Welcome
Scientists from a broad range of disciplines are collaborating at the Linde Center to generate a comprehensive understanding of our global environment—including the impacts of human activities on it. They investigate Earth's atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, and biosphere and their mutual interactions, characterizing their present and past states through innovative measurements, developing models to describe their evolution, and synthesizing measurements and models to produce sound predictions of the future. Among the questions addressed at the Linde Center are:
- How has Earth's climate varied in the past and how will it change in the future?
- How does pollution affect air quality locally and far from its sources, and how does it affect cloud cover and climate change?
- What happens to carbon dioxide after it enters the atmosphere?
The Linde Center is located within the unique Linde + Robinson Laboratory, likely the most energy-efficient laboratory building in the United States. The Linde + Robinson Laboratory and nearby buildings house state-of-the art laboratories for oceanography, atmospheric chemistry, biogeochemistry, environmental microbiology, and environmental chemistry and technology.
Featured Event
A Contest to Find the Allusion Hidden in PERCEPTION
The PERCEPTION sculpture in the patio of the Linde + Robinson Laboratory contains various allusions. Many are noted in the Artist’s Statement, but only one additional allusion matches all of the clues contained in this Statement of Clues:History and Mystery: A Number of Clues for a Test in PERCEPTION
If Sherlock Holmes, the fictional master of perception, had been a member of the Caltech community, he would not have needed a dozen clues to discover the allusion. At the time of discovery he characteristically would have exclaimed, "Elementary, my dear Watson!"
Science has progressed enormously since Robinson Laboratory was built. Now the Global Environmental Science initiative will provide a rare opportunity for Caltech’s divisions, working in concert and in parallel, to address an impending crisis that faces our planet.
The first person (or group of persons acting together) in the Caltech community to identify correctly that particular allusion will be awarded bragging rights plus $1,000 in cash. If no correct solution has been submitted by January 24, 2013 (one year from the date of the Linde + Robinson Laboratory dedication), Caltech will be declared the winner; and the cash will be added to the endowment for global environmental science.
Entries may be submitted via email to Perceptionsolution@caltech.edu.
For the complete statement of contest rules, eligibility and terms, please click here.
Recent News
Recent Publications
Belyaev, Denis A. and Montmessin, Franck and Bertaux, Jean-Loup and Mahieux, Arnaud and Fedorova, Anna A. and Korablev, Oleg I. and Marcq, Emmanuel and Yung, Yuk L. and Zhang, Xi (2012) Vertical profiling of SO_2 and SO above Venus’ clouds by SPICAV/SOIR solar occultations. Icarus, 217 (2). pp. 740-751. ISSN 0019-1035
Tsai, Victor C. and Minchew, Brent and Lamb, Michael P. and Ampuero, Jean-Paul (2012) A physical model for seismic noise generation from sediment transport in rivers. Geophysical Research Letters, 39 (L2). Art. No. L02404. ISSN 0094-8276
Zhang, Xi and Liang, Mao Chang and Mills, Franklin P. and Belyaev, Denis A. and Yung, Yuk L. (2012) Sulfur chemistry in the middle atmosphere of Venus. Icarus, 217 (2). pp. 714-739. ISSN 0019-1035
Risi, Camille and Wunch, Debra and Wennberg, Paul O. (2012) Process-evaluation of tropospheric humidity simulated by general circulation models using water vapor isotopologues: 1. Comparison between models and observations. Journal of Geophysical Research D, 117 (D5). Art. No. D05303. ISSN 0148-0227
Carter, William P. L. and Seinfeld, John H. (2012) Winter ozone formation and VOC incremental reactivities in the Upper Green River Basin of Wyoming. Atmospheric Environment, 50 . pp. 255-266. ISSN 1352-2310
Nittrouer, Jeffrey A. and Shaw, John and Lamb, Michael P. and Mohrig, David (2012) Spatial and temporal trends for water-flow velocity and bed-material sediment transport in the lower Mississippi River. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 124 (3-4). pp. 400-414. ISSN 0016-7606
