Earth’s climate was much in the news this week. On Tuesday, the White House released President Obama’s plan to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent within the next decade (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/01/us/obama-to-offer-major-blueprint-on-c...). On Wednesday, the governor of California imposed the state’s first-ever mandatory reductions in water use in response to the region’s four-year drought and a winter of record-low snowfalls in the Sierra Nevada (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/02/us/california-imposes-first-ever-water...).
A number of our graduate students received better news this week from NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Olivia Clifton, Ethan Coffel, Ruth Oliver, Madeleine Pascolini-Campbell, Frank Pavia, and Elizabeth Shoenfelt were awarded fellowships for the coming year, and Laura Haynes, Kira Olsen, and Daniel Sousa received Honorable Mention (https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do?method=loadAwardeeList). Moreover, Asmi Napitu received a Faculty for the Future 2015-2016 Award from the Schlumberger Foundation. To all, congratulations!
Other news stories this week featured work or commentary by Lamont scientists. Hugh Ducklow and Doug Martinson were quoted in an article Monday in VICE News on record warm temperatures in Antarctica (https://news.vice.com/article/it-was-warmer-in-antarctica-than-in-new-yo...). An Inside Climate News story on Tuesday describes the work of Steve Chillrud and Beizhan Yan documenting air and water quality prior to the start of hydrofracking operations in two counties in northern Pennsylvania to establish a baseline against which to compare future measurements (http://insideclimatenews.org/news/31032015/fracking-begins-air-and-water...).
Lamont’s web site can now boast of four active blogs, written from two continents and two parts of the global ocean. Mike Steckler writes of his work on the interplay of earthquakes, sea-level rise, floods, and changes in the course of rivers in Bangladesh (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/research/blogs/geohazards-bangladesh). Donna Shillington describes the fieldwork that she, Jim Gaherty, Conny Class, and their colleagues are conducting to understand rifting and magmatism in the Lake Malawi region (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/research/blogs/malawi-earthquakes-assessing...). From the R/V Palmer en route to East Antarctica, Frank Nitsche writes of changes from the planned ship course to avoid two large storms (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/research/blogs/melting-glaciers-tracking-th...). And Kyle Frischkorn continues to post updates from his marine microbiological studies from the R/V L’Atalante (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/research/blogs/wide-ocean-tiny-creatures).
On Wednesday, the Geochemistry Division welcomed new Postdoctoral Research Scientist Iris Möbius. Iris recently completed her Ph.D. at the University of Frankfurt, under the supervision of Oliver Friedrich. Her thesis was a study of ecological changes across the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum, a period 40 million years ago of intense warming and carbonate dissolution at the seafloor, indicating ocean acidification and elevated atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. At Lamont Iris will work primarily with Bärbel Hönisch.
Also on Wednesday, Lamont hosted a meeting to discuss opportunities for expanded collaboration between the Observatory, other Earth Institute units, and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). Participating from SUNY were ESF President Quentin Wheeler, Associate Provost Valerie Luzadis, and Maureen Fellows, ESF’s Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Government Relations. The Earth Institute was represented by Steve Cohen, Alison Miller, and EI Management Advisory Board members Bill Eimicke and Steve Aiello. Rosanne D’Arrigo, Kathy Callahan, and Kim Schermerhorn joined me at the discussions. We shared information on current and planned facilities and strategic directions, and we agreed next to explore specific areas of ongoing and potential scientific collaboration between faculty members and students at the two institutions.
This morning, the campus hosted a visit by the internal Columbia University committee that is reviewing the Earth Institute. Chaired by Mike Purdy, the committee includes Shih-Fu Chang (Richard Decker Professor of Electrical Engineering and Senior Vice Dean in the School of Engineering and Applied Science), Robert Jervis (Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics), Andrew Millis (Professor of Physics), and Lisa Metsch (Stephen Smith Professor and Chair, Department of Sociomedical Sciences). The committee had a wide-ranging discussion with a sampling of scientists from the four EI units on this campus. Joining me were Roger Buck, Kathy Callahan, Mark Cane, Peter deMenocal, Hugh Ducklow, Nick Frearson, Dave Goldberg, Steve Goldstein, Kevin Griffin, Peter Kelemen, Kerstin Lehnert, Mo Raymo, Peter Schlosser, and Richard Seager; Bob Chen, Alex de Sherbinin, and Marc Levy from CIESIN; Lisa Goddard and Andy Robertson from IRI; and Pedro Sanchez from the Agriculture and Food Security Center.
Two campus events next week are worthy of particular mention. On Wednesday, the Lamont Postdoctoral Symposium will be held in the Comer Seminar Room beginning at 10 am. Twenty-two oral presentations and 14 poster presentations on the research led by our postdoctoral scientists will fill much of the day. The oral presentations will be grouped by research division, and the poster presentations will be given during coffee and dessert in an afternoon session at 3 pm. Those wishing to attend should RSVP to Kuheli Dutt (kdutt@ldeo.columbia.edu).
On Friday next week, a workshop on “Talking to Media and Policy Makers” will be held for interested staff members. The workshop, also to be given in the Comer Seminar Room from 10 am to 2:45 pm, will be taught by staff from COMPASS, an organization that trains scientists to “effectively engage in public discussions and decision-making processes about the environment” (http://www.compassonline.org/). An RSVP to Kevin Krajick (kkrajick@ei.columbia.edu) is required. Forty have signed up so far, but there is room for additional participants. A complimentary lunch will be served.
This afternoon, the Earth Science Colloquium will be given by terrestrial ecologist Scott Goetz, Deputy Director and Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center (http://www.whrc.org/about/cvs/sgoetz.html). Scott will be speaking on “Rapid change in the Arctic and the tropics: Vulnerabilities and opportunities.” Whether you’re feeling vulnerable or opportunistic, or you’re simply following the rapid change in our own environment this season, I hope to see you at the lecture.
Sean