Projects & Inititatives

Monitoring Indonesian ThroughFlow (MITF)
Long term monitoring of the Indonesian ThrouFlow (ITF):
Fire, Climate, and Forest History in Mongolia
Increased wildfires are predicted to accompany ongoing climate change. Yet, little evidence exists supporting this hypothesis.
Global Decadal Hydroclimate Predictability, Variability and Change
GloDecH is a research program funded by the NOAA Climate Variability and Predictability Program and conducted at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. The research program involves a la
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Structure and Evolution of the Oceanic Lithosphere / Asthenosphere System
What is a plate? We undertake a comprehensive analysis designed to significantly advance our understanding of the structure and evolution of oceanic plates.
Alaska/Aleutian megathrust project
Our project will focus on the subduction zone off southern Alaska, which produces large and destructive earthquakes.
Northern hemisphere winter snow anomalies: ENSO, NAO and the winter of 2009/10
Writing in July 2010 when the eastern U.S. has been having one heat wave after another, it is easy to forget the winter just past, but winter 2009/10 was one of record snow in much of the mid-Atlantic region and very cold conditions across eastern North America. There was also widespread cold and snow in northwestern Europe. At the time, as record snowfall hit Washington D.C., this was a big deal much exploited by climate deniers and others to ridicule global warming and climate science.
The Exotic Seas of Southeast Asia
The ocean, unlike the globally enveloping atmosphere is segmented into seas, interconnected with passages of varied dimensions.
Earth & Environmental Science Journalism
Columbia University offers a dual master's degree program in Earth & Environmental Science Journalism.
Understanding and Improving How People Use Maps
In collaboration with colleagues at Teachers College, Lamont scientists developed the Where Are We? software and associated curriculum materials to help elementary school childre
Geoscience Data Puzzles
We think that learning from data is an inherently rewarding activity, and a habit of mind that is ke
Synthesis of Research on Thinking and Learning in the Geosciences
This project will synthesize existing knowledge and articulate unanswered questions in critical areas of research on cognition and learning relevant to the Geosciences.
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How do students and geologists combine observations from scattered rock outcrops to form a 3-dimensional mental model
Two questions about learning that are central to, and characteristic of, geoscience education are: 1)How do people learn by direct observation of Nature in the field?
TAMAM : Turkish-American MArmara Multichannel
A project using multichannel seismic reflection data collected on research cruises in the Marmara Sea to study the earthquake hazard and basin growth along a continental transform fault, the North
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icePod: Development of an Ice Imaging System for Monitoring Changing Ice Sheets Mounted on the NYANG LC-130
This project will develop an integrated ice imaging system capable of measuring in detail both the ice surface and the ice bed. TheicePod system will be installed and operated on New York Air National Guard LC-130 aircraft during routine and targeted missions across Antarctica and Greenland as a shared community research facility providing data to scientists and educators globally. The fundamental data sets produced by the icePod system are necessary to support the development of accurate ice sheet models to predict sea level rise. The icePod system will consist of a suite of imaging sensors mounted in an external pod carried on New York Air National Guard LC-130’s to map the surface and subsurface ice topography of ice sheets, ice streams and outlet glaciers.
Antarctic Voyage Blog: Uncovering Abrupt Climate Change
Global warming is abruptly redrawing parts of Antarctica’s coastline, as ice shelves collapse into the sea.
Planning Land Use with Students (P.L.U.S.)
Students often wonder how local planning issues can be of concern to them. They don't own property, they don't pay property taxes, most don't yet vote...isn't this someone elses issue? The truth is this issue is very much connected to young people. The P.L.U.S. program is designed to show students why, and how to take advantage of this connection to offer their input. Students work in teams with students from other schools in their community to examine important land planning questions.
Carbon Sequestration GPG Group
Mineral carbonation in peridotite for CO2 capture and storage (CCS).
Haiti Offshore : A Rapid Response Expedition
A multidisciplinary team of scientists undertook a 20-day research cruise on the Research Vessel Endeavor to map the effects of the Haitian earthquake offshore.
Tertiary Magmatism in East Greenland and Hotspot Magmatism Worldwide
Layered intrusions in East Greenland, mostly close to the contact between PreCambrian gneisses and Tertiary flood basalts, are commonly several million years younger than the flood basalts.
Air Pollution and Exposure Assessment
Exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) has been shown to consistently correlate with pulmonary and cardiovascular disease.
