Grant will continue Lamont-Doherty research
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- April
- 27
Congressman Eliot Engel announced today that a $143,339 grant has been awarded to Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory so it can study the relationship of tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures and a continuing North American drought.
The grant was awarded via the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, according to a statement issued by Engel today.
Engel said the grant will help fund the work of Richard Seager, who is researching the mechanisms of a persistent North American drought and its relation to tropical Pacific and tropical Atlantic ocean temperature variations. Seager will exam sea surface temperatures in different regions of the tropics to determine what is creating droughts in the mid-latitudes, including North America.
The project will use computer models to determine if these patterns in sea surface temperature and drought have occurred over time. The focus will help generate maps of the country, both present and future, of how the Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature influences drought.
“The West is facing a long-term drought that is causing massive fires and a drying of the Colorado River,� Engel said. “These are serious issues that impact on all of us. If we are to solve these problems, we have to know their cause. Dr. Seager’s research could put us on the road to a solution.�
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on Friday, April 27th, 2007 at 3:59 pm by Laura Incalcaterra.
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Journal News staff writer Greg Clary writes Earth Watch, reporting on environmental issues in the lower Hudson region. Clary has been a reporter, editor and columnist at the Journal News since 1988 and has covered police and courts, transportation, municipal government, development and the environment in the Lower Hudson Valley, among other topics. 
Laura Incalcaterra covers the environment, open space and zoning and planning issues for The Journal News. A Boston College graduate, Laura grew up in Rockland, attended East Ramapo schools and has worked for The Journal News since 1993. Laura has written features and covered North Rockland, crime, government and a host of other issues.
Mike Risinit covers Patterson and Kent in Putnam County, as well as environmental topics touching on the Hudson River and the Great Swamp. Risinit has been a reporter at The Journal News since 1998.
