State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Natural Disasters16

  • Mapping Offshore Faults in Kingston Bay

    Mapping Offshore Faults in Kingston Bay

    Motion along these faults is associated with the 1907 Kingston earthquake, which shook the capital of the island with a magnitude of 6.2

  • Into the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and Back

    Into the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and Back

    For the last week of our trip, we traveled by boat to reach the sites where we are measuring subsidence in the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and nearby embanked islands.

  • The R/V Pelican Sets Sail, and Data Collection Begins

    The R/V Pelican Sets Sail, and Data Collection Begins

    Researchers are mapping the seafloor and subseafloor between Haiti and Jamaica, to evaluate the potential for earthquakes.

  • From Barisal to Khulna

    From Barisal to Khulna

    We continued to service our GNSS and RSET-MH equipment measuring land subsidence in coastal Bangladesh. Long distances, poor roads and slow ferries made for very long days, but we were able to complete the work at the sites.

  • Dhaka and Beyond

    Dhaka and Beyond

    After a week of meetings and a wedding in Dhaka, we headed back to the field to service equipment measuring land subsidence in Bangladesh.

  • Amid the Marshall Fire’s Urban Ashes, Hints of a Less Combustible Future

    Amid the Marshall Fire’s Urban Ashes, Hints of a Less Combustible Future

    An interview with a homeowner whose block survived while others burned reinforces longstanding advice from experts on living in fire-prone landscapes.

  • Back to Bangladesh at Last

    Back to Bangladesh at Last

    I am finally back in Bangladesh after a pandemic hiatus. I need to repair precision GPSs that failed over the last few years. They are measuring tectonic movements for earthquake hazard and land subsidence, which exacerbates sea level rise.

  • We Owe More Than Gratitude to Wildland Firefighters

    We Owe More Than Gratitude to Wildland Firefighters

    The brave men and women who fight forest fires are overworked, poorly compensated, and considered disposable by the bureaucrats who hire them.

  • Three Questions About Last Weekend’s Devastating Tornado Outbreak

    Three Questions About Last Weekend’s Devastating Tornado Outbreak

    Natural hazards expert Chiara Lepore explains some of the factors that contributed to making the outbreak uncommonly dangerous.

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

  • Mapping Offshore Faults in Kingston Bay

    Mapping Offshore Faults in Kingston Bay

    Motion along these faults is associated with the 1907 Kingston earthquake, which shook the capital of the island with a magnitude of 6.2

  • Into the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and Back

    Into the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and Back

    For the last week of our trip, we traveled by boat to reach the sites where we are measuring subsidence in the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and nearby embanked islands.

  • The R/V Pelican Sets Sail, and Data Collection Begins

    The R/V Pelican Sets Sail, and Data Collection Begins

    Researchers are mapping the seafloor and subseafloor between Haiti and Jamaica, to evaluate the potential for earthquakes.

  • From Barisal to Khulna

    From Barisal to Khulna

    We continued to service our GNSS and RSET-MH equipment measuring land subsidence in coastal Bangladesh. Long distances, poor roads and slow ferries made for very long days, but we were able to complete the work at the sites.

  • Dhaka and Beyond

    Dhaka and Beyond

    After a week of meetings and a wedding in Dhaka, we headed back to the field to service equipment measuring land subsidence in Bangladesh.

  • Amid the Marshall Fire’s Urban Ashes, Hints of a Less Combustible Future

    Amid the Marshall Fire’s Urban Ashes, Hints of a Less Combustible Future

    An interview with a homeowner whose block survived while others burned reinforces longstanding advice from experts on living in fire-prone landscapes.

  • Back to Bangladesh at Last

    Back to Bangladesh at Last

    I am finally back in Bangladesh after a pandemic hiatus. I need to repair precision GPSs that failed over the last few years. They are measuring tectonic movements for earthquake hazard and land subsidence, which exacerbates sea level rise.

  • We Owe More Than Gratitude to Wildland Firefighters

    We Owe More Than Gratitude to Wildland Firefighters

    The brave men and women who fight forest fires are overworked, poorly compensated, and considered disposable by the bureaucrats who hire them.

  • Three Questions About Last Weekend’s Devastating Tornado Outbreak

    Three Questions About Last Weekend’s Devastating Tornado Outbreak

    Natural hazards expert Chiara Lepore explains some of the factors that contributed to making the outbreak uncommonly dangerous.