Earth Sciences96
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Hartal!
A two day general strike disrupted our field plans, but Bangladeshis are adept at adapting to any change. We walked the local outcrops one day and hired a small pickup truck the next and managed to accomplish our goals despite the political turmoil.
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Conclave in Sylhet, Bangladesh
Our project studying the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta in Bangladesh consists of many components studying different tectonic and sedimentary aspects of the geology. To bring all the parts together, we are holding a meeting we are calling the “conclave” in NE Bangladesh. We are jointly visiting places that can help us to develop an integrated understanding of…
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Lamont Oceanographer Recognized for Pioneering Work on Global Ocean Currents
An oceanographer who has painstakingly collected measurements from each of the world’s oceans to understand how the oceans move heat and freshwater around the planet to influence climate is the winner of the 2013 Prince Albert 1 Medal for outstanding contributions to oceanography, given by the International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Ocean…
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Welcoming a New Instrument for ‘Probing’ the Polar Regions
In 2009 it was just a dream. But creative vision, sweat equity, good partnerships and funding can bring dreams to reality, and 2013 delivered. It was four years ago that a small team of Lamont scientists, polar geophysicist Robin Bell, engineer Nick Frearson and ocean climate physicist Chris Zappa, began discussions of an instrument that…
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Bogged Down in Alaska
For thousands of years Arctic peat bogs have soaked up atmospheric carbon like a giant sponge. But as the poles warm, the arctic bogs will decay and expel billions of tons of carbon back into the air—or will they? A warmer climate might actually improve growing conditions in the bogs, allowing them to take up…
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Summer Opportunities for Columbia Students at UN Environment Programme
Since the Fall of 2007, the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch (PCDMB) and the Earth Institute, Columbia University, have partnered to offer Research Assistantships each year to Columbia University graduate students. These positions take place at the PCDMB offices in Geneva, Switzerland, each summer. Travel costs will be covered for…
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Recovering ‘Sea Spiders’ and Heading Home
The NoMelt project is more than just a seismic experiment; it also has an important magnetotelluric (MT) component. MT instruments measure natural magnetic and electric fields on the seafloor, allowing scientists to estimate the electrical conductivity of the underlying rocks. Conductivity is highly sensitive to tiny amounts of water and molten rock within the upper…
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Santa Comes Bearing an OBS
Recovering OBS instruments from the ocean floor is always a tricky business, especially in our case; these instruments have been sitting beneath more than 3.5 miles of water for over a year. With cold, tired batteries powering the instruments’ acoustic transponders, communicating with them through miles of ocean currents amounts to a whispered conversation on…
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What Dust May Have To Do With Earth’s Rapidly Warming Poles
As earth’s climate warms, scientists have tried to understand why the poles are heating up two to three times faster than the rest of the planet. Airborne dust, it turns out, may play a key role.
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