Arctic Observing Network: Switchyard Region
The proposed research will document the circulation, variability, and driving mechanisms of the upper ocean in the “freshwater switchyard of the Arctic Ocean.” This unexplored reg
The Gulf Stream European Climate Myth
The Gulf Stream-European climate myth
A Day in the Life of the Hudson River: Snapshot Day
In this annual fall event school groups all along the Hudson River estuary go down to the river's edge to collect scientific information and share it to creat
A Comparative Study of Results From Different Earthquake Location Procedures In California
Earthquake location using cross correlation derived relative arrival time measurements can lead to substantially reduced location errors and a view of fault-zone processes with unprecedented detail
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ICE Bridge
The Ice Sheets at both poles are changing - shrinking at increasing rates - rates that are faster than was ever expected by scientists.
Turkish-American MArmara Multichannel (TAMAM)
This project is a collaboration between several US and Turkish research institutes to study the tectonics of the Marmara Sea.
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Hurricane Katrina deceased victims
Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans on August 29, 2005, but still today we do not know the true death toll. Just how many people lost their lives as a result of that tragic event?
Bamboo Bike Project
The Bamboo Bike Project is a project by Scientists and Engineers at The Earth Institute at Columbia University, a
Hudson River Monthly CTD Surveys
A monitoring program was initiated in 2001 to monitor the Hudson River's basic state variables of salinity, temperature and density along transects from New York Harbor to Troy.
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3D MCS investigation of the East Pacific Rise 9° 50’N
In summer 2008 we conducted the first multi-streamer Multi-Channel Seismic program of Lamont’s new national marine seismic facility, the R/V Langseth.
AGAP: Exploring the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains in Antarctica during the International Polar Year
Scientists from several nations are working together to launch a flagship program to explore a major mountain range buried by a large continental ice sheet and bounded by numerous subglacial lakes.
Newark Rift Basin Coring Project
Wireline logs were acquired at seven sites in the Newark Rift basin using dipmeter, gamma ray, resistivity, ve
GAMBIT: Gamburtsev Aerogeophysical Mapping of Bedrock and Ice Targets
Using geophysical instruments, GAMBIT will peal back more than 600 meters of ice to explore the last hidden mountain range on Earth.
Ocean Bottom Seismology
Our Ocean Bottom Seismology (OBS) Laboratory develops and operates cutting-edge instrumentation for measuring deformation of the ocean floor in a variety of experimental settings. One of our
MGDS: Virtual Ocean - A Visualization Application for Ocean Data
Virtual Ocean integrates the GeoMapApp tool suite and the NASA World Wind 3-D
Calibration of R/V Langseth Seismic Sources
This projects aims to calibrate the seismic sources to be used by the R/V Marcus Langseth to better understand and quantify the safety radii that should be used for permitting purposes when conduct
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Analysis of 9°50'N East Pacific Rise Seismicity: Insight into Hydrothermal and Magmatic Processes
This project is the continued analysis of seismic data collected on a 4x4 km array of ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) deployed at the Ridge 2000 Integrated Study Site at 9°50'N on the East Pacific Ri
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Ocean Carbon Cycle Research
How much CO2 from human activity enters the ocean?
Multidisciplinary Observations of Onshore Subduction (MOOS)
The MOOS experiment seeks to understand the structure and dynamics of subduction in the region of the 1964 Alaska earthquake, one of the three largest recorded (Mw 9.2), where terrane collision is
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Abrupt Tropical Responses to Gradual Insolation Forcing
A detailed (ca. 100 yr resolution) and well-dated (31 AMS 14C dates to 24 cal.
Secondary School Field Research Program (SSFRP)
Lamont Doherty's Secondary School Field Research Program engages High School teachers and students as science interns, working with Lamont scientists. We operate a 6-week full-time summer int
LACOP: Lamont Atmospheric Carbon Observation Project
LACOP measures levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at several observation sites.
Earth 2 Class
Earth2Class (Earth to Class/E2C) is a unique professional development program created jointly by classroom teachers, research scientists, a
Southern Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment
A US-led program to use process studies to improve quantification of air-sea CO2 fluxes and the gas transfer velocity was initiated in 1998. So far, two large-scale studies have been conducte
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Paleo Dust
Dust influences climate by altering the radiation budget of the atmosphere, and influences marine biogeochemistry by providing a source of essential micronutrients such as iron.
