11/23/06

Scientists Lose Instruments, Gain First Look at Seafloor Formation

Ordinarily, losing almost all of one's instruments would be considered a severe setback to any scientist. But when Maya Tolstoy, a marine geophysicist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, a member of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, recently learned that two-thirds of the seismometers she placed on the floor of the Pacific Ocean were trapped more than 8,000 feet (2500 meters) underwater, it turned out to be an extremely good sign.

11/15/06

Lamont Scientists Develop New Technique to Study Long-Term Changes to the Earth's Surface

What’s in an isotope? Quite a lot, as it turns out. A new technique developed by researchers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory now allows scientists to use an isotope of manganese not abundant on Earth to understand the record of millions of years of changes to the Earth’s surface. According to the study's lead scientists, the new technique relies on measuring extremely small amounts of the nuclide that accumulates as cosmic rays strike exposed rock surfaces over long periods of time. This will allow scientists to track processes such as erosion and glaciation that shaped the landscape over millions of years.

10/28/06

Evidence Casts Doubt on Quake Risk of Some Continental Faults

For several decades, geologists have thought the western North American tectonic plate was riddled with a type of fault that permitted the continent to expand over the past several million years. However, a new study published in the November issues of The Journal of Geology challenges that assumption and suggests that these faults are actually the remains of massive, gravity-driven rock slides and not tectonically active features of the Earth's crust.

8/07/06

Cosmic Dust in Ice Cores Sheds Light on Earth's Past Climate

Each year nearly 40,000 tons of cosmic dust fall to Earth from outer space. Now, the first successful chronological study of extraterrestrial dust in Antarctic ice has shown that this amount has remained largely constant over the past 30,000 years, a finding that could help refine efforts to understand the timing and effects of changes in the Earth's past climate.

7/27/06

Columbia University Receives $16.9 Million Award from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to Study Origin and Health Effects of Arsenic in Ground Water

Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Center for International Earth Science Information Network announced that they have been awarded a five-year, $16.9 million grant renewal from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP). The grant will fund ongoing investigations into the health effects and geochemistry of arsenic and manganese exposure, particularly in groundwater of New England and South Asia.

6/28/06

Study Shows Lack of National Consensus on Teaching K-12 Students about Human-Environmental Impacts

The destruction caused by natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and human activities such as mountaintop removal mining are powerful examples of how the environment and society are tightly interwoven. But to what extent do, or should, state science curricula in the U.S. seek to investigate or influence the nature of this interaction? That is a question new research being published in a special issue of the Journal of Geoscience Education examines by looking at the degree to which the individual state science education standards encourage study of society and the environment as interrelated systems.

6/22/06

Making the Grade
Lamont-Doherty summer interns arrive to deepen their interest in earth and environmental sciences

Mikah McCabe wanted "some serious research experience" on global warming or climate change. Hagar ElBishlawi wanted to work in a program affiliated with The Earth Institute. Michael Silberman wanted to work at Lamont because the people there work on the "interesting and important problems."

6/8/06

New Study of Glacial Retreat Shows that Much of the World Emerged from Last Ice Age at Nearly the Same Time

The end of the recurring, 100,000-year glacial cycles is one of the most prominent and readily identifiable features in records of the Earth's recent climate history. Yet one of the most puzzling questions in climate science has been why different parts of the world, most notably Greenland, appear to have warmed at different times and at different rates after the end of the last Ice Age.

6/8/06

Oceanographer Dwi Susanto Provides a View from his Earthquake Stricken Hometown in Indonesia

Dwi Susanto is a senior staff associate and director of Indonesian research coordination at Lamont-Doherty who specializes in studying tropical ocean circulation. He was visiting Jakarta recently when an earthquake struck his home town on the island of Java. He contributed this report on conditions in Indonesia.

5/17/06

G. Michael Purdy Awarded 2006 Maurice Ewing Medal
Honor by the American Geophysical Union recognizes more than 30-year commitment as a researcher, administrator and innovator in the earth sciences

G. Michael Purdy, director of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, was recently named as the recipient of the 2006 Maurice Ewing Medal by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). According to the AGU, the award recognizes his "significant and original contributions to our understanding of oceanic crustal structure and as a developer of new geophysical instrumentation for use in the deep sea."

5/12/06

Water shortages in Northeast Linked to Human Activity
Recent water shortages in Rockland County, N.Y., reveal an increasing mismatch between water demand and supply following rapid growth in the Northeast during period of abnormally high precipitation

With the summer approaching, new research has shown that recent water emergencies in the Northeast have resulted from more than just dry weather. Instead, researchers from The Earth Institute at Columbia University found droughts had more direct, human causes. The result is a condition known as demand-driven drought that may catch more water managers and residents off-guard in coming years.

4/14/06

Could Reducing Global Dimming Mean a Hotter, Dryer World?

Despite concerns over global warming, scientists have discovered something that may have actually limited the impact of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere in recent years by reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the surface of the Earth.

3/23/06

Glacial Earthquakes Point to Rising Temperatures in Greenland
Rise of seismic activity linked to the movement of glaciers may be a response to global warming

Seismologists at Columbia University and Harvard University have found a new indicator that the Earth is warming: "glacial earthquakes" caused when the rivers of ice lurch unexpectedly and produce tremblors. Glacial earthquakes in Greenland, the researchers found, have more than doubled in number since 2002.

3/14/06

Study Offers Preview of Ice Sheet Melting, Rapid Climate Changes
Behavior of Scandinavian Ice Sheet at the end of the last Ice Age may preview loss of Greenland Ice Sheet due to global warming

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory today announced the formation of the Jerome M. Paros-Palisades Geophysical Institute Fund for Engineering Innovation in Geoscience Research. The fund, which was made possible by a $550,000 gift from Jerome M. Paros matching an earlier gift from the Palisades Geophysical Institute, will support the development of new technologies and the application of existing technologies to aid Lamont-Doherty researchers in their studies of the Earth.

12/31/06

Gifts to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Establish Fund for Engineering Innovation in Geoscience Research
Combined $1.1 million from Jerome M. Paros and the Palisades Geophysical Institute will support development of a new generation of engineers and instrumentation

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory today announced the formation of the Jerome M. Paros-Palisades Geophysical Institute Fund for Engineering Innovation in Geoscience Research. The fund, which was made possible by a $550,000 gift from Jerome M. Paros matching an earlier gift from the Palisades Geophysical Institute, will support the development of new technologies and the application of existing technologies to aid Lamont-Doherty researchers in their studies of the Earth.

12/25/06

Two New Lakes Found Beneath Antarctic Ice Sheet
Ancient water bodies may contain ecosystems adapted to life beneath more than two miles of ice

The Earth Institute at Columbia University—Lying beneath more than two miles of Antarctic ice, Lake Vostok may be the best-known and largest subglacial lake in the world, but it is not alone down there. Scientists have identified more than 145 other lakes trapped under the ice. Until now, however, none have approached Vostok’s size or depth.