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May 2018
Scientists say the line that divides the humid Eastern U.S. and the arid Western plains appears to be slowly moving eastward, due to climate change. The implications for farming and other pursuits could be huge.
U.S., U.K. Scientists Join to Study Possible Collapse of Massive Antarctic Glacier
In a major new collaboration, the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council and the U.S. National Science Foundation plan to deploy more than 100 scientists from dozens of institutions to study the possibility that West Antarctica’s huge Thwaites Glacier could collapse within decades or centuries. Lamont scientists will serve on four of the teams.
The “Grandfather of Climate Science” on Climate Skepticism
The coasts of Antarctica are ringed with ice shelves – massive large expanses of ice that float on the surrounding ocean and form the outermost extensions of the glaciers that cover the land behind them. A new study shows that even minor deterioration of ice shelves can instantaneously hasten the motion and loss of ice hundreds of miles landward.
What We Know (and Don’t Know) About Sea Level Rise
How can advances in climate science research be used to reduce investment risk and improve returns? This month, Lamont will team with the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise and the Paul Millstein Center for Real Estate at the Columbia Business School to present a discussion of the potential effects of sea level rise on coastal property and investment.
Sluggish Ocean Currents Caused European Heat Wave
A study in April in Nature Communications reported on how the strong cooling of the North Atlantic Ocean impacted European climate around 12,000 years ago. The findings could help scientists predict how climate change will exacerbate European heat waves and droughts in the future.
North American Coasts Are Absorbing Large Amounts of Carbon
Coastal waters play an important role in the carbon cycle by absorbing carbon into sediments or transferring it to the open ocean, a new study confirms.
Renowned Seismologist Lynn Sykes to Receive Honorary Doctorate from Columbia University
Columbia University will confer five honorary degrees during its annual Commencement exercises on May 16, 2018. Among the recipients is seismologist Lynn Sykes, the Higgins Professor Emeritus at Lamont.
Education Section
We are excited to be launching a new section of the newsletter, focusing on the work being done at Lamont’s Office of Education and Outreach. The mission of the Office is to coordinate all educational research, programming, and outreach initiatives at the Observatory.
Last fall, the Office of Education and Outreach collaborated with the Grace Church School to pilot a course on science communication. The class culminated in a written product that was published on a widely read blog, and the selected blog featured the work of Ellen Jorgensen and Grace James.
http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2018/01/31/fire-modeling-new-approach-wildfire-prevention/
Welcome to Alexander Halliday and Meghan Fay
This month has brought new leadership to the Earth Institute and to Lamont’s development team. We are pleased to announce the arrival of Alexander N. Halliday, who comes to us from the University of Oxford where he served as a geochemistry professor. Dr. Halliday has been appointed Director of Columbia University's Earth Institute. We also have the pleasure of welcoming Meghan Fay who joined our staff this month as Lamont’s Director of Development, External Relations, and Strategic Initiatives and the Senior Director for Advancement at the Earth Institute. For more than eight years, Meghan had been the Senior Director of
Development at the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. Prior to coming to Columbia, Meghan worked as a Senior Leadership Gifts Officer at Boston University.
Lamont in the News
How Oman’s Rocks Could Help Save the Planet
New York Times
North Korea’s Mountain Mystery: Is Punggye-Ri Nuclear Test Site Still Functional?
Washington Post
Behind the Quest to Map the Seabeds by 2030
News Deeply
Life on a (Carbon) Budget
Nyack News & Views
Climate Change: Boundary Between Humid East, Dry West Shifts 140 Miles
USA Today
Polar Ice (And Why You Care)
Nyack News & Views
How a Small Start-Up Firm Wants to Revitalize Climate Change Research
Washington Post
New York City Is Overdue for a Major Earthquake
Mysterious Universe
Mercury Is Still Stumping Scientists
Newsweek
Deprescribing the Hudson
Nyack News & Views