Strip of Destruction
We mapped the surface trace of the fault rupture for about 5 km on the west bank of the Khunar River, through Balakot and into the Sarash Valley where it apparently ends.
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Testing the Extensional Detachment Paradigm: Scientific Drilling in the Sevier Desert Basin
Testing the Extensional Detachment Paradigm: Scientific Drilling in the Sevier Desert Basin (Basin and Range Province, Western United States)
SCOOBA
Deployment of a wide-band OBS in the Gulf of California from the R/V New Horizon in Oct 2005. Seismometer is housed in the green sphere, while recording, power, and communications devices are
Global CMT
During the summer of 2006, the main activities of the research project known as the Harvard Centroid-Moment-Tensor (CMT) Project moved with Principal Investigator Göran Ekström from Harv
CANOE
We propose a passive broad-band seismic experiment in northwestern Canada, a setting in which fundamental questions regarding the structure and dynamics of the mantle's upper and lower boundary lay
Tree Ring Research Laboratory
Tree-Ring Lab (TRL) scientists are dedicated to expanding the use and application of tree-ring research around the world to improve our understanding of past climate and environmental history. Current research concentrates on the use of tree-ring data networks to study regional climate, global climate teleconnections and anthropogenic impacts on forest growth.
Exploring new species in new regions, building collaborations around the world, and developing new quantitative techniques, TRL researchers are committed to advancing dendrochronology and paleoclimatology, as well as the ethic of good science
Polar Climate Group
Research and analysis of the Polar Regions and their impact on global climate.
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Seismic Reflection Field Data Center
Access to marine seismic reflection images, navigation, acquisition parameters and field data.
SedDB - Data Collection for Marine Sediment Geochemistry
SedDB complements current geological data systems (PetDB, EarthChem, NavDat and GEOROC) with an integrated compilation of geochemistry of marine
SCICEX
SCICEX was a 5 year program (1995-1999) in which the Navy has made available a Sturgeon-class, nuclear powered, attack submarine for unclassified science cruises to the Arctic Ocean.
SCAMP (Seafloor Characterization And Mapping Pods)
Welcome to the presense of the SCAMP component of the SCICEX program on the World Wide Web. An underway geophysical survey from nuclear submarines in the Arctic.
MGDS: Ridge 2000 Data Portal
Access cruise information and data collected during Ridge2000 funded projects.
Ridge Multibeam Bathymetry Synthesis
Mutibeam Bathymetry data from the global Mid-Ocean Ridge with access to related data.
Quantitative Basin Analysis
Methodology for simulating basin stratigraphy and structure.
PETRO
PETRO is the new oil and gas division of Lamont's corporate affiliates program.
PetDB
PetDB archives and serves analytical data for whole rocks, glasses, minerals, melt inclusions, with emphasis on basalts and abyssal peridotites.
ADGRAV
The U.S. National Science Foundation has agreed to support the development of a next-generation gravity map of Antarctica (ADGRAV - Antarctic Digital Gravity Synthesis).
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MGDS: MARGINS Data Portal
Continental margins are the Earth's principal loci for producing hydrocarbon and metal resources, for earthquake, landslide, volcanic and climatic hazards, and for the greatest population density.
LODOS
LODOS: Laboratory for Ocean Drilling, Observation, and Sampling. The purpose of LODOS is to expand and facilitate drilling-related science and education at Lamont.
Lean Energy
Lean Management for Oil and Gas in the Ultra Deep Gulf of Mexico.
LDEO Surface Processes Group
LDEO surface processes (geomorphology & remote sensing) group web server, in order to disseminate our work to the geomorphology and hydrology research communities and beyond.
Paleoecology Laboratory
Describes global research using vegetation shifts to reconstruct local and regional changes in the landscape due to climate and/or anthropogenic influence.
LDEO ENSO Forecasts
Monthly forecasts of tropical Pacific SST and wind anomalies.
Lamont Cooperative Seismographic Network (LCSN)
Lamont-Doherty Cooperative Seismographic Network (LCSN) monitors earthquakes which occur primarily in the Eastern United States.
Lake Vostok
Lake Vostok: A Curiosity or a Focus for Interdisciplinary Study? A workshop sponsored by U.S. National Science Foundation.
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Nuclear Test Ban Monitoring Research Site
Lamont-Doherty Nuclear Test Ban Monitoring Research.
North Atlantic Oscillation
Introduction to the North Atlantic Oscillation, the most significant climate phenomena in the northern hemisphere.
