Research
Research
Research in Earth and Environmental Sciences begins with big questions about a dynamic and interconnected planet. Tulane researchers study the forces operating deep within Earth, the processes reshaping its surface, and the relationships among water, climate, landscapes, ecosystems, and human activity. Their work takes them from Louisiana’s wetlands and barrier islands to mountain ranges, rainforests, ice sheets, and coastal environments around the world. By combining field observations with laboratory analysis, satellite data, GIS, computational models, and emerging technologies, our faculty and students advance fundamental understanding while generating insights that can strengthen coastal resilience, improve environmental stewardship, anticipate natural hazards, and help communities prepare for a changing planet.
PI Research Groups
Geoscience Education, Paleobiology, and Paleoecology
Advancing geoscience education through studies applying machine learning to fossil identification.
Structural Geology and Tectonics
Decoding how faults grow, move, and shape landscapes, from Louisiana's coast to the surface of Mars.
The Reef Lab
Focusing on coastal environments, including coral reefs and restored oyster reefs, to better understand their responses to environmental change and their role in coastal resilience.
Geophysics, Analytics, Tectonics, and Rift (GATR) Lab
Using seismic and potential field methods, signal processing, and geospatial tools to probe fundamental Earth processes.
The Mangrove Lab
Providing the evidence base for effective mangrove and blue carbon conservation and restoration in a changing climate.
Geomorphology and Landscape Evolution
Exploring why the surface of the Earth is as it is, and how it is changing.
Seismology at Tulane
Deciphering seismic records to understand how fluids, such as H2 and CO2, and molten rocks behave in Earth's interior.
Sediment Dynamics and Stratigraphy (TSDS)
Focusing on the transport of sediment from land through the ocean and into the stratigraphic record.
Quaternary Research Group
Studying the past few million years of Earth's history, primarily focusing on the coastal zone, where dramatic changes have already commenced due to accelerated sea-level rise.
Geochemistry and Paleoceanography Research Group
Studying redox reconstruction (oxygenation) shifts in Earth's history to better understand underlying natural vs. anthropogenic forcing.
Environmental Biogeochemistry Modeling Group
Understanding the fate and transport of persistent contaminants in the regional and global environment.
Tulane Resources
The department’s computer lab is used for computer-based courses, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and it is used by graduate students for research purposes. It is an important resource for teaching GIS, remote sensing, and subsurface interpretation, particularly 3D structural geology and 3D stratigraphy, and makes important software programs available to students, including (but not limited to) MathWorks MATLAB, Generic Mapping Tools, Harris Geospatial Solutions ENVI, and IHS Kingdom Suite. The lab features 15 quad-core PC workstations, with dual monitors. We have a large-format color printer and general-purpose printers. The room is equipped with a computer projection system, and a GeoWall is available for 3D visualization.
Tulane Instrumentation for Nanoscience & Innovation (TINI) is a university-wide department operating within the School of Science and Engineering for the management of shared research equipment. The TINI laboratory personnel maintain the equipment and assist researchers with method development and data collection. They also train students and researchers in the use of the shared equipment. By having trained professionals who are responsible for its day-to-day operation, the TINI and end-users are assured that instrumentation is being well maintained, necessary supplies are on hand, and consistently reliable data are being generated.
This facility houses a 50-year collection of samples for use in micropaleontology research. Adjunct professor Barry Kohl and Emeritus professor Emily Vokes have undertaken the huge task of identifying, sorting, and organizing these microfossil samples, which are now recorded in the Tulane Fossil Localities Index. The samples from Mexico intrigued Dr. Kohl so much that he decided to do his Ph.D. dissertation on early Pliocene Benthic Foraminifers and traveled to the Salina Basin in Mexico many times to collect outcrop material for his research. Emily and her husband, Harold, collected outcrop samples worldwide and published extensively on mollusks.
Cypress is Tulane University’s supercomputer that is capable of processing massive quantities of data for faculty and their research groups. According to Carl Baribault, a computational scientist in Information Technology and a Cypress user, a supercomputer offers high-performance computing (HPC) using parallel processing, which allows it to process calculations much faster than a traditional computer. Baribault and his colleague, Hideki Fujioka, have hosted Cypress workshops for interested researchers. Cypress accounts are available to any Tulanian, but they must be associated with a Tulane faculty member who is the principal investigator of a research group. Some knowledge of basic Linux commands is required in order to create and manipulate files and directories.
