In honor of Earth Day on April 22, the Earth Institute has a variety of great events and stories lined up for you throughout the entire month of April. Find out more here and here.
During non-pandemic times, scientists and scholars within the Earth Institute work all over the planet — from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains — in order to understand natural processes, how humans are modifying them, and how we can live more sustainably. In the process, they often capture photos that showcase the beauty and wonder of this incredible planet. Below, you can click through a small sample of their photos, and learn a little bit about the research surrounding each one.
If you want to see more, check out the #ColumbiaBeautifulPlanet hashtag on Instagram and Twitter, where we’ll be sharing awe-inspiring photos throughout Earth Month. You can also use the hashtag to share your own.
A dirt road in Cape Range National Park, Western Australia. Graduate student Michael Sandstrom does research in Western Australia in order to reconstruct ancient sea levels. Photo: Michael Sandstrom
A group of graduate students visit the Humantay glacier in Peru during a geology field trip. Photo: Bar Oryan
Blue water diving off Puerto Rico to collect planktic foraminifera. This work contributes to understanding ocean acidification. Photo: Bärbel Hönisch
Icebergs outside the town of Ilulissat, Greenland, near where Lamont Research Professor Marco Tedesco is studies the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. Photo: Marco Tedesco
Gas sampling at Lastarria Volcano, Chile. Assistant Professor Yves Moussallam studies these gases to understand processes happening deep inside the Earth, and to help forecast future volcanic activity. Photo: Yves Moussallam
Researchers Gordon Jacoby and Jobie Carlisle saw a log section of old white spruce for paleoclimatic studies in Thelon River, Canada, in the summer 1984. Photo: Rosanne D’Arrigo
A green turtle swims around Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. Photo: Michael Sandstrom
The Painted Hills in Oregon. Photo: Michael Sandstrom
An ice-covered waterfall on the Hudson Palisade cliff, near Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Photo: Bill Menke
Graduate student Mukund Rao searching for old trees to sample in the high elevations of Bulgan, Mongolia in July 2019. Rao uses tree-rings to understand long-term climate and streamflow variability. Photo: Mukund Rao
A variety of lava types near the Sierra Negra volcano in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Photo: Einat Lev
Attached to an aircraft, the ROSETTA mission‘s IcePod instrument soars over sea ice around Antarctica. The mission studied the Ross Ice Shelf. Photo: Caitlin Dieck Locke
The highest peak of Mount Kenya, as seen from the mountain’s third highest peak in spring 2019. Photo: Sam Kodama
Sarah Giles, a PhD student at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, conducting geologic fieldwork in eastern California. The rocks Giles is studying are about 580 million years old, and the environment they formed in remains up for debate. The rocks formed at a time in geologic history when large animals began to appear in the fossil record, and when major reorganizations in Earth’s carbon cycle were potentially occurring. Photo: Sarah Giles
The Greenland Ice Sheet during Operation IceBridge‘s spring 2017 campaign. The mission monitors changes at the Earth’s poles. Photo: Caitlin Dieck Locke
“Lago del Diablo,” a hidden lake located at 4,200 meters in elevation near a tree ring sample site in northern Bolivia. Graduate student Rose Christine Oelkers is studying tree rings in Bolivia and Peru to assess how tropical species are responding to environmental change. Photo: Rose Oelkers
The rocky coastline of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Photo: Maria Dombrov
A zebra grazing in Nairobi National Park, Kenya, with the Nairobi skyline visible about five miles in the background. Associate Research Scientist Daniel Westervelt studies air pollution in this area and in several other parts of Africa. Photo: Daniel Westervelt
The aurora in Fairbanks, Alaska. A team of researchers from Lamont is monitoring two Alaskan volcanoes in real-time to help identify early warning signals. Photo: Einat Lev
COP31, the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aims to advance dialogue, strengthen consensus, and accelerate climate action on a global scale. From November 9–20, 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye, heads of state, ministers, scientists, business leaders, and civil society will gather to advance efforts in emission targets, climate finance, and adaptation and resilience. Once again, our experts, students, and global thought leaders from Columbia Climate School and across Columbia University are contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More
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