State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

201131

  • Foreigners in a Strange Land

    Foreigners in a Strange Land

    After a very cold morning in Crucero, the sun burned off the clouds to reveal the black peaks of the Cordillera Carabaya to the east. There´s not so much snow left on the hills these days, just a few glacier patches clinging to the south faces of the highest summits.

  • Ocean Currents Speed Melting of Antarctic Ice

    A Major Glacier is Undermined From Below

  • Finishing Up Onshore and Heading Offshore

    Finishing Up Onshore and Heading Offshore

    Seven days and eleven flights after we arrived in Alaska, we finished deploying our seismic stations onshore.  Our final constellation of stations differs a little from our original plan (as always happens with field work), but achieves our main goal of instrumenting the part of the Alaska Peninsula that is nearest to our planned offshore…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 6/19

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 6/19

    Climate Change Lawsuit Against Utilities Rejected by U.S. Supreme Court, Bloomberg, June 20 States can’t invoke federal law to force utilities to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, shutting off one avenue for groups that advocate bolder steps against climate change. The unanimous ruling is a victory for five companies — American Electric…

  • Updated Map Viewer Enables Visualization of Socioeconomic and Earth Science Data

    Updated Map Viewer Enables Visualization of Socioeconomic and Earth Science Data

    Terra Viva SEDAC Viewer, a map viewer and standalone software application, has been updated for 2011 with the addition of several new SEDAC data sets, including climate change scenario data and indicator collections with hundreds of variables. Terra Viva contains map data and GIS functions in one package. An excellent tool for educators, as well…

  • Clean Water for Fiji

    Clean Water for Fiji

    Corporate giant Fiji Water makes millions of dollars every year selling bottled water, but only 47 percent of Fiji Islanders have access to clean drinking water. That may change.

  • Into Thin(ner) Air – On Route to the Cordillera Carabaya

    Into Thin(ner) Air – On Route to the Cordillera Carabaya

    This morning we left Arequipa and the comforts of the tourist trail, driving east across the puna towards the Andes proper. Our route took us along the newly constructed Caraterra Interoceanica – a highway linking the Pacific coast of Peru to ports in Brazil – and up to elevations of 4700 m. Along the way…

  • Climate-Ready Crops: The Pros and Cons

    Climate-Ready Crops: The Pros and Cons

    “If crops don’t adapt to climate change, neither will agriculture, and neither will we,” said Cary Fowler of the Global Crop Diversity Trust at the 2009 TED conference. Climate change is already affecting food supplies around the world as heat waves and drought reduce grain harvests and food prices soar. For every 1˚ C rise above…

  • At the Feet of El Misti

    At the Feet of El Misti

    What a difference a day makes! We’ve said goodbye to the sprawling metropolis of Lima and now are happily settled in Arequipa – the White City. This name refers to the white sillar rock used in the construction of the old colonial city and which is in fact a pyroclastic deposit from the volcanoes towering…

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

  • Foreigners in a Strange Land

    Foreigners in a Strange Land

    After a very cold morning in Crucero, the sun burned off the clouds to reveal the black peaks of the Cordillera Carabaya to the east. There´s not so much snow left on the hills these days, just a few glacier patches clinging to the south faces of the highest summits.

  • Ocean Currents Speed Melting of Antarctic Ice

    A Major Glacier is Undermined From Below

  • Finishing Up Onshore and Heading Offshore

    Finishing Up Onshore and Heading Offshore

    Seven days and eleven flights after we arrived in Alaska, we finished deploying our seismic stations onshore.  Our final constellation of stations differs a little from our original plan (as always happens with field work), but achieves our main goal of instrumenting the part of the Alaska Peninsula that is nearest to our planned offshore…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 6/19

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 6/19

    Climate Change Lawsuit Against Utilities Rejected by U.S. Supreme Court, Bloomberg, June 20 States can’t invoke federal law to force utilities to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, shutting off one avenue for groups that advocate bolder steps against climate change. The unanimous ruling is a victory for five companies — American Electric…

  • Updated Map Viewer Enables Visualization of Socioeconomic and Earth Science Data

    Updated Map Viewer Enables Visualization of Socioeconomic and Earth Science Data

    Terra Viva SEDAC Viewer, a map viewer and standalone software application, has been updated for 2011 with the addition of several new SEDAC data sets, including climate change scenario data and indicator collections with hundreds of variables. Terra Viva contains map data and GIS functions in one package. An excellent tool for educators, as well…

  • Clean Water for Fiji

    Clean Water for Fiji

    Corporate giant Fiji Water makes millions of dollars every year selling bottled water, but only 47 percent of Fiji Islanders have access to clean drinking water. That may change.

  • Into Thin(ner) Air – On Route to the Cordillera Carabaya

    Into Thin(ner) Air – On Route to the Cordillera Carabaya

    This morning we left Arequipa and the comforts of the tourist trail, driving east across the puna towards the Andes proper. Our route took us along the newly constructed Caraterra Interoceanica – a highway linking the Pacific coast of Peru to ports in Brazil – and up to elevations of 4700 m. Along the way…

  • Climate-Ready Crops: The Pros and Cons

    Climate-Ready Crops: The Pros and Cons

    “If crops don’t adapt to climate change, neither will agriculture, and neither will we,” said Cary Fowler of the Global Crop Diversity Trust at the 2009 TED conference. Climate change is already affecting food supplies around the world as heat waves and drought reduce grain harvests and food prices soar. For every 1˚ C rise above…

  • At the Feet of El Misti

    At the Feet of El Misti

    What a difference a day makes! We’ve said goodbye to the sprawling metropolis of Lima and now are happily settled in Arequipa – the White City. This name refers to the white sillar rock used in the construction of the old colonial city and which is in fact a pyroclastic deposit from the volcanoes towering…