Geologic Website of the Month
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)
[www.ldeo.columbia.edu]
Michael F. Forlenza, P.G.
The homepage of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) features a plain white field with icy blue-gray blocks of text and headers. This seems appropriate because the LDEO is one of the leading climate research facilities in the world. A large field presents information on current research projects.
The LDEO research divisions are listed along the right side are Biology and Paleo Environment, Geochemistry; Marine Geology and Geophysics; Ocean and Climate Physics; and Seismology, Geology, and Technophysics. Columns on the lower have of the homepage list upcoming events, pertinent news items, featured researchers and research projects, and videos.
The featured videos found at the links from the homepage could not be more different. The first link presents a page with a series of high-quality, graphic-heavy videos narrated by Tom Brokaw discussing a range of research topics conducted at LDEO and the second link presents a low-quality video of a lecture.
Clicking on the links to the areas of research opens a new page with a stunning photographs and graphics and brief description of three project highlights. The project highlights open additional pages discussing the type of work that the researchers are conducting and some of the findings. Many of the project highlight pages have links to separate websites for specific research groups. For instance, on the Marine Geology and Geophysics page there is a link to the Borehole Research Group website using a variety of information media including YouTube videos. The Borehole Research Group conducts downhole geophysical investigations involving a wide range of applications and participated in all the recently concluded Ocean Drilling Program expeditions.
As a leading research institution of marine geoscience, LDEO has operated a series of five research vessels since 1953. One of the most interesting parts of the website is the Office of Marine Operations found by clicking on the Marine Ops link in the homepage header. A history of the LDEO research ships is found here. The links on the left side of this page provide an interesting and detailed discussion of marine seismic methods and seismic sound sources. Here is where you can learn about air bubbles, tuned arrays, free surface reflection, source metrics, and array directivity.
The LDEO is located on a green campus overlooking the Hudson River in Palisades, New York about fifteen miles north of Manhattan and is operated in association with Columbia University. According to the website:
The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) is a leading research institution where more than 200 research scientists seek fundamental knowledge about the origin, evolution, and future of the natural world. LDEO scientists observe Earth on a global scale, from its deepest interior to the outer reaches of its atmosphere, on every continent and in every ocean. They decipher the long record of the past, monitor the present, and seek to foresee Earth’s future. From global climate change to earthquakes, volcanoes, nonrenewable resources, environmental hazards and beyond, the Observatory’s fundamental challenge is to provide a rational basis for the difficult choices faced by humankind in the stewardship of this fragile planet.
LDEO houses the world's largest collection of deep-sea and ocean-sediment cores that have been collected over more than 60 years of research cruises. The collection has more than 13,000 cores from every ocean and sea. The LDEO is a key component of the Earth Institute at Columbia University which links Earth scientists with engineers, economists, and social and political scientists. These cross-disciplinary research teams allow for the building of powerful connections between understanding the Earth's systems and devising applications that benefit humankind directly.
Considering the leading-edge nature of the research conducted at LDEO, the website content is rather shallow. One or two clicks will take the visitor to the end of the line and many of the entries are only at few paragraphs long. Still, with its excellent graphics, maps, and photographs and a chance to find out what kind of work is conducted at a world-class earth science research facility, a visit the LDEO website interesting and informative.
Michael F. Forlenza
hgs.forlenza@gmail.com