theearthinstitute.docVIP

The Earth Institute COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDIA ADVISORY MAY 19, 2010 Upcoming Scientific Travel Opportunities for Journalists Journalists are encouraged to cover expeditions by Earth Institute researchers, who work on every continent and ocean. Here are upcoming trips of potential interest, in rough chronological order (some dates approximate). A separate section highlights work around New York City. Journalists may accompany scientists on a case-by-case basis; news organizations must pay for travel to sites. Unless otherwise stated, projects originate with our Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.? More info: Kevin Krajick kkrajick@? 212-854-9729; or Kim Martineau, kmartineau@ 845-365-8708. Updated versions of this calendar are on our Media Advisory Pages. U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL ICE FROM OCEANIA’S HIGHEST PEAK Coring Glaciers to Understand the Asian Monsoon, Puncak Jaya, Indonesia MAY 20-JUNE 20, 2010 Indonesia’s Puncak Jaya, earth’s highest island peak and the highest between the Himalayas and the Andes, is topped by the last fast-dwindling bits of glacial ice in the tropical Pacific. Made of hundreds or thousands of year-by-year layers of ice, such glaciers may contain unique isotopic records of past temperatures, rainfall and other information; in particular, Puncak Jaya is expected to yield a fine-resolution of the seasonal monsoon rains, which feed crops for billions of people. Scientists want to understand how the monsoon might react to changing climate, and thus are racing to retrieve samples before the ice is gone. Glaciologist Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University and oceanographer Dwi Susanto of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have joined with the Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency to mount an expedition to drill out cores from near the 16,000-foot summit, and an adjoining peak. The trip involves slinging drill equipment up by helicopter, camping near the top for several weeks and working amid extreme conditio