Earth Sciences115
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Mapping the Alaska Megathrust
Two tectonic plates converge along a 2,500-kilometer-long subduction zone offshore southern Alaska. Stress builds up at the contact between these plates, which is released in large, destructive earthquakes like the recent event offshore Japan. One of the big conundrums about these settings is how large of an area locks up on the contact between these…
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To the tip of the Andes
In the semi-arid Andes, glaciers store water and control the runoff of mountain rivers. They feed water to big cities such as Lima and Arequipa and irrigate the surrounding lowlands. But as the planet warms, mountain glaciers in the tropics are receding steadily. Despite their paramount importance, we don’t know the scale and the rate…
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Hands-on Earth Science Book Wins Education Award
A new book of puzzles on earthquakes, weather, climate and hydrothermal vents has been recognized for distinguished achievement by the Association of Educational Publishers. Using real-world scientific data, Earth Science Puzzles lets students practice key earth science skills and concepts such as locating an earthquake or figuring out what controls the amount of water flowing…
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Time and Technology and the Really Down Deep
Two years before Google Earth was launched, Bill Ryan and Suzanne Carbotte, oceanographers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, began a project to transform the way we look at the ocean. They started collecting reams of data that had been gathered by scientists sailing on research vessels all over the world since the 1980s, one ship…
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New Google Ocean Maps Dive Deep
Up Close and Personal With Landscapes of the Abyss
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Switchyard Project: A Very Successful Year
The 2011 field season has been a very very successful year, in fact the most successful one we have ever had. The weather has been great, the equipment proved to be mostly reliable, the people have been great and the samples are plenty.
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Science Education with Trees and Canoes
Students from New York City, Singapore and the Netherlands test their skills this weekend in the woods and on the water near Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in the International Student and Teacher Exchange Program.
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A Focus on the Thinning Northwest Greenland Glaciers
Blog by Hakim Abdi, LDEO Satellite measures showing thinning ice on the Northwest Greenland glaciers prompted Operation IceBridge to include annual flights over this region. The area runs along the Baffin Bay coast, which is often covered in fog and low lying clouds forcing delays and reschedules. With the end of our season in sight…
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The Confounding Economics of Natural Disaster Shocks
Something seems to be amiss with the way standard economics views the outcomes of natural disasters. This post i placed in OECD Insights and in Earth Magazine discusses some of the puzzles posed by the interaction between extreme events and different societies.