Jamaica Bay Physical and Biogeochemical Study
Integrated reconnaissance of the physical and biogeochemical characteristics of Jamaica Bay, New York.
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North American Drought Research at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Research led by Richard Seager describes a modeling and paleoclimate perspective on the causes of North American droughts.
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Hudson River Research
The Center for River and Estuaries is an association of scientists from Columbia University that study various aspects of rivers and estuaries world wide including the distribution of sediments, th
Torrey Plant Physiology Lab
The Ecophysiology group studies the physiological mechanisms underlying plant responses to environmental conditions and the influence these responses have on ecological pa
GEOTRACES
GEOTRACES is an international study of the global marine biogeochemical cycles of trace elements and their isotopes. Its mission is:
Fairbanks' Lab
Fairbanks' Lab is a list of Richard Fairbanks' Research Pages with Radiocarbon Calibration
Experimental Petrology
Interests, resumes, bibliographies and pdfs of recent papers for experimental petrology group
Environmental Tracer Group
Members of our group work on a variety of projects including studies of water movement in natural systems (ocean, groundwater), reconstruction of continental paleotemperature
EarthView Explorer
EarthView Explorer computer software was designed as supplemental material for teaching and learning in the Earth Sciences for students in grades 6-12.
New York City International Polar Weekend
Inter-division Event for International Polar Year.
How can you make glacier goo?
How can you make a snow shelter?
Look for fossils in your own yard!
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Lamont-Doherty Core Repository
The Lamont-Doherty Core Repository is both an archive of sediment (some terrestrial), rocks and coral from beneath the ocean floor, and an archive of the digital data pertaining to the material. They are used for research in climate, environment, many other studies, and for education.
Please click below to be taken directly to the Repository site.
CORC-ARCHES
CCORC - Consortium on the Ocean's Role in Climate
ARCHES - AbRupt climate CHangE Studies
Climate Kids Corner
Activities and Links for K-12 children interested in oceanography and the climate
MB-System
MB-System is an open source software package for the processing and display of bathymetry and backscatter imagery data derived f
MGDS: Marine Geoscience Data System
Unified data portal for the NSF Ridge 2000 program, MARGINS program, Marine Seismic Reflection data, Antarctic Multibeam Bathymetry Synthesis, and RIDGE Multibeam Bathymetry Synthesis; includes Geo
Center for Hazards and Risk Research.
The mission of the Columbia Center for Hazards and Risk Research is to advance the predictive science of natural and environmental hazards and the integration of science with hazard ri
CATSCAN
Project Website for CAT/SCAN: Calabria-Apennine-Tyrrhenian/Subduction-Collision-Accretion Network
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Carbon Dioxide Research Group
Sequestration of CO2 generated by power plants by injection into deep aquifers (geological sequestration) has been proposed as a possible alternative for the reduction of excessive green
Borehole Research Group
The Borehole Research Group (BRG) uses downhole geophysical measurements in a wide variety of scientific investigations including sea level variations, paleoceanography, flow of fluids through fractured rock
ANZFLUX
The Antarctic Zone Flux Experiment (ANZFLUX) was conducted aboard the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer in the Eastern Weddell Sea.
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Antarctic Sea Ice Forecast
Antarctic sea ice seasonal forecasts based on a linear Markov model are in high demand for both observational and climate communities. They are provided by Xiaojun Yuan and Dake Chen.
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Antarctic and Southern Ocean Data Portal
The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Data Portal provides access to geoscience data, primarily marine, from the Antarctic region.
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Southern Ocean Circulation and overturning
The ring of deep water around Antarctica not only links the major ocean [Atlantic/Pacific/Indian] , but also produces dense waters along the continental margins of the frozen continent, which sinks
African Climate and Human Evolution
Environmental hypotheses of African faunal evolution propose that major faunal speciation, extinction, and innovation events during the Pliocene-Pleistocene were mediated byLocation
Abrupt Climate Change
We all know that climate is either going to change, or is already doing so, as a result of human activities changing the atmosphere's composition and its land surface.
4D Technology
Our 4D seimic monitoring technique gives a volumetric 3D view of the drainage within each reservoir over time.




























































































