Doherty Senior Scientist
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Robin E. Bell
Robin E. Bell, Ph.D. is a Doherty Senior Research Scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory where she directs research programs in the Hudson River and Antarctica. With a doctorate in marine geophysics from Columbia University, Bell has led seven major aero-geophysical expeditions to Antarctica, including Lake Vostok (the largest subglacial lake on earth), to study the mechanisms of ice sheet collapse. She is the lead scientist of the New York State Hudson River Action Plan Project's Benthic Mapping Program, a collaborative effort with the State University at Stony Brook and the Institute of Ecosystem Studies. This five-year effort is targeted at understanding the linkages between the dynamics of the river and both the transport of contaminants and the sustainability of benthic habitats. Her research interests include linking the earth's physical processes with the impacts on biota — specifically, the ecosystem services provided to humans by rivers, estuaries and coastal environments.
