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Lab Alumni
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Linqing Huang
Ph.D. Student, 2019-2024
Linqing developed a new method to purify and measure stable zirconium (Zr) isotopes in the ocean to probe whether this isotope system can inform us on water mass movement or particle scavenging. She is now a postdoc at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory .
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Kiefer Forsch
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, 2021-2023
Kiefer is a marine chemist working on questions regarding the biogeochemical cycling of bioactive trace metals and their role as limiting nutrients for primary producers in the modern ocean. He uses novel geochemical and microbial techniques to explore factors which affect the fate of glacial weathering inputs of bio-essential trace elements, like iron. Kiefer is now a postdoc at University of Southern California.
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Emmet Norris
Ph.D. Student, 2020-2025
Emmet is interested in the interaction between processes on the earth’s surface, such as the transport and fate of mineral dust, and human society. He primarily uses isotopic source apportionment techniques to characterize the sources of natural and anthropogenically emitted PM and understand their effect on climate, air quality and biologically available nutrients. Emmet is now a postdoc at the Université de Montréal.
Our Lab Group
Austin Carter
Ph.D. Student, 2020-2025
Austin investigated the chemistry, geometry, and concentration of mineral dust (fine-grained particles of rock) trapped in polar ice. The overarching goal this research is to advance our understanding of the role of dust as both a recorder and catalyst of past climate changes. Austin is now a postdoc at Princeton University.
Sarah Aarons
Principal Investigator
Sarah Aarons was born in and raised in Alaska. She obtained her Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Michigan in 2016, and she then received a University of California Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Irvine, followed by the Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Chicago. Sarah joined the faculty at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD in 2019 and moved to Columbia University in 2026. Sarah’s research focuses on understanding and tracking earth surface processes in a variety of environments on both geologic timescales and throughout the modern. If you are interested in conducting research please feel free to contact me at: sarah.aarons@ldeo.columbia.edu.
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