Illustration: Jayne Doucette
Researchers examine samples of air, water, biological remains, rocks and even meteorites in order to address a broad range of scientific issues from determining the chemical composition of pollutant emitted by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, to uncovering clues about past climate changes locked in the Earth’s glaciers and sea floors, to identifying the fundamental chemical and physical processes involved in the formation of the planet’s mantle and core.
Illustration: W. Broecker
Photo: Carlos Rene Perez
Lamont-Doherty’s geochemists also contribute to our understanding of socio-economic issues related to the environment, from the causes and remediation of arsenic in the groundwater in Bangladesh to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
By studying the Earth's chemical processes geochemists at Lamont-Doherty work to unlock the secrets of our planet's formation and future. The type and composition of rocks and gases that erupt from mid-ocean ridges and island arcs or volcanic islands (above) help scientists piece together a picture of how the Earth formed and how it continues to change.
Samples of sea floor sediment and water from the Earth's oceans have helped form a picture of they way surface processes such as the "great ocean conveyor belt" (right), which distributes heat around the world, govern our climate. Closer to home, Lamont-Doherty geochemists (left) also study the movement and mixing of water and sediment in the Hudson River.
