CIESIN conducts a range of basic and applied research. CIESIN’s basic research aims at better understanding and predicting the behavior of socio-ecological systems and developing data to support research by others. CIESIN staff have served as principal investigators and senior research personnel on research projects supported by a range of funders (see Programs & Projects) in areas such as environmental security, climate migration, natural hazards, indicator development from remote sensing data, experimental uses of device location and nighttime lights data, and population-environment interactions.
CIESIN’s research has resulted in peer-reviewed publications and a range of reports.
Suitability of NASA’s Black Marble daily nighttime lights for population studies at varying spatial and temporal scales.
Martinez, J. F., K. MacManus, E.C. Stokes, Z. Wang, and A. de Sherbinin. 2023. Suitability of NASA’s Black Marble daily nighttime lights for population studies at varying spatial and temporal scales. Remote Sensing 15(10): 2611. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15102611.
High-resolution population estimation using household survey data and building footprints.
Boo, G., E. Darin, D.R. Leasure, C.A. Dooley, H.R. Chamberlain, A.N. Lázár, K. Tschirhart et al. 2022. High-resolution population estimation using household survey data and building footprints. Nature Communication 13:1330. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29094-x.
Towards an improved large-scale gridded population dataset: A pan-European study on the integration of 3D settlement data into population modelling
Palacios-Lopez, D., T. Esch, K. MacManus, M. Marconcini, A. Sorichetta, G. Yetman, J. Zeidler, S. Dech, A.J. Tatem and P. Reinartz. 2022. Towards an improved large-scale gridded population dataset: A pan-European study on the integration of 3D settlement data into population modelling. Remote Sensing 14(2): 325. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14020325.
Violent conflict exacerbated drought-related food insecurity between 2009 and 2019 in sub-Saharan Africa
Anderson, W., C. Taylor, S. McDermid, E. Ilboudo-Nébié, R. Seager, W. Schlenker, F. Cottier, A. de Sherbinin, D. Mendeloff, and K. Markey. 2021. Violent conflict exacerbated drought-related food insecurity between 2009 and 2019 in sub-Saharan Africa. Nat Food 2: 603–615. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00327-4.
Groundswell Part 2: Acting on Internal Climate Migration
(September 2021, 362 pages, 26.98 MB PDF).
This report by CIESIN and the World Bank, CUNY Institute for Demographic Research, and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research projects increased numbers of people moving within their countries of the developing world—as many as 216 million internal migrants by 2050.
Implications for tracking SDG indicator metrics with gridded population data
Tuholske, C., A. Gaughan, A. Sorichetta, A. de Sherbinin, A. Bucherie, C. Hultquist, F. Stevens, A. Kruczkiewicz, C. Huyck, and G. Yetman. 2021. Implications for tracking SDG indicator metrics with gridded population data. Sustainability 13(13): 7329. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137329.
A new dataset integrating public socioeconomic, physical risk, and housing data for climate justice metrics: a test-case study in Miami
Tedesco, M., C.G. Hultquist, and A. de Sherbinin. 2021. A new dataset integrating public socioeconomic, physical risk, and housing data for climate justice metrics: a test-case study in Miami. Environmental Justice 00(00). https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2021.0059.
Mapping global inputs and impacts from of human sewage in coastal ecosystems
Tuholske, C., B.S. Halpern, G. Blasco, J.C. Villasenor, M. Frazier, and K. Caylor. 2021. Mapping global inputs and impacts from of human sewage in coastal ecosystems. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258898.
Climate mobility and development cooperation
Stojanov, R., S. Rosengaertner, A. de Sherbinin, and R. Nawrotzki. 2021. Climate mobility and development cooperation. Popul Environ 43: 209–231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-021-00387-5.
Seizing the Urban Opportunity
Seizing the Urban Opportunity (March 2021). The second in a series by the Coalition for Urban Transitions on how governments can transform urban frameworks to increase shared prosperity. The report features updated population estimates from the forthcoming NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ) Urban Rural Population Estimates version 3 data set.
CIESIN’s applied research efforts are aligned with Columbia’s Fourth Purpose, which leverages the university’s scholarly knowledge to create societal and global impact, in close partnership with organizations outside academia. The goal of this research is to advance human welfare and environmental sustainability by applying the university’s distinct intellectual capacities to practical problem solving and policy development, thereby bringing about meaningful changes. Examples include helping to identify locations for solar desalination, policy-relevant research on climate-related migration, and scientifically robust environmental indicator development for policy audiences. Clients have included USAID, The World Bank, and state agencies.