Open
House 2003 - Program
The Science of Earth
Current as of September 23, 2003
Saturday, October 4, 2003
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Located on a 170-acre campus on the Hudson River, the Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory (LDEO) is the only research center in the
world examining the planet from its core to its outermost
atmosphere, across every continent and every ocean. From
global climate change to earthquakes, volcanoes, shrinking
natural resources, environmental hazards and beyond, LDEO
scientists continue to provide the basic knowledge of Earth
systems that must inform the wise stewardship of our planet.
Open House is the one time each year that LDEO opens its
entire campus to the public. There are exhibits; displays,
lectures, videos and websites geared to the general public
and students from elementary through graduate school. Directions
and exhibit information are below.
Bus from Morningside Heights
The bus departs for LDEO from 118th Street
and Amsterdam Avenue at 9:30, 10:00, 11:00, and 11:30 a.m.
Buses leave for 118th Street and Amsterdam Avenue
from LDEO at 2:00, 2:30, 3:30, and 4:00 p.m.
Shuttle Bus from IBM Conference Center, Route 9W
People arriving in cars or vans should
park at the IBM Conference Center on Route 9W just north
of the LDEO campus. Shuttle buses are provided from and to
the parking lot continuously from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
All shuttle buses arrive to and depart from the Geoscience
building at LDEO. Persons with special needs should contact
the LDEO Development office at 845-365-8634.
Lamont Alumni Information
All LDEO faculty, staff, and student
alumni are invited to a special hospitality suite in the
Lamont Hall Seminar Room, open all day. A general meeting
of the Alumni Association will be held in Lamont Hall from
3 - 4 p.m.
TENT #1 /WELCOME TENT
(in front of bus stop
near Geoscience building)
Receive Open House programs and campus
maps here. Information on the Lamont Alumni Association Meeting
can also be obtained here. LDEO has redesigned its web site,
and will unveil it on web accessible computers in this tent.
Also at this tent:
Walking Tours
Sign up for walking tours of the LDEO campus. The 45-minute tours, limited
to groups of 20 people, depart from the front of Geoscience at 10:30 a.m.,
11:30 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. This will be an outside walking tour
on paved roads and sidewalks with some moderate inclines.
Hiking Tour: The History of
Eastern US Tree-Ring Analysis.
The hiking
tour, limited to groups of 15, departs from the front of
Geoscience at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Aspects of forest ecology, climate
change and tree-ring analysis in the Eastern US will be discussed.
Specifically, the recent NYC metro drought, the transition
of forest types in the metro region and how this transition
is being used for climate change studies, how we use tree-rings
to determine the earliest possible date of construction of
local historical structures, and some basic forest and invasive
species ecology. Also discussed is a 1977 drought study,
the foundation of the Lab's 25+ years worth of work, which
dispelled the notion that tree-ring analysis in Eastern North
America was not viable research. There will be plenty of
opportunity for discussion about tree-ring analysis and forest
ecology during the hike. The hike is planned to be approximately
one hour in length, depending on the amount of discussion
generated. Bring good shoes, an appetite to learn and energy
for the hike!
Become a Junior Observer!
-
Elementary,
Middle and High School quizzes:
Become a junior
observer by exploring LDEO's exhibit tents and answering questions
on our earth science quiz. Complete your quiz to become eligible
for a prize drawing.
TENT #2 / GIFT SHOP
(Next to Welcome Tent)
Purchase LDEO tee shirts, Open House tee shirts, baseball
caps, mugs, souvenirs and more!
TENT #3 / CORE
REPOSITORY/ HUDSON RIVER RESEARCH - (Climate Change & K-12
Activity)
Biology and Paleoenvironment
and Marine Geology and Geophysics Division
(next to Core Lab)
LDEO's Deep Sea Sample Repository stores sediment cores
from every major ocean and sea around the world. The deep-ocean
bottom cores tell us many things about earth's history, and
what is going on now. Examine the sediment and learn about
the stories these cores have to tell.
Visitors are invited to look through a microscope to see
what scientists find in deep-sea sediment cores used to reconstruct
the Earth's past climate, from plant macrofossils dropped
from melting icebergs and sea ice to microfossils of organisms
that once lived at the ocean's surface.
Find out how much dirt you are walking around with on your
clothes.
We will show you how to measure it, and also how all the
dirt in the
air is measured from space by satellites. See how it eventually
ends
up in the sediments of cores where it can be measured.
