On Thursday, November 1, 2001,"Finding Safe Harbor: How Do We Reclaim, Renew and Strengthen New York City's Waterways?" will ask leading experts and environmentalists to assess the health and vitality of the city's harbor and chief waterway, the Hudson River. Columbia University will host the final event of the New York Conservation Challenge — a series of public forums designed to address some of the tough environmental questions facing New York City residents, businesses and officials, co-sponsored by the New York Conservation Education Fund and the Columbia Earth Institute. The event, which will be held in the Rotunda in Low Memorial Library from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., is free and open to the public.

The panel will include one of Columbia's foremost Hudson River experts, Doherty Senior Research Scientist Robin Bell, the first person to map the river since 1930. Coordinator of Hudson River Research at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Bell is currently leading the newly expanded research effort to map the entire river from the Battery to Troy funded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson Action Program.

Other panelists include Marc A. Matsil, Chief of Natural Resources, New York City Parks Department, James T.B. Tripp, General Counsel, Environmental Defense, and Andrew Willner, Executive Director, New York/New Jersey Baykeeper. John Cronin, former Hudson Riverkeeper and Resident Scholar in Environmental Studies at Pace University, will moderate.

Scientists at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have formed the Hudson River Research team to develop a systems approach to understanding the Hudson River and Estuary, the watershed that runs from the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York through New York Harbor out to the shores of Long Island.

By studying the Hudson on multiple levels and scales, these scientists hope to shed light on the complex relationships humans have to the rivers they live near and use for recreation, transportation, commerce and drinking.

Lamont has had a long history of studying the Hudson River since the first major field experiment, which contributed to the design of the Tappan Zee Bridge in 1949, to the definitive studies in the 1970's, which indicated the single major source of PCBs in the Hudson River. Today, researchers are involved in another major effort to understand the hidden habitats of the river bottom. Recently, with state, federal (NOAA) and foundation support, in addition to funding from Columbia University, Lamont has formed a broad multi-disciplinary team from Columbia and research institutions in New York State, such as SUNY/Stony Brook, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Institute of Ecosystems Studies and SUNY/ESF.

Lamont's Hudson River Research team is currently working on: comprehending the river's energy budget: the tides, the seaward movement of water, warming from the sun, wind-driven mixing, and erosion of sediments into the river; deciphering the functioning of an urban estuarine ecosystem; documenting the transport of sediments and contaminants; managing the watershed to support both a diverse ecosystem and a modern mega-city, and understanding the response of an estuary to global change.

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory is the leading research center in the world examining the planet from its core to its atmosphere, across every continent and every ocean. From global climate change to earthquakes, volcanoes, shrinking resources, environmental hazards, and beyond, LDEO scientists continue to provide the basic knowledge of earth systems that must inform the difficult choices needed to maintain the health and habitability of our planet.

More information on NYC3 and Hudson River Research at Columbia University can be found at http://www.earth.columbia.edu/events/NYC3Hudson.html