The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, is internationally renowned for its innovation and success in advancing scientific understanding of Earth, for its unique geological and climatological collections and state-of-the-art facilities, and for the outstanding achievements of its graduates.

Lamont-Doherty investigators study Earth on a global scale, from its deepest interior to the outer reaches of its atmosphere, on every continent and in every ocean. They decipher the long record of the past, monitor the present, and seek to foresee Earth's future.

From global climate change to earthquakes, volcanoes, nonrenewable resources, environmental hazards and beyond, the Observatory's fundamental challenge is to provide a scientific basis for the difficult choices faced by humankind in the stewardship of this dynamic planet.

Each spring, the Observatory hosts a series of public lectures on its Palisades, New York campus:

All Lectures begin at 3:00 pm
Light Reception to Follow
Admission is Free

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
61 Route 9W Palisades, New York
Monell Building Auditorium

April 4, 2004 " Earthquake Prediction in the Shadow of Chaos''
Dr. Bruce E. Shaw, Doherty Research Scientist
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Did you know New York City is ranked number four in terms of earthquake risk for U.S. states? Learn why this is so, and more generally about how earthquakes work. Learn also about new understandings of chaos theory in earthquakes, and how this suggests limits to some aspects of earthquake prediction.

April 18, 2004 "Revealing the Deep: Science and Engineering in Deep Ocean Exploration"
Dr. Daniel J. Fornari, Senior Scientist
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution  

Dr. Fornari, a Lamont-Doherty alumnus and Chief Scientist for Deep Submergence at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, will describe a broad spectrum of innovative engineering/science developments that are reshaping how we conduct research at the seafloor, and which have far-reaching implications for future seafloor observatories and the science they will be involved in. This talk is sponsored by the Lamont-Doherty Alumni Association  

May 2, 2004 "African Climate Changes and Human Evolution"
Dr. Peter Bedloe B. deMenocal, Associate Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences,
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Environmental theories of African evolution suggest that important evolutionary changes in African mammalian lineages over the last five million years were mediated by changes in African climate.  The deep-sea sediment record contains a rich history of these climate changes which, when linked to the fossil record of African faunal evolution (including the emergence of our own genus Homo ), allows us to test African climate-evolution ideas.

May 23, 2004 "The Air We Breathe: Air Pollution and New York City Subways"
Dr. Steven N. Chillrud, Doherty Research Scientist

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory   Learn how Lamont geochemists and Columbia University public health investigators used backpack air monitors to track down the source of potentially hazardous air pollutants to the New York City subway system, and how they are currently investigating the possible health impacts from elements in steel dust in the subways.