geophysics
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Earth’s Crust Is Tearing Apart off the Pacific Northwest—and That’s Not Necessarily Bad News
Using seismic reflection imaging—essentially an ultrasound of the Earth’s subsurface—and detailed earthquake records, researchers captured a subduction zone in the process of tearing itself apart.
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With Drones, Geophysics and ArtificiaI Intelligence, Researchers Prepare to Do Battle Against Land Mines
Finding land mines the old-fashioned way—on foot, with a metal detector—is agonizingly slow and dangerous. Scientists are working to make the process faster and safer.
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Vetlesen Prize Ceremony Honors Two Distinguished Researchers in Earth Sciences
A celebration held at Columbia University recognized scientists Anny Cazenave and David Kohlstedt as the 2020 and 2023 Vetlesen Prize recipients.
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Q&A With French Geophysicist and 2020 Vetlesen Prize Winner Anny Cazenave
For the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, world-renowned geophysicist Anny Cazenave discusses her research journey, the Vetlesen Prize, and her hopes for younger women scientists entering the field.
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Harnessing Drones, Geophysics and Artificial Intelligence to Root Out Land Mines
A grad student and his colleagues search for innovative new ways to detect and disarm millions of hidden hazards.
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Christine McCarthy: A Cheerleader for the Physics of Ice
Christine McCarthy, a geophysicist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, scrunches blocks of ice between hunks of rock to study how ice behaves under pressure. Her work provides an important piece of the puzzle of how glaciers move, what makes them speed up, and how they are contributing to sea level rise as the climate warms.
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The Downs and Ups of Mountain Building
In the islands off Papua New Guinea, the rocks are giving rise to new ideas about the ways mountain chains form. A new scientific model shows how two seemingly opposite processes can take place in the same region.
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Smooth Sailing Back to Tasmania
After a surprisingly smooth crossing of the Southern Ocean, with favorable winds we arrived back in Hobart, Tasmania. The weather maps show that we just got ahead of another big storm system.
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Taking a 4,000-Meter-Deep Profile of Antarctic Waters
In addition to understanding potential pathways for “warmer” circumpolar deep water to reach the ice shelf, we are also measuring what the structure and properties of the water column are and determining if there is already warmer water on or near the continental shelf that could already interact with the glaciers of East Antarctica today.
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