Explore highlights of LDEO's ongoing research into the history
of the Hudson River, its response to climate change, and
the future of its complex ecosystems. Learn how and why scientists
are mapping the River bottom, studying the flow of contaminants,
and examining sediments.
Peer into the depths of the Hudson River using interactive
computers. A 13.5 meter-long core from Piermont Marsh has
recovered ancient materials including seeds, pollen and fish
scales
as old as 4,200 years, identifying major changes in the Marsh's
history, including climate change periods, such as droughts,
resulting in marsh fires.
Examine core samples from the Hudson that reveal its history
- from changes in salinity levels, to impacts of the brick
industry, to surges in historic oyster colonies, to the spread
of contaminants.
Many contaminants accumulate in the Hudson sediments such
as PCB's, dioxins, heavy metals and pesticides. Learn how
the study of contaminants is a key to understanding estuary
processes.
View an animation of how harmless tracers are injected and
monitored in the Hudson River to tell LDEO scientists how
contaminants mix, are transported, and spread throughout
the River.
TENT #4/ SEISMOLOGY, GEOLOGY & TECTONOPHYSICS
(near
Seismology building)
Demonstration of Space Geodetic Methods
See
demonstrations of GPS (Global Positioning System) real time
navigation and how it tracks the motion of the North American
Tectonic Plate.
The First Lunar Seismogram from the Apollo 11 Space Mission.
During the historical Apollo 11 space mission
to land men on the Moon, astronauts deployed a Passive Seismic
Experiment Package (PSEP) on the lunar surface on July 21,
1969. LDEO scientists led the Apollo 11 PSEP experiment to
determine the internal structure and composition of the Moon.
The first lunar seismogram is on exhibit with photographs
taken by the Apollo 11 astronauts.
See a demonstration of the modern,
portable seismograph for monitoring aftershocks and micro
earthquakes to study earthquakes in detail.
TENT #5 / FOOD TENT
(near Marine Biology building)
Purchase sandwiches, beverages, and other delectable edibles.
TENT #6 / GEOCHEMISTRY - (Children's Activity)
(in
front of Geochemistry)
Groundwater flow and transport
Columbia
scientists study how water and pollutants move in the ground.
They have also developed a K-12 curriculum in collaboration
with NYC school teachers centered around interactive sandtanks,
which visitors may explore. For more information visit: http://research.radlab.columbia.edu/emsi/edout/
Stump the Geologist!
(behind Geochemistry)
Bring your rocks and minerals to Mr. Wizard to be identified
and described.
Lake Vostok, Antarctica
Buried
under 2.5 miles of ice in the heart of the Antarctic continent
lies Lake Vostok, one of the world's biggest freshwater lakes.
For some 25 million years the Lake has been covered by an
ice sheet and isolated from the atmosphere. In 1996 European
satellite imagery confirmed the lake's existence sparking
scientific inquiry into the Lake and its processes. LDEO
scientists are using ice-penetrating radar data, and GPS
measurements to study melting and refreezing processes in
the lake, and the direction of ice flow of the overlying
glacier to better understand the dynamics of the water exchange
system.
TENT #7 / OCEAN AND CLIMATE
PHYSICS - (Climate Change & Children's
Activity)
(next to Oceanography)
Investigate the physics of climate
phenomena in the atmosphere and
oceans and how changes affect the environment. View tank
experiments modeling some of the amazing processes found
in oceans and the atmosphere.
Chlorofluorocarbon gases, which have
been released to the atmosphere
From refrigerators and factories, enter the surface water
of the ocean. In
High latitude regions surface waters are made very dense
by cooling, and sink
beneath the warmer near surface water at lower latitudes.
This is
demonstrated by a tank experiment and by showing chlorofluorocarbon
distributions measured in the deep ocean.
Collect water from an oceanographic
water sampler, test your taste buds and see how you fare
against modern oceanographic
instruments in the Saltwater Tasting Contest.
TENT #8/ CLIMATE CHANGE (Climate Change Icon)
Climate Change, Variability, and Vulnerability in Africa
Africa
provides several illustrations of the potential problems
posed by the prospect of climate change. In the West African
Sahel, for example, a decades-long downward decline and year-to-year
variations in rainfall produced years of extreme drought
in the 1970s and 80s, contributing to years of famine. Learn
about climate variability in Africa and the ways in which
people are affected.
