January 30, 2008 (Vol. 7, No. 1)

Professor's Films on View at NYC International Polar Weekend Feb. 2 and 3

What does modern-day Greenland have in common with New York State? Dr. Yuri Gorokhovich, assistant professor of Environmental, Geographic, and Geological Sciences (EGGS), will present two documentary films exploring this and other questions at the New York City International Polar Weekend February 2 and 3.

The program of lectures, panel discussions, and family events is designed to educate visitors about the Arctic and Antarctic regions and will be hosted by the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. The event will be held from 12 to 5:30 p.m. each day and is free with paid admission to the museum.

Dr. Gorokhovich's exhibit will include "Greenland on the Hudson," a documentary film he made to show the similarities between the ancient glacial environment of New York State and that existing today on the Arctic island of Greenland. In New York, landforms and structures of sedimentary deposit are the only evidence left of glacial processes, but in Greenland these processes are active.

"We study glacial environments in polar regions because this is the only way to see them in action," explains Dr. Gorokhovich. "By studying their behavior, we learn how to interpret buried ancient environments left to us by similar processes that took place thousands of years ago."

He also will present a short documentary on the North Greenland Icecore Project (NGRIP) that he visited in 2003. By drilling about 3 km. below Greenland, NGRIP scientists collected ancient ice samples that have helped to answer questions about climate changes that occurred some 125,000 years ago.

Dr. Gorokhovich started making documentary films in 2001 to communicate geological topics to his students in a more attractive and entertaining way. His documentary films have been shown to several educational groups, including the American Chemical Society's New York Section and the Science Teachers' Association of New York State.

Select a Volume Volume 8 (Fall 2008) Volume 7 (Spring 2008) Volume 6 (Fall 2007) Volume 5 (Spring 2007) Volume 4 (Fall 2006) Volume 3 (Spring 2006) Volume 2 (Fall 2005) Volume 1 (Spring 2005)