Billy D’Andrea, a Center for Climate and Life Fellow and paleoclimatologist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, has led several expeditions to Greenland and Norway’s remote Svalbard archipelago to collect the plant waxes, fat molecules and dead algae preserved in the layers of sediment that fall to the bottom of lakes. Analyses of these data reveal what climate was like in the past, and helps make better predictions of future climate.
National Geographic sent a photojournalist with D’Andrea and his colleagues on a recent expedition to collect sediment samples and data in Svalbard. The resulting multimedia piece details the team’s efforts to gather vital climate data in the high Arctic’s harsh conditions. Visit National Geographic to read and watch the stories.
To learn more about D’Andrea’s research, check out his 2017 expedition to Norway’s Lofoten Islands, where he investigated the influence of shifting climate and sea level on the Vikings.