NATURAL HAZARDS & THE N.E. UNITED STATES, a free talk by Dr. Arthur Lerner-Lam
Sunday, October 15, 2 pm at the Roxbury Arts Group
Here in the northeast, as global warming wreaks havoc around the world, perhaps we have been feeling complacent about our seeming distance from natural disasters . Dr. Arthur Lerner-Lam, Seismologist and Sr. Research Scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory will present a fascinating talk that will give us a glimpse into the vulnerability of the Northeast from tsunamis, earthquakes, climate change and other natural phenomena.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and the earthquake in Pakistan are only the most recent reminders that Nature and humanity sometimes clash with devastating results. Across the globe, it seems that disasters are occurring more frequently and increasing in severity. Is this a natural trend, or is mankind simply “getting in the way” more often? In this talk Dr. Lerner –Lamb will look at some of the recent natural disasters and discuss whether our society is doing enough to reduce their impacts. He will also talk about long term climate change and its relation to natural disasters, what it means globally and locally in the Catskills, and whether we understand enough about it to begin to take action.
Arthur Lerner-Lam is a Doherty Senior Research Scientist and Associate Director for Seismology, Geology, and Tectonophysics at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, in Palisades, New York. A seismologist, he has studied and published on the interactions between crust and mantle, the thickness of continental plates, the structure of mountain belts and crustal rifts, and active seismicity. He has done fieldwork in the Middle East, Europe, Central and South Asia, the Southwest Pacific, and throughout the United States, and in recent years has lectured and written widely on natural hazards and society. He is the founding Director of the Center for Hazards and Risk Research, part of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.
The “Hazards Center” brings together experts from the physical sciences, the social sciences, and the policymaking communities to develop approaches for reducing the vulnerability of society to natural and man-made disasters. In establishing this Center, Columbia is developing the intellectual basis for sound, science-based policies in hazard mitigation, and to provide degree and research opportunities for students of both physical sciences and social sciences interested in natural hazards and their impacts on humanity.
Many of the research programs of the Hazards Center are focused on reducing the vulnerability of poor and developing countries to environmental stress and natural hazards, and mainstreaming hazard risk reduction into development strategies. Dr. Lerner-Lam and his colleagues and students support the activities of the United Nations, the World Bank, and other international institutions concerned with alleviating poverty and promoting sustainable development. In particular, the Hazards Center and other Earth Institute units have been actively consulting on relief and reconstruction efforts for many major disasters, including the December, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami, the October, 2005, Pakistan earthquake, and Hurricane Katrina.
Dr. Lerner-Lam received his undergraduate degree in geological sciences from Princeton University. His doctorate in geophysical sciences was received from the University of California, San Diego at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He has held Post- doctoral positions at Scripps and MIT, and has been at Columbia since 1985.
Dr. Lerner-Lam lives in Tenafly, NJ with his wife and three children and has a home in Halcottsville. Call (607) 326-7908 for more information.