Local and National Resources
Research Opportunities
Daniel A Friess
The Mangrove Lab is interested in supporting potential Senior Thesis opportunities around coastal ecosystems, their function, threats, and conservation. We have varied interests in blue carbon cycling, wetland ecology, remote sensing and habitat mapping, policy analyses, and social sciences research. Projects can be based in the US or overseas. For more information, please contact Daniel Friess at dfriess@tulane.edu or visit https://www.themangrovelab.com/honors-students.
Cynthia J Ebinger
The Geophysics and Active Tectonics Research (GATR) Lab seeks 1-2 undergraduate research students to analyze earthquake and subsurface injection well data from NW Louisiana and prepare figures and reports for state and research reports. Students should have physics, calculus, and some computational or GIS background. Contact Prof. Ebinger (cebinger@tulane.edu).
Yanxu Zhang
We seek an undergraduate researcher to explore how space activities, including SpaceX rocket launches and Starlink satellite reentry, may affect Earth’s atmosphere. Using Earth system models, the student will investigate how emissions from these activities influence atmospheric chemistry, the ozone layer, and climate. This opportunity offers hands-on experience with global simulations while addressing emerging environmental questions at the intersection of space exploration and Earth science.
Kyle M Straub
The Sediment Dynamics and Stratigraphy (TSDS) Lab at Tulane University is recruiting a PhD student for a funded project investigating the mechanics of chute cutoff development in meandering rivers. The project seeks to understand how river channel geometry, flood hydrology, and sediment transport interact to control when and where rivers abandon meander bends and establish new flow paths. Research will combine numerical modeling, satellite imagery and geospatial analysis, and field investigations to develop predictive models of river evolution and its influence on sedimentary deposits. Interested applicants should contact Dr. Kyle Straub (kmstraub@tulane.edu) for further details.
Nicole M Gasparini
The GIGHLE (Gasparini's inclusive geomorphology, hydrology, and landscape evolution) group is recruiting two PhD students for fall 2027. All research projects contain some combination of computer modeling, land surface analysis, and field observations and data collection. Current research in the GIGHLE group focuses on: sediment routing from hillslopes through river channels; links among weathering, fluvial and hillslope processes, and sediment grain size; the impacts of spatial variability in rock properties on landscape evolution and drainage rearrangement; and testing the assumptions that are used to convert geochemical data into soil production and erosion rates. If any of these topics interest you, please reach out to Dr. Nicole Gasparini, ngaspari@tulane.edu.
Thomas M Decarlo
The Reef Lab is recruiting PhD and/or Master’s students for Fall 2027. Potential research topics include reconstructing the past century of coral growth from skeletal cores, studying biophysical interactions on restored oyster reefs, and testing coastal restoration effectiveness in Louisiana. Please contact Dr. Thomas DeCarlo (tdecarlo@tulane.edu) for further details, or visit www.reeflab.science.
Daniel A Friess
The Mangrove Lab welcomes PhD applications on the topic of tropical coastal ecosystems, their benefits, functions, threats, and conservation. Potential projects include field measurements of wetland greenhouse gas fluxes, spatial prioritization of mangrove restoration under sea-level rise, landscape geomorphic controls on blue carbon cycling, or regional-global scale mangrove and blue carbon dynamics. We particularly prioritise projects that have a translational aspect or are conducted in collaboration with non-academic partners. Projects can be based in the US or overseas. For more information, please contact Daniel Friess at dfriess@tulane.edu or visit https://www.themangrovelab.com/research.
Tianze Liu and Cynthia Ebinger
Profs. Tianze Liu and Cynthia Ebinger are seeking two PhD students to use geophysical, geomechanical, and AI tools to study one or a combination of 1) naturally occurring hydrogen produced by geological processes, 2) detection and analysis of earthquake patterns on rift volcanoes to mitigate risk, and 3) evolution of Earth's lithosphere and its variation with geodynamic settings. Contact Profs. Tianze Liu (tianzeliu@tulane.edu) and Cindy Ebinger (cebinger@tulane.edu) for information on potential PhD opportunities!