Earth Sciences21
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Glacial Ice Cores Reveal 15,000 Year Old Microbes
Ancient ice contains a rich microbial record going back thousands of years. Recent advances have provided tools to study their genes and evolution, but climate change threatens to erase this frozen archive.
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A 1,000 Year Drought is Hitting the West. Could Desalination Be a Solution?
Filtering salt out of water is used in many parts of the world that deal with severe drought, but it can come with its own set of problems.
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Some Past Sea Levels May Not Have Been as High as Thought, Says Study of Rising and Sinking Landmasses
A time similar to our own saw catastrophic sea-level rise. But exactly how catastrophic?
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Making Up for Lost Time: Earth and Climate Scientists Get Back Out Into the Field
Lamont’s field season typically sees as many as 50 to 60 expeditions, which take researchers to all corners of the globe. As pandemic restrictions begin to lift, teams are picking up where they left off.
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As the Greenland Ice Sheet Retreats, Mercury is Being Released From the Bedrock Below
Scientists have found that Greenland’s bedrock is rich with mercury in some areas — and as the ice sheet rapidly melts, that mercury is being released into local waters.
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Study Shows Forests May Take in Far More Toxic Mercury Than Thought
Atmospheric mercury in gaseous form appears to be adding heavily to the load.
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Searching for Faults From Afar
Researchers are using ocean-bottom and land-based seismometers to record the R/V Marcus Langseth’s soundings from afar, to better understand the potential impacts of large earthquakes in the Cascadia region.
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Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: Milestones in Climate Science
Much of the modern understanding of climate change is underpinned by pioneering studies done at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Here’s a timeline of significant studies.
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Collecting More Than Just Seismic Data Along the Cascadia Fault
While researchers search for a megathrust fault off the Pacific Northwest coast, they are also helping to map the seafloor in high resolution and detect underwater methane seeps.

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