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Oki Lab
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The lab studies how the global water cycle and human society are connected.
AboutAbout the lab
Viewing water and human society on a global scale
The Earth–Human Sphere Lab studies the global water cycle, the world's water resources, and adaptation to climate change.
It names as its mission inheriting the disciplines of river hydrology and global water cycle system science and passing them on to the next generation.
To help solve water problems in Japan and around the world, the lab advances its research through observation, modeling, and field surveys.
It also aims to observe, model, and predict the principles that govern human behavior.
Key terms
- Water cycle
- The continuous circulation in which water from the oceans and land evaporates, falls as rain or snow, and returns to the sea through rivers
- Hydrology
- The study of the movement, quantity, and quality of water on Earth, covering subjects such as river flow, groundwater, and precipitation
- Data assimilation
- A method of incorporating observed values into a calculation as it proceeds, in order to maintain the accuracy of predictions
NewsLab news
Project Associate Professor Minamide receives the AOGS2026 Kamide Lecture Award
Project Associate Professor Minamide receives the Selection Committee Special Prize at the 7th Space Development and Utilization Grand Prize
Professor Oki is awarded an honorary doctorate by Naresuan University
Online tool for viewing global water scarcity risk released
Professor Oki receives the Stockholm Water Prize
ResearchResearch themes
The lab is built on three main pillars: the global water cycle, the world's water resources, and adaptation to climate change. By combining observation, modeling, and field surveys, it seeks to unravel how water and human society are connected.
*Illustrative imageGlobal Water Cycle Models
The lab represents the flow of water around the world with models that incorporate human activities. It develops global water cycle models that take irrigation into account, and studies how to incorporate urban processes into large-domain hydrological models.
*Illustrative imageWorld Water Resources and Water Scarcity
This research assesses the risk of water scarcity from water supply and demand in regions around the world. Through a Social Cooperation Program with Suntory Holdings and Nippon Koei, the University of Tokyo released a tool that shows water risk by type of use.
*Illustrative imageClimate Change Adaptation
This theme covers the impacts of climate change on flood damage and agriculture, and how to prepare for them. In addition to flood risk management, early warning, and evacuation decision-making, the lab also studies how climate change affects the distribution of expected inundation.
*Illustrative imageMonsoons and the Atmosphere and Land Surface
The lab investigates the climate of monsoon regions through observation and analysis. Its research includes atmosphere–land surface interactions, soil moisture measured by satellite, and tropical meteorology using data assimilation.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Earth–Human Sphere Lab consist of faculty, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, researchers, secretaries, and visiting researchers.As of 2026
- ProfessorTaikan OkiPublications ↗
- Visiting ProfessorNaota Hanasaki
- Project Associate ProfessorMasashi MinamidePublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorQing He
- Assistant ProfessorVu Quynh Anh CAO
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Global Total Precipitable Water Vapor for May )” Atmospheric Infrared Sounder / Public domain (cropped)
- Global Water Cycle Models: “Amazon Basin (MODIS)” MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain (cropped)
- World Water Resources and Water Scarcity: “Low water levels in Beacons Reservoir (geograph 7279403)” Gareth James / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Climate Change Adaptation: “Flooded building and tree trunk in the muddy water of the Mekong in Si Phan Don, Laos, September 2019” Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Monsoons and the Atmosphere and Land Surface: “Rain from the clouds during monsoon spotted at Rajanagaram” Adityamadhav83 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Coast and Coastal Environment Lab): “Utoma, Samani, Hokkaido 01” motoGP from Japan. / CC BY 2.1 jp (cropped)
- Related lab (River and Watershed Environment Lab, Kawasaki Group): “Defense.gov photo essay 111016-M-ZN194-151” Cpl. Robert J. Maurer / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Kiyota Lab): “Manhole shows subsidence occurred by 2011 Sendai earthquake” On-chan / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ohara Lab (Disaster Risk Reduction)): “Arayat33jf” Ramon FVelasquez / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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