State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

201119

  • To Meghalaya and back

    To Meghalaya and back

    From our return to Jamalganj, we headed east searching for a river to carry us up to the Indian border across the Dauki Fault. Along the way, we celebrated Steve Goodbred’s birthday. However, even the biggest of the rivers proved too shallow for our boat. We switched to the

  • The Male Seahorse – Supermom?

    The Male Seahorse – Supermom?

    The term, male-pregnancy, may seem to border on oxymoronic, but seahorses will prove to you otherwise.

  • Return to Jamalganj

    Return to Jamalganj

    We have been sailing along collecting data, but so far the data quality is poor due to shallow gas in the sediments.  We thought we might have some problems with gas, but the problem is more widespread than we expected.  We are now out of the inland summer lake where we met the boat and…

  • Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time

    Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time

    Considered to be the father of wildlife management and conservation and a pioneer of the wilderness system, Aldo Leopold radically influenced the development of environmental ethics and sustainability.

  • Climate Scientist Studies Ancient Shorelines

    Climate Scientist Studies Ancient Shorelines

    The seas are rising, as they have during past periods of warming in earth’s history. Estimates of how high they will go in the next few thousand years range from five meters, putting greater Miami underwater, to 40 meters, wiping most of Florida off the map. “The range of estimates is huge to the point…

  • Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Readers can follow a New York Times blog from the arctic as the U.S. flagship vessel for charting geology under the seabed sails the Chukchi Sea, north of Alaska and Siberia. By sending sound pulses to the seabed and reading the echoes, scientists conducting the Chukchi Edges project aboard the Marcus G. Langseth hope to understand the structure and history of…

  • Critter Corner: News Roundup on Biodiversity – Week of 9/12

    Critter Corner: News Roundup on Biodiversity – Week of 9/12

    Read more about the Iconic Nile Crocodile, Honeyguide Brood Parasitism, Vibrations of a Hummingbird, and Flying Snails in this week’s edition of The Critter Corner.

  • Joining the Kokilmoni

    Joining the Kokilmoni

    After a great field season last winter, we had an extraordinary opportunity this fall, a research cruise on the Bangladeshi rivers collecting geophysical data. We are using the same technique that Lamont uses on its ship, the R/V Marcus Langseth, but a mini version.  The basic idea is to use sound waves from bursts of…

  • Water, Oil, Food – A Crisis for Saudi Arabia and the World

    Water, Oil, Food – A Crisis for Saudi Arabia and the World

    A water crisis is unfolding in Saudi Arabia that could have profound implications for both the Saudi people and for the rest of the world.

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

  • To Meghalaya and back

    To Meghalaya and back

    From our return to Jamalganj, we headed east searching for a river to carry us up to the Indian border across the Dauki Fault. Along the way, we celebrated Steve Goodbred’s birthday. However, even the biggest of the rivers proved too shallow for our boat. We switched to the

  • The Male Seahorse – Supermom?

    The Male Seahorse – Supermom?

    The term, male-pregnancy, may seem to border on oxymoronic, but seahorses will prove to you otherwise.

  • Return to Jamalganj

    Return to Jamalganj

    We have been sailing along collecting data, but so far the data quality is poor due to shallow gas in the sediments.  We thought we might have some problems with gas, but the problem is more widespread than we expected.  We are now out of the inland summer lake where we met the boat and…

  • Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time

    Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time

    Considered to be the father of wildlife management and conservation and a pioneer of the wilderness system, Aldo Leopold radically influenced the development of environmental ethics and sustainability.

  • Climate Scientist Studies Ancient Shorelines

    Climate Scientist Studies Ancient Shorelines

    The seas are rising, as they have during past periods of warming in earth’s history. Estimates of how high they will go in the next few thousand years range from five meters, putting greater Miami underwater, to 40 meters, wiping most of Florida off the map. “The range of estimates is huge to the point…

  • Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Readers can follow a New York Times blog from the arctic as the U.S. flagship vessel for charting geology under the seabed sails the Chukchi Sea, north of Alaska and Siberia. By sending sound pulses to the seabed and reading the echoes, scientists conducting the Chukchi Edges project aboard the Marcus G. Langseth hope to understand the structure and history of…

  • Critter Corner: News Roundup on Biodiversity – Week of 9/12

    Critter Corner: News Roundup on Biodiversity – Week of 9/12

    Read more about the Iconic Nile Crocodile, Honeyguide Brood Parasitism, Vibrations of a Hummingbird, and Flying Snails in this week’s edition of The Critter Corner.

  • Joining the Kokilmoni

    Joining the Kokilmoni

    After a great field season last winter, we had an extraordinary opportunity this fall, a research cruise on the Bangladeshi rivers collecting geophysical data. We are using the same technique that Lamont uses on its ship, the R/V Marcus Langseth, but a mini version.  The basic idea is to use sound waves from bursts of…

  • Water, Oil, Food – A Crisis for Saudi Arabia and the World

    Water, Oil, Food – A Crisis for Saudi Arabia and the World

    A water crisis is unfolding in Saudi Arabia that could have profound implications for both the Saudi people and for the rest of the world.