State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate224

  • Final Days in Alert

    Final Days in Alert

    Time is flying, bringing us to our final days in Alert. We were able to recover samples from 12 stations, which is a great success and the second most successful year on record. Thanks to everyone who made it happen: Dale, Richard and Dan who went out every possible day to collect samples; Al and…

  • Lucky 13 Gets Us 250,000 Years of Sediment

    Lucky 13 Gets Us 250,000 Years of Sediment

    We have been steaming and searching for locations on the seafloor where the sediments are accumulating undisturbed. We tried without luck to take cores at several promising locations, however the cores came up less than perfect. On our thirteenth core attempt of the cruise we got lucky.

  • A Walk against Cancer

    A Walk against Cancer

    Alert hosted the first northernmost cancer-fighting fundraising event “Relay for Life,” an event sponsored by the Canadian Cancer Society to celebrate cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost to cancer and fight back against all cancers. The 12-hour-walk was organized by Kristy Doyle, who lost her grandfather to cancer in 2010. Participants raised a whopping $7,580 and collectively…

  • Student Research Showcase 2012

    Student Research Showcase 2012

    The Earth Institute, Columbia University was proud to support student research in the areas of environment and sustainable development at the annual Student Research Showcase on April 27, 2012. Student interns, research assistants and travel grant recipients, and their Faculty and Research Advisors, were honored for their research contributions that ranged in topics from biodiversity,…

  • A Rare Treat – The Green Flash

    A Rare Treat – The Green Flash

    Sunday night after successfully recovering a gravity core about 42 miles north of the equator, conditions were right for a rare treat – the green flash.

  • What’s a tree like you doing in a place like this? Or West meets East

    What’s a tree like you doing in a place like this? Or West meets East

    In the northeastern part of Turkey, the highest Pontic Mountains meet the Black Sea. Here altitude drops from more than 3900m to sea level in a less than 30 miles. Both the orographic effect of mountains and the lake effect (well, better sea effect) cause very high precipitation allowing for rich and productive temperate forest…

  • Journalism Student Completes Thesis on Texas Drought and Wildfire

    Journalism Student Completes Thesis on Texas Drought and Wildfire

    by Kaci Fowler “Environmental politics is a part of who I am,” said Robert Eshelman, an aspiring journalist in Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Robert used an Earth Institute travel grant to learn and write about sustainability in his senior thesis. “I am telling stories that will have a true impact on the environment.” Robert…

  • Connecting the Dots: Extreme Weather and Climate Change

    Connecting the Dots: Extreme Weather and Climate Change

    Professor Ben Orlove, anthropologist and co-director of the Earth Institute’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions discusses the connection between extreme weather and global warming, and public perception of climate change.

  • Tree-Ring Science in a Log Yard?

    Tree-Ring Science in a Log Yard?

    The cool, snowy weather really put a crimp in our plans. Dario, Tuncay, Cengis, and others spent two days trying to find potential sampling locations before Nesibe and I arrived. Even though it had been well above freezing during the day and above freezing at night, the snow had only retreated so far in the…

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

  • Final Days in Alert

    Final Days in Alert

    Time is flying, bringing us to our final days in Alert. We were able to recover samples from 12 stations, which is a great success and the second most successful year on record. Thanks to everyone who made it happen: Dale, Richard and Dan who went out every possible day to collect samples; Al and…

  • Lucky 13 Gets Us 250,000 Years of Sediment

    Lucky 13 Gets Us 250,000 Years of Sediment

    We have been steaming and searching for locations on the seafloor where the sediments are accumulating undisturbed. We tried without luck to take cores at several promising locations, however the cores came up less than perfect. On our thirteenth core attempt of the cruise we got lucky.

  • A Walk against Cancer

    A Walk against Cancer

    Alert hosted the first northernmost cancer-fighting fundraising event “Relay for Life,” an event sponsored by the Canadian Cancer Society to celebrate cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost to cancer and fight back against all cancers. The 12-hour-walk was organized by Kristy Doyle, who lost her grandfather to cancer in 2010. Participants raised a whopping $7,580 and collectively…

  • Student Research Showcase 2012

    Student Research Showcase 2012

    The Earth Institute, Columbia University was proud to support student research in the areas of environment and sustainable development at the annual Student Research Showcase on April 27, 2012. Student interns, research assistants and travel grant recipients, and their Faculty and Research Advisors, were honored for their research contributions that ranged in topics from biodiversity,…

  • A Rare Treat – The Green Flash

    A Rare Treat – The Green Flash

    Sunday night after successfully recovering a gravity core about 42 miles north of the equator, conditions were right for a rare treat – the green flash.

  • What’s a tree like you doing in a place like this? Or West meets East

    What’s a tree like you doing in a place like this? Or West meets East

    In the northeastern part of Turkey, the highest Pontic Mountains meet the Black Sea. Here altitude drops from more than 3900m to sea level in a less than 30 miles. Both the orographic effect of mountains and the lake effect (well, better sea effect) cause very high precipitation allowing for rich and productive temperate forest…

  • Journalism Student Completes Thesis on Texas Drought and Wildfire

    Journalism Student Completes Thesis on Texas Drought and Wildfire

    by Kaci Fowler “Environmental politics is a part of who I am,” said Robert Eshelman, an aspiring journalist in Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Robert used an Earth Institute travel grant to learn and write about sustainability in his senior thesis. “I am telling stories that will have a true impact on the environment.” Robert…

  • Connecting the Dots: Extreme Weather and Climate Change

    Connecting the Dots: Extreme Weather and Climate Change

    Professor Ben Orlove, anthropologist and co-director of the Earth Institute’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions discusses the connection between extreme weather and global warming, and public perception of climate change.

  • Tree-Ring Science in a Log Yard?

    Tree-Ring Science in a Log Yard?

    The cool, snowy weather really put a crimp in our plans. Dario, Tuncay, Cengis, and others spent two days trying to find potential sampling locations before Nesibe and I arrived. Even though it had been well above freezing during the day and above freezing at night, the snow had only retreated so far in the…