Stories about Earth and Environmental Sciences

Katie Gregory ’15 and Ashley Kreitz ’15 share a hug while working on restoring a home in Barnardsville, North Carolina that was damaged by Hurricane Helene.

Lehigh Alumni Aid in Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts in North Carolina

Ashley Kreitz ’15 has raised nearly $10,000 and recruited fellow alumni to help restore damaged homes in North Carolina.

Ocean tester

Off-Axis High-Temperature Hydrothermal Field Discovered at East Pacific Rise

Spearheaded by the McDermott lab at Lehigh, the research demonstrates there are more hydrothermal vents in the deep-sea than previously thought and underscores a need for bathymetric mapping to locate them.

PurpleAir monitors map

Lehigh Student, Professors Partner with PurpleAir to Monitor Local Air Quality

The air sensors allow local residents and scientists to collect hyper-local air quality data and inform the public of their exposure to poor air quality.

Painted shapes

David Anastasio Explores the Possibility of an Alternate Route of Human Migration

David Anastasio’s examination of ancient lake sediments clarifies ages of human migrations out of northern Africa.

Anne Meltzer

Seismologist Anne Meltzer Helped Lead Rapid Response to the Pedernales Earthquake in Ecuador
Meltzer joined colleagues from the Instituo Geofisica at Escuela Politécnica Nacional in Quito to deploy 55 seismometers on land and 10 ocean-bottom seismometers above the rupture zone and adjacent areas to record aftershocks.
stock image of a person holding a globe

COVID-19: Impact on the Environment

A Q&A with experts from Lehigh’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Environmental Studies Program

Image of a power plant with clouds of smoke next to grassy field

Another Reason to Reduce Man-made Ozone: To Cool a Warming Planet

Benjamin S. Felzer highlights the importance of new research showing that cleaning up ozone precursors within energy, industrial and transportation sectors could mitigate climate change.

Peatlands

Zicheng Yu Explores the Potential Role of Peat Bogs in Stemming the Tide of Global Climate Change

Peatlands, found in both arctic and tropical climates, can help reduce carbon accumulation in the atmosphere.

Professor Zicheng Yu

130,000 Years of Data Show Peatlands Store Carbon Long-Term

First study of the extent of global peatland and carbon storage over the last 130,000 years fills in key knowledge gap, affirms peatlands’ effectiveness as a long-term carbon storage mechanism over a long timescale