Author: Kevin Krajick16

Kevin Krajick is the former senior editor for science news at the Earth Institute and the Columbia Climate School. He grew up in the Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley of upstate New York, where he worked at his high-school newspaper. He has since reported from all 50 U.S. states and 30-some countries, writing about science, medicine, crime, immigration and other issues. His work has appeared in National Geographic, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Science, Smithsonian and many other publications. He was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for Public Service for his reporting on organized crime’s links to the toxic waste-disposal industry. He is two-time winner of the American Geophysical Union’s Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism, and his work has been featured repeatedly in the yearly book “Best American Science and Nature Writing.” His 2001 book “Barren Lands” is the true account of how two prospectors discovered vast deposits of diamonds in Canada’s remote far north. Krajick holds degrees in comparative literature and journalism from Columbia University. He lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his family. You can email Kevin at: krk4@columbia.edu

Scientists Map Huge Undersea Fresh-Water Aquifer Off U.S. Northeast

In a new survey of the sub-seafloor off the U.S. Northeast coast, scientists have made a surprising discovery: a gigantic aquifer of relatively fresh water trapped in porous sediments lying below the salty ocean.
Melting of Himalayan Glaciers Has Doubled in Recent Years

A new study is the latest and perhaps most convincing indication that climate change is eating the Himalayas’ glaciers, potentially threatening water supplies for hundreds of millions of people across much of Asia.
Why Cry for the Cryosphere?

A new book paints a daunting and detailed picture of earth’s natural ice under threat, and explains why what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic.
A Seismologist Present at the Discovery of Plate Tectonics

Lynn Sykes, a pivotal figure in the development of plate tectonics, discusses a new memoir of his career.
Drilling the Seabed Below Earth’s Most Powerful Ocean Current

Starting this month, scientists aim to study the Antarctic Circumpolar Current’s past dynamics by drilling into the seabed in some of the planet’s remotest marine regions.
Scientists See Fingerprint of Warming Climate on Droughts Going Back to 1900

In an unusual new study, scientists say they have detected a growing fingerprint of human-driven global warming on global drought conditions starting as far back as 1900.
Drought: A Wide-Angle Picture

A new book, the second in a series of primers with the Earth Institute imprint, provides an interdisciplinary overview drought, bringing together many fields including climate science, hydrology and ecology.
As Oceans Warm, Microbes Could Pump More CO2 Back Into Air, Study Warns

A new study suggests bacteria may respire more carbon dioxide from the shallow oceans to the air as seas warm, reducing the deep oceans’ ability to store carbon.
Carbon Lurking in Deep Ocean Threw Ancient Climate Switch, Say Researchers

A million years ago, a longtime pattern of alternating glaciations and warm periods dramatically changed, when ice ages suddenly became longer and more intense. Scientists have long suspected that this was connected to the slowdown of a key Atlantic Ocean current system that today once again is slowing. A new study of sediments from the…

Scientists Map Huge Undersea Fresh-Water Aquifer Off U.S. Northeast

In a new survey of the sub-seafloor off the U.S. Northeast coast, scientists have made a surprising discovery: a gigantic aquifer of relatively fresh water trapped in porous sediments lying below the salty ocean.
Melting of Himalayan Glaciers Has Doubled in Recent Years

A new study is the latest and perhaps most convincing indication that climate change is eating the Himalayas’ glaciers, potentially threatening water supplies for hundreds of millions of people across much of Asia.
Why Cry for the Cryosphere?

A new book paints a daunting and detailed picture of earth’s natural ice under threat, and explains why what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic.
A Seismologist Present at the Discovery of Plate Tectonics

Lynn Sykes, a pivotal figure in the development of plate tectonics, discusses a new memoir of his career.
Drilling the Seabed Below Earth’s Most Powerful Ocean Current

Starting this month, scientists aim to study the Antarctic Circumpolar Current’s past dynamics by drilling into the seabed in some of the planet’s remotest marine regions.
Scientists See Fingerprint of Warming Climate on Droughts Going Back to 1900

In an unusual new study, scientists say they have detected a growing fingerprint of human-driven global warming on global drought conditions starting as far back as 1900.
Drought: A Wide-Angle Picture

A new book, the second in a series of primers with the Earth Institute imprint, provides an interdisciplinary overview drought, bringing together many fields including climate science, hydrology and ecology.
As Oceans Warm, Microbes Could Pump More CO2 Back Into Air, Study Warns

A new study suggests bacteria may respire more carbon dioxide from the shallow oceans to the air as seas warm, reducing the deep oceans’ ability to store carbon.
Carbon Lurking in Deep Ocean Threw Ancient Climate Switch, Say Researchers

A million years ago, a longtime pattern of alternating glaciations and warm periods dramatically changed, when ice ages suddenly became longer and more intense. Scientists have long suspected that this was connected to the slowdown of a key Atlantic Ocean current system that today once again is slowing. A new study of sediments from the…