Rockland County Rainfall and Drought
An
analysis of the historical rainfall record reveals that drought
emergencies in Rockland County relate as much to increasing
population, and demand
for water, as they do to deficient rainfall. Drought conditions
comparable to those of 1995, 1999 and 2001 can be expected
at intervals of three to five years.
Big Climate Change Stories
Told on the Microscopic Level
From cosmic
spherules to tree rings to microplankton, investigations
of small samples with LDEO 's scanning electron microscope
(SEM) and its attached energy-dispersive X-ray microanalyzer
(EDX) can reveal the effects of major climate events in
the tiniest of dimensions. To see these instruments in
action, visit the SEM/EDX Facility in Room 4 of the Marine
Biology building
TENT #9 / INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
FOR CLIMATE PREDICTION (Climate Change)
(in front of Monell)
As a component of the Columbia Earth
Institute, the International Research
Institute for Climate Prediction (IRI) works to enhance society's
capability to understand, anticipate, and manage the impacts
of seasonal
climate fluctuations. The IRI produces seasonal climate forecasts
for the
globe and actively works to advance the science of seasonal
climate
prediction. In the IRI tent you will be able to explore an
online
demonstration of how forecasters are now attempting to "downscale"
seasonal climate predictions to produce more useful and localized
forecast
information. Remember our water troubles last summer? Hear
why Rockland County is increasingly affected by droughts.
See the latest seasonal climate forecasts produced by the
IRI and learn how they are made. And learn how a better understanding
of climate information can benefit
development in Africa.
Presentations under the tent include:
| 10:00 a.m.: |
Climate Trends, and Predicting
Next Season's Climate, by Tony Barnston (International
Research Institute for Climate Prediction) |
 |
| 11:00 a.m.: |
Interactive Internet Training
Courses: Demonstration of a
Pilot Module on Seasonal Climate Prediction for Regional
Scales, by Ryan
Kelsey (Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning)
and Neil Ward (International Research Institute for Climate
Prediction) |
|
| 12:00 p.m.: |
Climate/Science Information
for Development: A Tool for the
Proper and Efficient Implementation of Regional Development
Programs in
Africa, by Mohammed Boulahya (Visiting Scientist,
International Research
Institute for Climate Prediction) |
|
| 1:00 p.m.: |
Dry Times in Rockland County:
The Increasing Impacts of Local Droughts, by Brad
Lyon (International Research Institute for Climate
Prediction) |
|
| 2:00 p.m.: |
Interactive Internet Training
Courses: Demonstration of a Pilot
Module on Seasonal Climate Prediction for Regional Scales, by Ryan Kelsey (Columbia Center for New Media Teaching
and Learning) and Neil Ward (International Research Institute
for Climate Prediction) |
|
| 3:00 p.m.: |
Drought in the African Sahel:
How Can Climate Science
Contribute to the Development Debate?, by Alessandra
Giannini
(International Research Institute for Climate Prediction) |
TENT #10 / MARINE AFFAIRS
(near Tree Ring
Lab)
An exhibit honoring the 50th Anniversary of ocean exploration by LDEO. On display are models of LDEO's
early research vessels Vema and Conrad, as well as The Ewing,
the current oceanographic research vessel, named for the
first director, Dr. Maurice Ewing (1906-1974).
TENT #11 / DEES/ EDUCATION (High School Students'
Exhibits)
(next to Tree Ring Lab)
DEES
Talk to
representatives from the Department of Earth and Environmental
Sciences to learn about pursuing a degree or an internship
program in the Earth sciences at Columbia University. High
school students who would like some advice about how to take
best advantage of Open House should come here.
Undergraduate Admissions
Talk
to representatives from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions
of Columbia University to learn about majoring in the sciences
a Columbia. Presentations will be held in Monell Auditorium
at 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m, for interested students and their
families. Columbia undergraduates who are majoring in the
sciences and/or have interned in the earth sciences will
be on hand before and after these two lectures to discuss
their work and answer questions. Students interested in majoring
in the earth sciences should attend.
For more information on undergraduate
admissions http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/events/
E3B/CERC
Speak
with representatives of the Department of Ecology, Environment
and Evolutionary Biology (E3B) and the Center for Environmental
Research and Conservation (CERC) about the environmental
biology major, the CERC undergraduate internship program,
and their Summer Ecosystem program for undergraduates in
Brazil and the Dominican Republic.
