The Earth Research Institute has defined five broad research areas:
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Natural Hazards (NH)
- Impacts of Earth processes on society: includes earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, floods, droughts, storms, wildfires, erosion, and other natural processes.
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Human Impacts (HI)
- Impacts of mankind on Earth: includes pollution assessment and remediation, land use and land-cover change; food and freshwater security; anthropogenic forcing of climate change, erosion, and fire; biodiversity conservation; and natural resource management (forestry, fisheries, etc.).
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Earth System Science (ESS)
- The science of Earth's subsystems (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, cryosphere, biosphere and anthrosphere) and their interactions.
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Earth Evolution (EE)
- Investigation of the processes and rate of change in Earth tectonics, climate, and biota from Earth’s formation up to the present day.
- Environmental Information Management (CS)