201023
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Amazonians Have Shot at Reducing Greenhouse Gases, Says Study
The huge Brazilian Amazon state of Mato Grosso will cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by more than half if it sticks with current plans to reduce deforestation substantially by 2020, says a new study. The research, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, uses 105 years of historical data…
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Dealing with Disorder: Stories from TCC’s Huntington’s Disease Unit
It is easy to take the relationship between body and mind for granted. We wake up in the morning, kick the alarm clock across the room, and pull the sheets back over our heads with little thought. There are few people who would simultaneously consider the neural activity that precipitated their habitual movements while burrowing…
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Sewage treatment isn’t rocket science – except when it is
It’s a case of finding a use for what was thought of as waste. Sewage treatment processes produce methane and nitrous oxide, both greenhouse gasses, while leaving undesirably high levels of nitrogen in the discharged water. On their own, all three of these things are harmful to the environment. Stanford University reports that a team…
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Earth Institute Scientists Drill Into the Oil Spill
Earth Institute scientists have begun research into the Gulf oil spill’s physical and ecological impacts, both on land at sea. While much attention has focused on surface oil washing up along the shores of Gulf coast states, one cruise starting in mid-August will study the location and magnitude of subsurface oil plumes, and their effects…
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Snake Expert and Former Earth Institute Fellow Named a National Geographic “Emerging Explorer”
Snake venom can kill, but it might also save your life. Zoltan Takacs has co-invented a technology for building “toxin libraries” that might one day lead to drugs that can treat cancer, multiple sclerosis and a variety of other diseases. His quest for venomous creatures has taken him to 133 countries, across jungles, deserts and…
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Core of the Matter
A final note (for now) on the expedition to recover ice cores from the top of Puncak Jaya in Papua, Indonesia: the cores arrived safely on Thursday, July 22, at Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar Research Center, and are now in a special freezer. In coming months, the team hopes to extract and interpret climatic…
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Sustaining Discovery Once Fieldwork Is Complete
Watch a short video about the research of Lamont-Doherty geochemists and learn how you can support it. Researchers from the Earth Institute’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory study the planet’s dynamic earth processes by venturing to the source, whether it be the submerged mountains of the Antarctic, the volcanoes of Southern Italy, or the stalagmite-rich caves of…
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Converging Weather Patterns Caused Last Winter’s Huge Snows
A Warming World Can Still See Severe Storms
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Water in Paris
I have been spending the month of July in Paris, France for a study abroad program, and during my time here, I have been able to observe different water habits of people abroad. My observations are in no way absolute, but I have found several interesting trends in water in Paris that I wanted to…
AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More
