Clik here to view.
Deploying Instruments on the Seafloor in the Deep Ocean
Oceanic plates are born at mid-ocean ridges, where hot mantle rocks are brought very close to the surface, partially melt, and then cool and crystallize. The newly formed rocks move outwards from the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Art of Sound in the Ocean
The NoMelt experiment aims to image the structure of an oceanic plate, including its deepest reaches up to 70 km beneath the seafloor. One of our primary means to do so is to create sound (acoustic)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Retrieving Instruments from the Deep
Over the first 22 days aboard the R/V Marcus G. Langseth, we’ve zigged and zagged our way over a 360×240 mile region of the Pacific plate, first dropping instruments to the seafloor, and then shooting...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holidays on the High Seas
With round-the-clock shifts, there are precious opportunities for Santa to slip onto a research ship unseen. But slip in he did, leaving treats and gifts around the R.V. Langseth to brighten our day.
View ArticleClik here to view.
Press-Ewing Seismograph on Jeopardy!
An important piece of earthquake-science history popped up a few weeks ago on Jeopardy!: “The Press-Ewing was an early seismograph, recording waves from these events. If you didn’t know a Press-Ewing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
One Year Later – Return to the NoMelt Site
On December 18, 2012, the Research Vessel Melville departed San Diego to recover remainder of the NoMelt instruments and data. The expedition includes two scientists from Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Transiting the Pacific
Today marks our sixth day aboard the R.V. Melville on a journey to a remote region of the Pacific to retrieve seismic instruments that have been quietly recording earthquake signals on the ocean floor...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Library of Giant Landslides
A new method for detecting big landslides is allowing scientists to understand the dynamics of these elusive events almost instantly, without traipsing to remote mountains or scrambling up rugged peaks...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The R/V Marcus G. Langseth: Ocean Explorer
The Marcus G. Langseth, a research vessel operated by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, traverses the world’s oceans conducting marine seismic studies that contribute to new understanding of Earth...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Seismic Stomp
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory graduate student Natalie Accardo recently returned from Tanzania and Malawi, where she installed seismic instruments in both countries alongside Lamont seismologists...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sounds of Seismology
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientist Ben Holtzman grew up discovering science through interactive exhibits in San Francisco’s Exploratorium and now provides a similar experience for others....
View ArticleMapping Land Claimed by Sea Level Rise
Understanding how coastal areas changed as the ocean rose in the past could help communities protect themselves from storm surge flooding in the future as the oceans warm and sea levels rise.
View ArticleAncient Faults & Water Are Sparking Earthquakes Off Alaska
Ancient faults that formed in the ocean floor millions of years ago are feeding earthquakes today along stretches of the Alaska Peninsula, and likely elsewhere, a new study suggests.
View ArticleDetecting Landslides from a Few Seismic Wiggles
Over the last six years, seismologists Göran Ekström and Colin Stark have been perfecting a technique for picking out the seismic signature of large landslides. They just discovered North America's...
View ArticleThe Earth Shook, but It Wasn’t an Earthquake
Last Thursday, thousands of people on the Eastern Seaboard felt the earth tremble. Seismologists at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory quickly concluded it was not an earthquake,...
View ArticleTop Seismology Award Goes to Pioneer in Rock Mechanics: Christopher Scholz
For his pioneering work in rock mechanics and his skill at communicating earthquake science, Scholz is being honored on April 20 by the Seismological Society of America with its top award, the Harry...
View ArticleMassive Landslide Detected in Glacier Bay’s Fragile Mountains
A 4,000-foot-high mountainside collapsed in Glacier Bay National Park this week in a massive landslide that spread debris for miles across the glacier below. Scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth...
View ArticleA Morning That Shook the World
Seismologist Won-Young Kim heard the first reports of the World Trade Center attacks in his car as he drove to Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, on the west bank of the Hudson...
View Article