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In a First, Power Plant Turns CO2 to Stone
Lamont scientists working with engineers at a power plant in Iceland have shown for the first time that carbon dioxide emissions pumped into the Earth can be changed to a solid within months—radically faster than anyone predicted. It's a breakthrough for a technology considered important for addressing climate change.

Linking Human Evolution to the Spread of Grasslands
In seafloor sediment off Africa, Kevin Uno uncovered a 24-million-year record of vegetation trends from the region where humans evolved. The record supports the idea that humans developed big brains, complex social structures, and the ability to walk on two legs while adapting to the spread of grasslands.

'Dirty Blizzard' Sent Gulf Oil Spill Pollution to the Seafloor
Oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010 lingered in the subsurface water of the Gulf of Mexico for months after the surface cleanup ended. Beizhan Yan and colleagues show how the oil combined with microscopic algae to descend in a “dirty blizzard” to the seafloor.

East or West? Where Meltwater Meets Ocean Matters
In southern Greenland in summer, cold fresh water streams off the ice and into the ocean. Attention has focused on the West Coast, where the majority of meltwater has entered the ocean in recent years, but Marco Tedesco finds that a greater risk to global climate may actually be coming from the East.

Arctic Amplification & Greenland's Odd Summer of Melt 
Northern Greenland set some unusual melt records in the summer of 2015. A closer look by Marco Tedesco found that wind conditions there were consistent with a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification, including a northern swing of the jet stream that reached latitudes never before recorded.

Iron Fertilization? Not in the Equatorial Pacific
In theory, adding iron to certain parts of the ocean should turbo-charge the growth of algae that capture carbon dioxide and sink it to the sea floor. Gisela Winckler and Bob Anderson explored how Earth’s own iron fertilization experiments played out in one of those regions over the past half a million years.

How a Data Policy Ahead of Its Time Fueled a Revolution
Scientists who led the plate tectonics revolution returned to Lamont this spring to look back on 50 years of progress. In talk after talk, they described how Founding Director Maurice "Doc" Ewing changed the course of scientific investigation by creating an environment of data gathering and open access.

The Vetlesen Prize: Who Would You Nominate?
The prestigious Vetlesen Prize, established by the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation, honors scientific achievement that has resulted in a clearer understanding of the Earth, its history, or its relation to the universe. Nominations are open through August 1. Who would you nominate?

In the News 


Business Standard: Slow-Motion Earthquakes May Also Lead to Tsunamis – Spahr Webb

Smithsonian: The Mad Dash to Figure Out the Fate of Peatlands – Jonathan Nichols

New York Times: Was There an Ice Age in the Southern Hemisphere? – Joerg Schaefer

Science Explorer: Measuring Ice Behavior, from Glaciers to Moons – Christine McCarthy

Catch Up with Our Scientists 


Ice & Sea-Level Scientist Elected to National Academy of Sciences – Maureen Raymo

Scientists Map Earth's Newest Island, Top to Bottom  – Vicki Ferrini

Walking in the Shadow of a Great Volcano  – Einat Lev and Elise Rumpf

Why Climate Matters (video) – Peter deMenocal

Research as Art: Viewing Science through a Different Frame  – Kyle Frischkorn

Upcoming Events 


Update from Antarctica – Hugh Ducklow shares the latest from scientists working in Antarctica on June 21 at the Explorers Club in New York City

Open House – Mark your calendars! Lamont's 2016 Open House is set for October 8
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Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory seeks fundamental knowledge about the origin, evolution and future of the natural world. Our scientists study the planet from its deepest interior to the outer reaches of its atmosphere, on every continent and in every ocean, providing a rational basis for the difficult choices facing humanity.
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