Earth2Class
Earth2Class
offers a series of training workshops for middle school and
high school science teachers. Find out about current scientific
research and how best to bring this knowledge to the classroom.
TENT #12 / BATHTUB SCIENCE
- (Children's Activity)
(in front of Tree Ring Lab)
A demonstration of the sometimes-hard,
sometimes-soft surface of our planet.
TENT #13 / BOREHOLE RESEARCH GROUP
Marine
Geology and Geophysics Division
(in front of Borehole)
Discover what down-hole logging is
and how it helps to unlock the mysteries of our planet, from
the ground directly under your feet to the crust deep below
the ocean.
TENT #14 / DINOSAURS - (Children's Activity)
Biology and Paleoenvironment
Division
(Northeast of Borehole)
Dinosaurs once ruled the very ground
that LDEO occupies today. Examine the beginning of the age
of dinosaurs in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania through
the research of an LDEO paleobiologist. Visitors will see
local fossils from 200 million years ago, including those
of dinosaurs and their contemporaries, and exhibits describing
the unique geological setting and history of our region.
TENT #15 / WHERE ARE WE? - (Children's Activity)
Marine
Geology and Geophysics Division
(near apple orchard)
This interactive software helps elementary-school
aged children learn to read maps.
Spatial Skills/Map Skills Challenge
Pretend
you are a field geologist by visiting simulated rock outcrops
to figure out the shape of a buried geological structure.
TENT #16/ LAMONT CHILD DEVELOPMENT
CENTER - (Children's Activity)
(across from Lamont Hall)
Fun and games for children of all
ages: face-painting, Play-Doh, bubbles, hoops and more!
Earth Systems Science Lectures
| Monell
Auditorium |
10:30 a.m. -
11:30 a.m. |
Columbia University Undergraduate
Admissions Information Session (High School Students'
Activity) |
|
11:45 a.m. -
12:15 p.m. |
Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Director,
The Earth Institute at Columbia University
"Breaking the Vicious Circle of Poverty and
Environmental Degradation" |
|
12:30 p.m. -
1:00 p.m. |
Dr. Klaus Jacob, Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory
"Building Disaster-Resilient
Cities: A Global Issue". |
|
1:15 p.m. -
1:45 p.m. |
Drs. Jim Hansen and Pedro Sanchez,
IRI and Tropical Agriculture
"Coping with Climate in Poor
Countries of the Tropics: Managing Risk and Preparing
for Change" |
|
2:00 p.m. -
3:00 p.m. |
Columbia University Undergraduate Admissions Information
Session (High School Students' Activity) |
Columbia
students will be available before and after the undergraduate
admissions lectures to talk about their work and answer questions.
BUILDING EXHIBITS and LECTURES In
addition to the tent exhibits and science lectures, there
are exhibits, lectures and presentations at various buildings across the campus. Here is a sampling.
Core Lab Building
The Ocean Drilling Program's East Coast Repository
Marine
Geology and Geophysics Division
The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) is an international partnership
of scientists and research institutions organized to explore
the evolution and structure of the Ocean floor. Over the past
19 years ODP's drillship, the JOIDES RESOLUTION (JR), has collected
over 221 kilometers (137 miles!) of sediment and rock cores
drilled from 651 sites throughout the world's Oceans. From
1968 to 1983 the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) operated
the drillship, GLOMAR CHALLENGER (the predecessor to the JR),
and collected over 97 kilometers (60 miles!) of cores from
624 sites. Scientists study these cores to learn about different
aspects of Earth's history, with topics ranging from Plate
Tectonics, to Climate Change, to Mass Extinctions, and much
more. The East Coast Repository, located at LDEO houses over
75 kilometers (47 miles!) of cores collected by both ODP and
DSDP from the Atlantic and Southern Oceans and the Black, Caribbean,
and Mediterranean Seas.
Geochemistry Building, Room 6
Tour
LDEO's Clean lab, where trace elements are separated from
rock samples under ultra-clean conditions, and the Mass Spectrometer
Laboratory, where isotope ratios are measured on samples
as small as a billionth of a gram. LDEO staff will demonstrate
the uses of mass spectrometry in the Earth sciences to determine
ages of samples, to trace geological processes, and to investigate
the history of our planet. (Group size is limited)
Geoscience Building, Room 204
Center for International Earth Science Information
Network - CIESIN
CIESIN, part of The Earth Institute at Columbia University,
is actively engaged in a number of research areas that address
the impacts of human activities and institutional arrangements
on the environment, and in turn, the ways in which environmental
change affects human health and welfare. Visitors can use our
Web-based mapping tools to examine the Environmental Sustainability
Index, a measure of the progress of countries toward achieving
sustainability, and a tool for exploring the status of global
wetland sites. View our Gridded Population of the World (GPW)
map to see how crowded our location is compared to the rest
of the world. (Group size is limited.)
