Columbia Scientists Explore Dust's Impact on Climate Change at Chile Workshop

January 05, 2018

A delegation from Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), led by Gisela Winckler, a researcher at LDEO and adjunct professor at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, traveled to Chile in early January to participate in a workshop entitled "The Role of Dust in Climate Change: A Biogeochemistry Perspective."

The event brought together scientists from the fields of observations (modern and paleo) and climate modeling to discuss recent research addressing critical uncertainties in determining the emission, transport, and deposition of dust. The workshop also explored the sensitivity of continental and ocean biogeochemistry and climate to atmospheric dust input. Key participants from the dust modeling, reconstruction, and biogeochemistry communities were invited to share their insights.

The three-day workshop was held at Universidad Católica’s Coastal Marine Research Station in the coastal town of Las Cruces and was organized by PAGE’s* Dust Impact on Climate and Environment (DICE) working group.

Winckler co-chaired the workshop alongside Fabrice Lambert from Universidad Católica and Natalie Mahowald from Cornell University.

Other Columbia scientists attending the event included graduate students Jordan Abell and Elizabeth Shoenfelt from DEES, as well as Jennifer Middleton, a postdoctoral research scientist at LDEO (pictured here with Winckler).

PAGE (Past Global Changes) supports research aimed at understanding the Earth’s past environment to make better predictions about future climate and inform sustainability strategies. The organization encourages international and interdisciplinary collaborations and seeks to promote the involvement of scientists from developing countries in the global paleo-community discourse.