small | Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Dr. Christopher Small

Doherty Senior Research Scientist

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Marine Geology and Geophysics

Lecturer

Earth and Environmental Sciences

108 Oceanography

61 Route 9W - PO Box 1000

Palisades

10964-8000

Phone:

(845) 365-8354

small@ldeo.columbia.edu

View Website

Fields of interest:

Marine Geophysics; Remote Sensing; Population and Environment.

Prior to 1992, the surfaces of Venus and Mars had been mapped in greater detail than the surface of Earth. Recent advances in remote sensing now provide us with detailed maps of seafloor structure and synoptic views of Earth's land surface. Remotely sensed observations also allow us to quantify the spatial and temporal dynamics of the Earth system. Quantifying these dynamics is the first step toward understanding them. Geophysics provides powerful tools and concepts that can be used to quantify and understand the dynamics of Earth's high dimensional systems. My research interests focus on the application of geophysics, remote sensing and high dimensional analysis to the study of the Earth system. Remotely sensed observations provide a necessary synoptic complement to field measurements. Similarly, field validation is necessary to calibrate remotely sensed measurements. Field validation also provides justification for world travel.

Since coming to Columbia in 1993, My interest in the Earth system has expanded to include its biospheric components. Recognition that the tools and concepts of geophysics can be applied to a wider range of questions has resulted in a number of cross-disciplinary collaborations ranging from tropical deforestation monitoring to urban growth mapping. My current research interests center on the use of satellite remote sensing to quantify changes in Earth's surface and the causes and consequences of these changes. These interests have recently taken me to the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the North Fiji Basin and Hebrides Trench, the Galapagos Archipelago, the Belize River Basin and the Peruvian Andes.

Some of my projects include:

Marine Geophysics: Effects of spreading center migration on ocean basin structure and evolution. ( details )
Remote Sensing: Quantifying spatial and temporal dynamics of land surface properties via application of geophysical inverse theory to optical broadband imagery. ( details )
Spatial Analysis: Multidimensional coanalysis of continental physiography, climate, and global population distribution. ( details )

Education

List of degrees from highest to lowest:

Ph.D

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego

1993

M.A.

University of Texas at Austin

1989

B.S.

University of Texas at Austin

1985

Honors & Awards:

Palisades Geophysical Institute - Doherty Foundation Young Scientist Position 1998

UCAR Climate and Global Change Research Fellowship 1997

Outstanding Student Paper, American Geophysical Union 1993

Educational Activities:

W4050 Global Assessment and Monitoring Using Remote Sensing

W4051 Advanced Remote Sensing

Lamont Projects:

ADGRAV

LDEO Remote Sensing Image Analysis Laboratory

Featured in the Following Videos:

Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Impacts

Selected Publications:

Continental physiography, climate, and the global distribution of human population, Small, C.; Cohen, J. E. , Current Anthropology, Apr, Volume 45, Issue 2, p.269-277, (2004)

The landsat ETM plus spectral mixing space, Small, C. , Remote Sensing of Environment, Oct 30, Volume 93, Issue 1-2, p.1-17, (2004), DOI 10.1016/j.rse.2004.06.007

High spatial resolution spectral mixture analysis of urban reflectance, Small, C. , Remote Sensing of Environment, Nov 30, Volume 88, Issue 1-2, p.170-186, (2003), DOI 10.1016/j.rse.2003.04.008

Plate-kinematic explanation for mid-oceanic-ridge depth discontinuities, Small, C.; Danyushevsky, L. V. , Geology, May, Volume 31, Issue 5, p.399-402, (2003)

Holocene volcanism and the global distribution of human population, Small, C.; Naumann, T. , Environmental Hazards, Volume 3, p.93-109, (2001)