Marine Biology Building, Room 4
Scanning Electron Microscopy
See demonstrations of LDEO's scanning electron microscope and
x-ray micro analyzer, including samples of microfossils. Visitors
will be able to see instant, highly magnified images displayed
on a computer monitor.
Room 1A
Exhibit
on aquatic life by O. Roger Anderson and Mary Gastrich.
Monell Building Lobby - (High School Student's Activity)
Talk
to Columbia undergraduate students who are majoring in the
sciences.
Oceanography Building, Room 104
A
series of lectures will introduce you to the current research
of scientists of the Ocean and Climate Physics division:
| 11:30 a.m. |
"The Ozone hole over
Antarctica," by Nili Harnik |
|
| 1:00 p.m. |
"Do we care about the
Indonesian throughflow?," by Dwi
Susanto |
|
| 2:00 p.m. |
"Adrift in the Arctic" by
Bruno Tremblay. |
Room 105
Three short movies, recorded on a recent research cruise to Antarctica will be shown. Get impressions of the landscape, work on board of the ship, and the amazing ice. Research the climate with interactive computer activities. (Group size is limited.)
Room 109
Lectures and demonstrations by scientists from the Marine
Geology and Geophysics division:
| 11:00 a.m. |
"How elevation of Mid-Ocean
Ridges indicates the way the Earth’s interior
works: Observations, numerical experiments and an analog
demonstration ," by
Roger Buck |
|
| 1:00 p.m. |
"Catastrophic Effects
of Large Impacts," by Dallas Abbott |
Seismology Building, Seismology Seminar Room, 2nd floor
Lectures and demonstrations by scientists from the Seismology,
Geology and Tectonophysics division:
| 11:00 a.m. |
"Earthquakes
in the Stable Continental Regions: Earthquakes around New
York City and Eastern North America'' by
Won-Young Kim. |
|
| 1:00 p.m. |
"Remote Sensing of Natural
Hazards" by Kristina R. Czuchlewski |
|
| 2:30 p.m. |
"Advances in Seismic
Event Location and Earthquake Wave Animation Demos" by
David Schaff. |
Room 201
Lamont-Doherty Cooperative Seismographic Network
See a demonstration of the modern, real-time seismographic
network for the East coast. A computer display will show real-time
seismic signals coming in from around the world. Learn about
earthquakes in the Northeastern U.S. and view the LCSN web
page (http://www.LDEO.columbia.edu/LCSN)
for images of recent earthquake activity. (Group size is limited.)
Room 214 -- (Children's Activity)
Rock Touching Room
Touch and examine rocks and minerals from around the world.
Kids love them.
Tree Ring Laboratory -- (Children's Activity)
Biology
and Paleoenvironment Division
Dendrochronology is the science of analyzing annual growth
rings of old trees to learn about past environmental changes.
Each ring is like a chapter in a history book that records
what trees have experienced in their lifetimes. There are
many applications of tree-ring analysis that assist scientists
in myriad disciplines, including climatology (e.g., El Niño,
droughts, and global warming), earthquake history, archaeology,
forestry, fire, history, art history, and even in a court
of law. View tree core collections from around the world
and discover the many ways in which tree ring scientists
gather, interpret and use tree ring information to unfold
history.
Torrey Cliff Plant Physiological
Ecology Greenhouse Laboratory
Biology and Paeloenvironment Division
Open to the public for the first time, the Research Greenhouse
has been refurbished with a generous grant from a private foundation.
Wildlife Trust
(The Nafe House)
Visit the New York headquarters of this conservation science
organization working to conserve threatened wild species and
their habitats in partnership with scientists and educators
worldwide. Discuss with Trust scientists the "New York Bioscape
Initiative," which works to conserve species and habitats in
the New York City metropolitan region.
Underwritten in part by a generous grant
from Sun Microsystems.
Last Updated 9/23/2003 |
