Research at the Center
The Rivers and Estuaries Center, a part of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, conducts a wide range of research activities, many of which are focused on the Hudson River Estuary. The center brings together scientists from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Earth and Environmental Engineering, as well as colleagues from other area research institutions to study the physical environment of the Hudson River in order to better understand the fluxes and biogeochemical cycles, climate and environmental changes as well as human disturbances in river and estuary systems.
Fluxes and Biogeochemical Cycles
Rivers and estuaries link environmental processes throughout their watershed and the land to the open ocean. As a result, they play a critical role in global biogeochemical cycles. The center studies fundamental ecosystem processes in the water column and atmosphere, as well as their relationship to nutrient and biological cycling.
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Sediment Processes and Bottom Environments Studying sediment transport, distribution and river-bottom habitats using high-resolution acoustic methods and sediment sample analyses . |
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Currents, Mixing and Sediment Transport Monitoring currents at high resolution and frequency to understand turbulent mixing and suspended particle transport |
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Analyzing the relationships between aquatic vegetation and dissolved oxygen, including hypoxic or low-oxygen events |
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Transport, Mixing and Gas Exchange Quantitative assessments of advection, dispersion and gas exchange using gas tracer measurements to improve water flow and contaminant transport models |
Climate and Environmental Change
Rivers and estuaries are the focal of such rapid changes as those caused by storms, as well as slower changes such as global sea-level rise. The center conducts research across broad spatial and temporal scales to understand past as well as ongoing changes.
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Measuring and characterizing aerosol (tine particles in the air) concentrations using their optical properties and related sunlight absorption. |
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Oysters Beds and Climate History Relating the location and age of oyster beds to changes in local and global climate |
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Watershed Scale Environmental Change Studying the evolution of estuarine marshes to understand local environmental history |
Rivers and estuaries serve a wide range of economic and environmental functions, ranging from recreational and commercial fishing to transportation to sewage treatment to freshwater supply. The center studies coupled human/natural systems to improve understanding of human impacts on the natural ecosystem.
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Documenting and analyzing a century of persistent pollutants, radionuclides, heavy metals, PCBs, pesticides and dioxins |
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Understanding the impact of increased nutrients from human activities on microbial communities and the estuarine ecosystem |