New York

Centers, Projects & Initiatives

Hudson River Research

PI(s): 
Robin E. Bell

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

Website: 
Hudson River Research
 
 

News items

  • Rock Fall Shakes New Jersey Palisades
    May 16, 2012

    A 500-foot rock face came crashing down from the Palisades cliffs along the Hudson River in Alpine, N.J. on Saturday night, shaking the ground for more than half a minute and dumping a fresh layer of boulders over a 100-yard strip of parkland below State Line Lookout. The shaking was strong enough to be registered by a seismic station a mile and a half away, at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, but no one was injured.

  • Asthma Hot Spots Linked to Trucks, Low-Grade Heating Oil
    March 29, 2012

    According to a new study, neighborhood differences in rates of childhood asthma may be explained by local levels of soot produced by trucks and residential oil burners. The study, by public-health and air-pollution scientists at Columbia University, appears

    online in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.

  • New York State May Soon Suffer Outsize Effects from Climate, Says Report
    November 16, 2011

    In the first statewide climate change outlook for New York, scientists say that the state may suffer disproportionate effects in coming decades compared with other regions, due to its geography and geology. The report paints a harsh picture, including possible extreme temperature and sea-level rises, downpours, droughts and floods. The changes are projected to affect nearly every region and facet of the economy by the 2080s, from ski resorts and dairy farms to New York City’s subways, streets and businesses.

  • Sewage Still Plagues Hudson River
    August 11, 2011

    People are swimming in the Hudson again, and while clumps of sewage rarely float by anymore, the water is not reliably clean, says a report released this week from the environmental group Riverkeeper.

  • Study Sees Little Dust Risk for Subway Workers
    January 12, 2010

    New York subway commuters may worry more about rats and rising fares than dust floating through the system, but for the workers who spend their whole shift below ground, air quality has long been a concern. Results from a new pilot study using miniaturized air samplers to look at steel dust exposure may help them breathe easier.

  • Scientists Target East Coast Rocks for CO2 Storage
    January 04, 2010

    Scientists say buried volcanic rocks along the heavily populated coasts of New York, New Jersey and New England, as well as further south, might be ideal reservoirs to lock away carbon dioxide emitted by power plants and other industrial sources.

  • U.S. Funds To Upgrade Seismic Network
    September 23, 2009

    That rumbling you feel is not necessarily a passing subway. New York City and the surrounding region gets a surprising number of small earthquakes, and a 2008 study from the region’s network of seismographs, run by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, suggests that the risk of a damaging one is not negligible. This week, the federal government announced a major upgrade to that network.

  • Pondering the Deep : An Artist's Take on the Hudson River Bottom
    May 13, 2009

    Another world lies beneath the Hudson River, as scientists have shown using pulses of sound to map the bottom. In recent years, the bathymetry maps developed at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Stony Brook University have turned up hundreds of shipwrecks and a new channel off Battery Park City, drawing interest from treasure hunters and mariners alike. Now a new group is finding inspiration: artists.

  • The Heat is On : Can Public Transit Adjust?
    May 01, 2009

    Even on a sunny day, nearly 13 million gallons of water are pumped from New York City subways. As global warming brings rising sea levels and more frequent storms, more of New York’s transit system is expected to flood.

  • Earthquakes May Endanger New York More Than Thought, Says Study
    August 25, 2008

    Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant Seen As Particular Risk

    A study by a group of prominent seismologists suggests that a pattern of subtle but active faults makes the risk of earthquakes to the New York City area much greater than formerly believed.

  • New York Launches Survival Strategy For Climate Change
    August 18, 2008

     Task Force, Advised by Columbia Scientists, Will Draw Plans to Battle Rising Seas, Strains on Water and Electricity

    Much of New York City’s waterfront is projected to be vulnerable to flooding in coming decades.

  • Is the Hudson Swimmable? New Program Aims to Test the Waters
    July 25, 2008

    Ongoing Work By Scientists Will Supply Data to the Public

    A frequently asked question around New York is: “Is it safe to swim? This has spurred Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory...

  • Water Shortages in Northeast Linked to Human Activity
    May 12, 2006

    With the summer approaching, new research has shown that recent water emergencies in the Northeast have resulted from more than just dry weather

  • Mud Records New York History
    May 19, 2005

    Buried far beneath the cattails and blackbirds of marshes in the lower Hudson Valley are pollen, seeds and other materials preserved in marsh sediment in the Hudson River Estuary. By examining this material, researchers can see evidence of a 500-year drought, the passing of the Little Ice Age, and impacts of European settlers.

  • Researching Airborne Metals in Transit Workers' Bodies
    February 24, 2005

    Working in the subway several hours each day, subway workers and transit police breathe more subway air than the typical commuter. Subway air has been shown to contain more steel dust than outdoor or other indoor air in New York City. But do transit workers’ bodies harbor elevated levels of these metals? And does this translate into a health concern for the workers?

  • Hudson River Estuary Enters Middle Age
    February 05, 2004

    The Hudson River Estuary, a stretch of the Hudson River from Troy, N.Y. to its mouth in New York Harbor, has begun a new stage of its life say geologists at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Queens College in Flushing, N.Y. Researchers at both institutions have found that, aside from a few very specific locations, the estuary may have largely stopped filling in with new sediment.

  • Columbia and Harvard University Researchers Conduct Study on Toxic Exposures in Urban Environments
    January 05, 2004

    Columbia University researchers have found that steel dust generated in the New York City subway significantly increases the total amount of airborne iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and chromium (Cr) that riders breathe. The airborne levels of these metals associated with fine particulate matter in the subway environment were observed to be more than 100 times greater than levels observed in home indoor or outdoor settings in New York City.

 

Videos

High Schoolers Delve Into Piermont Marsh at Lamont-Doherty
Hudson River: A Swimmable Future? Part of the 2011 Public Lecture Series
Rockland County’s Water Resources Part of the 2010 Public Lecture Series
Stashing CO2 In Rocks NPR Science Friday, Jan. 11, 2010
Local Science at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory
New York's Piermont Marsh A 7,000-year Archive of Climate Change, Human Impact and Uncovered Mysteries
A Natural History of the Palisades Public Lecture, 2005
The Air We Breathe Air Pollution and New York Subways
 

 

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