Columbia. The active period of this project has now been completed.
I recently convened two NSF-sponsored workshops; “A Leadership Workshop to Meet the Challenge of Global Change” held in Washington DC, June 16-17th 2009 and prior to that an “Expert Roundtable on Research Priorities in Sustainable Development” held March 6, 2008. Each of these is designed to set goals for future research directions in these emerging areas and could be influential in funding allocations. The latter is available athttp://www.earth.columbia.edu/roundtable/sustainable_development/. The outcome of the former is in the process of being developed into several publication including an op ed for a national newspaper.