On a sticky July afternoon, as the sun beat down and the temperature climbed into the high 80s, several dozen people gathered on the banks of a murky pond in Morningside Park in Manhattan to talk about a slimy green problem.
The pond, built in 1989, is a highlight of the leafy park, which runs for 13 blocks through Harlem and Morningside Heights.
But in recent years, it has turned a sickly shade of green as algae has overtaken its surface.
And on this Saturday, scientists from Columbia University and the city’s Parks Department began a new research effort at the site into the spread of harmful algae blooms worldwide.
For the university, the project represents a new chapter in its complicated and sometimes tense relationship with the surrounding community over this section of the park.
Persons:
Joaquim Goes, Columbia’s Lamont
Organizations:
Columbia University, city’s Parks Department, Columbia
Locations:
Morningside Park, Manhattan, Harlem, Morningside Heights, Columbia, Texas, Oman, Arabian