State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

201625

  • How to Wrap Your Head Around Dead Sea Rehabilitation

    How to Wrap Your Head Around Dead Sea Rehabilitation

    The Dead Sea has been receding at an average rate of 1 meter per year. How can this important historic, cultural and environmental landmark be rehabilitated in one of the world’s driest regions while improving water access for Israel, Palestine and Jordan?

  • The Carbon Vault

    The Carbon Vault

    The skin of the Earth is the color of tar, Ridged, freshly healed like the seams of a scar. Through salt-spattered sky, a gray-winged gull sails; Steam gently rises, the island exhales.

  • An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    The tropics are already hot, and they’re getting hotter as global temperatures rise. A new study offers a glimpse into how seriously a couple more degrees could disrupt the region’s ecological map.

  • In a First, Iceland Power Plant Turns Carbon Emissions to Stone

    Study Shows Unexpectedly Fast Reactions Lock In Greenhouse Gas

  • Greenland Set Melt Records in 2015 Consistent with ‘Arctic Amplification’

    Jet Stream Reached Northern Latitudes Never Before Recorded

  • Photo Essay: Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Photo Essay: Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    East Africa’s rift valley is considered by many to be the cradle of humanity. In the Turkana region of northwest Kenya, researchers Christopher Lepre and Tanzhuo Liu of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are cooperating with colleagues to study questions of human evolution, from the creation of the earliest stone tools to climate swings that…

  • Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Who were our earliest ancestors? How and when did they evolve into modern humans? And how do we define “human,” anyway? Scientists are exploring Kenya’s Lake Turkana basin to help answer these questions.

  • Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    An Earth Institute pilot project has brought smart solar power to farmers in Senegal, making agriculture more efficient, economical and sustainable.

  • Part-Time Summer Internship in the Undergraduate Program

    Part-Time Summer Internship in the Undergraduate Program

    The Earth Institute is offering a part-time internship in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development for this summer. The application deadline is June 27.

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

  • How to Wrap Your Head Around Dead Sea Rehabilitation

    How to Wrap Your Head Around Dead Sea Rehabilitation

    The Dead Sea has been receding at an average rate of 1 meter per year. How can this important historic, cultural and environmental landmark be rehabilitated in one of the world’s driest regions while improving water access for Israel, Palestine and Jordan?

  • The Carbon Vault

    The Carbon Vault

    The skin of the Earth is the color of tar, Ridged, freshly healed like the seams of a scar. Through salt-spattered sky, a gray-winged gull sails; Steam gently rises, the island exhales.

  • An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    An Ecological Traffic Jam in the Warming Tropics?

    The tropics are already hot, and they’re getting hotter as global temperatures rise. A new study offers a glimpse into how seriously a couple more degrees could disrupt the region’s ecological map.

  • In a First, Iceland Power Plant Turns Carbon Emissions to Stone

    Study Shows Unexpectedly Fast Reactions Lock In Greenhouse Gas

  • Greenland Set Melt Records in 2015 Consistent with ‘Arctic Amplification’

    Jet Stream Reached Northern Latitudes Never Before Recorded

  • Photo Essay: Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Photo Essay: Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    East Africa’s rift valley is considered by many to be the cradle of humanity. In the Turkana region of northwest Kenya, researchers Christopher Lepre and Tanzhuo Liu of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are cooperating with colleagues to study questions of human evolution, from the creation of the earliest stone tools to climate swings that…

  • Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Who were our earliest ancestors? How and when did they evolve into modern humans? And how do we define “human,” anyway? Scientists are exploring Kenya’s Lake Turkana basin to help answer these questions.

  • Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    Helping Senegalese Farmers with Smart Solar

    An Earth Institute pilot project has brought smart solar power to farmers in Senegal, making agriculture more efficient, economical and sustainable.

  • Part-Time Summer Internship in the Undergraduate Program

    Part-Time Summer Internship in the Undergraduate Program

    The Earth Institute is offering a part-time internship in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development for this summer. The application deadline is June 27.