Zhang, Xi and Liang, Mao Chang and Mills, Franklin P. and Belyaev, Denis A. and Yung, Yuk L. (2012) Sulfur chemistry in the middle atmosphere of Venus. Icarus, 217 (2). pp. 714-739. ISSN 0019-1035
Mandell, Avi M. and Bast, Jeanette and van Dishoeck, Ewine F. and Blake, Geoffrey A. and Salyk, Colette and Mumma, Michael J. and Villanueva, Geronimo (2012) First Detection of Near-infrared Line Emission from Organics in Young Circumstellar Disks. Astrophysical Journal, 747 (2). Art. No. 92. ISSN 0004-637X
Lamb, Michael P. and Nittrouer, Jeffrey A. and Mohrig, David and Shaw, John (2012) Backwater and river plume controls on scour upstream of river mouths: Implications for fluvio-deltaic morphodynamics. Journal of Geophysical Research F, 117 . Art. No. F01002. ISSN 0148-0227
Park, Hyo-Seok and Chiang, John C. H. and Bordoni, Simona (2012) The Mechanical Impact of the Tibetan Plateau on the Seasonal Evolution of the South Asian Monsoon. Journal of Climate, 25 (7). pp. 2394-2407. ISSN 0894-8755
Zhang, Xi and Liang, Mao Chang and Mills, Franklin P. and Belyaev, Denis A. and Yung, Yuk L. (2012) Sulfur chemistry in the middle atmosphere of Venus. Icarus, 217 (2). pp. 714-739. ISSN 0019-1035
Akagi, S. K. and Craven, J. S. and Taylor, J. W. and McMeeking, G. R. and Yokelson, R. J. and Burling, I. R. and Urbanski, S. P. and Wold, C. E. and Seinfeld, J. H. and Coe, H. and Alvarado, M. J. and Weise, D. R. (2012) Evolution of trace gases and particles emitted by a chaparral fire in California. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 12 (3). pp. 1397-1421. ISSN 1680-7316
Boxe, C. S. and Hand, K. P. and Nealson, K. H. and Yung, Y. L. and Saiz-Lopez, A. (2012) An active nitrogen cycle on Mars sufficient to support a subsurface biosphere. International Journal of Astrobiology, 11 (2). pp. 109-115. ISSN 1473-5504
Seinfeld, John H. (2012) Chemical Engineering: An Introduction By M. M. Denn. AIChE Journal, 58 (4). p. 1308. ISSN 0001-1541
Belyaev, Denis A. and Montmessin, Franck and Bertaux, Jean-Loup and Mahieux, Arnaud and Fedorova, Anna A. and Korablev, Oleg I. and Marcq, Emmanuel and Yung, Yuk L. and Zhang, Xi (2012) Vertical profiling of SO_2 and SO above Venus’ clouds by SPICAV/SOIR solar occultations. Icarus, 217 (2). pp. 740-751. ISSN 0019-1035
Line, Michael R. and Zhang, Xi and Vasisht, Gautam and Natraj, Vijay and Chen, Pin and Yung, Yuk L. (2012) Information Content of Exoplanetary Transit Spectra: An Initial Look. Astrophysical Journal, 749 (1). p. 93. ISSN 0004-637X
Ballor, Nicholas R. and Paulsen, Ian and Leadbetter, Jared R. (2012) Genomic Analysis Reveals Multiple [FeFe] Hydrogenases and Hydrogen Sensors Encoded by Treponemes from the H_2-Rich Termite Gut. Microbial Ecology, 63 (2). pp. 282-294. ISSN 0095-3628
Welander, P. V. and Doughty, D. M. and Wu, C. -H. and Mehay, S. and Summons, R. E. and Newman, D. K. (2012) Identification and characterization of Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1 hopanoid biosynthesis mutants. Geobiology, 10 (2). pp. 163-177. ISSN 1472-4677
Paulot, F. and Henze, D. K. and Wennberg, P. O. (2012) Impact of the isoprene photochemical cascade on tropical ozone. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 12 (3). pp. 1307-1325. ISSN 1680-7316
Apel, E. C. and Olson, J. R. and Crawford, J. H. and Hornbrook, R. S. and Hills, A. J. and Cantrell, C. A. and Emmons, L. K. and Knapp, D. J. and Hall, S. and Mauldin, R. L., III and Weinheimer, A. J. and Fried, A. and Blake, D. R. and Crounse, J. D. and St. Clair, J. M. and Wennberg, P. O. and Diskin, G. S. and Fuelberg, H. E. and Wisthaler, A. and Milkoviny, T. and Brune, W. and Riemer, D. D. (2012) Impact of the deep convection of isoprene and other reactive trace species on radicals and ozone in the upper troposphere. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 12 (2). pp. 1135-1150. ISSN 1680-7316
Contact
Linde Center for Global Environmental Science
California Institute of Technology
1200 E. California Blvd., MC 131-24
Pasadena, CA 91125
Email: lindecenter@caltech.edu
Phone: (626) 395-8731
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