Lamont Weekly Report, February 11, 2022

Hello Friends,  This is going to be a short missive, a reflection of the crazy number of zoom meetings I’ve had this week. I want to highlight that Friday was International Women in Science Day and hope you will take a moment to go through the 2022 flip book "Women In Science At LDEO, DEES, IRI, and CIESIN".  This beautifully designed flip book highlights the work of 122 women scientists affiliated with Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network.  From the UN Resolution declaring the day: “Despite some progress over the years, women and girls still face various and often compounding barriers and challenges to meaningfully engage in the fields of science at all levels, including education and research. According to the UNESCO Science Report, women only account for 33% of the world’s researchers. They still occupy fewer senior positions than men at top universities, and only 12% of the members of the national science academies are women. To date, women and girls have only won 23 of the 631 Nobel Prizes in science and are still a minority in science-related studies and fields.”

Please also enjoy this article by Renee Cho that was just published in State of the Planet on “Why Climate Science Needs More Women Scientists”.   Renee interviewed both Dean Ruth DeFries and myself for the article.  Another article I really enjoyed highlighted the work of Lamont Research Scientist Catalina Sanchez-Roa, an experimental geophysicist working to develop more effective ways to remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.  When you think about it, it is amazing to consider how much Columbia scientists have influenced the fields of carbon capture and storage—from the first demonstration of air capture (now commercialized), to the sequestering of carbon via water-rock reactions in the CarbFix project (now commercialized), to the many potentially ground-breaking experiments going on across the Lamont campus now (I’m looking at you Catalina!).  The impact our scientists have had, and will continue to have, in this critically important area of research for the future of our planet is truly something we can all be proud of.

Finally, many Lamont-centric events occurred across Columbia this week, too many to recount here.  However, the best news I have to report this week comes from the Ocean and Climate Physics Division. Please join me in congratulating graduate students Sam Bartusek and Sarah Smith who were both prize recipients from the American Meteorological Society for their presentations at the 2022 AMS Middle Atmosphere conference.  Sam won the prize for best student talk for his presentation on “Tropopause Folding and Tropospheric Ozone”.  Sarah won first place for outstanding oral presentation on "Satellite Observations of Aerosol Optical Depth in 4 Northern Hemisphere Source Regions during the COVID-19”.  Both Sam and Sarah are currently working on projects with Lamont Research Professors Mingfang Ting and Yutian Wu.  Nice! 

A very strong whiff of spring pervades the air and I wish you all a relaxing weekend as the days stretch longer.

Best, Mo

 

===================

 

LAMONT IN THE MEDIA: 

FEATURED NEWS

 

Daily Climate Damage Should Feel More Like a Disaster

Bloomberg News

February 10, 2022

Written with David Ho, a climate scientist at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.

 

Good News: Rocks Crack Under Pressure From Mineral CO2 Storage

Eos

February 10, 2022

“It is always going to be looking for a way to escape to an area where the pressure is lower,” explained Catalina Sanchez-Roa, an experimental geophysicist at Columbia University Climate School in New York City.

 

What Is the Last Area of Arctic Sea Ice (And Why Is It Important to the Future of the Planet)?

BBC Mundo

February 9, 2022

Article on research led by Lamont scientist Bob Newton.

 

Kilimanjaro’s ice fields didn’t disappear by 2020. That doesn’t mean climate change isn’t happening.

PolitiFact

February 7, 2022

"The trends in ice loss on Kilimanjaro are clear," said Jason Smerdon, a Columbia University professor who studies climate change. He encouraged people to look beyond the predicted time frame and acknowledge that the glaciers are ultimately disappearing as the paper indicated. 

 

BLOGS

 

Why Climate Science Needs More Women Scientists

By Renee Cho

February 11, 2022

“Women scientists continue to face unequal access to resources and opportunities in climate science. This lack of gender diversity is concerning, since women around the world will bear the brunt of climate change impacts.”

 

Celebrating the 2022 International Day of Women and Girls in Science

By Columbia Climate School

February 11, 2022

“This U.N.-designated day aims to accelerate gender equity and improve access to and participation in science for women and girls.”