State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Earth Sciences116

  • Biodiversity in the Shawangunk Mountains

    Biodiversity in the Shawangunk Mountains

    Recently ranked highest in biological diversity and as one of the “last great places on Earth”, the Shawangunk Mountains are being actively reintroduced to forest fires in an attempt to preserve biodiversity.

  • Seeking the Signal in the Noise of Environmental Performance Metrics

    Seeking the Signal in the Noise of Environmental Performance Metrics

    The 2012 Environmental Performance Index is a powerful tool for diagnosing trends not just across countries but over time, too. Consider what we can learn about overfishing, for example.

  • Ecological Succession: Forest Fires to the Ocean Floor

    Ecological Succession: Forest Fires to the Ocean Floor

    A new study reveals that new microbes supplant the active hydrothermal vent’s microbes after the site ceases to produce thermal energy. Though more research is necessary to fully understand the regeneration process in the dormant hydrothermal vents, the study provides an additional platform for ecologists to explore how ecosystems recover from natural unbalances and how…

  • Putting the ‘Death’ Back Into Death Valley?

    Popular Tourist Stop May Have More Potential to Explode Than Thought

  • Ohio Quakes Probably Triggered by Disposal Well, Say Seismologists

    Ohio Quakes Probably Triggered by Disposal Well, Say Seismologists

    Earthquakes that have shaken an area just outside Youngstown, Ohio, in the last nine months are likely linked to a disposal well for injecting wastewater used in the hydraulic fracturing process, say LDEO seismologists.

  • Finding the Right Graduate Program

    “It is important to be present, interested and passionate in a Master’s program.” Taking time off to travel and work helped Meg Sutton to realize that the M.A. Climate and Society program has what she was looking for in a graduate program.

  • Holidays on the High Seas

    Holidays on the High Seas

    With round-the-clock shifts, there are precious opportunities for Santa to slip onto a research ship unseen. But slip in he did, leaving treats and gifts around the R.V. Langseth to brighten our day.

  • Retrieving Instruments from the Deep

    Retrieving Instruments from the Deep

    Over the first 22 days aboard the R/V Marcus G. Langseth, we’ve zigged and zagged our way over a 360×240 mile region of the Pacific plate, first dropping instruments to the seafloor, and then shooting airguns to them (see previous posts). The final step is to recover a subset of the instruments:  34 ocean-bottom seismometers…

  • Restoring Damaged Ecosystems – The Challenge of Haiti

    Restoring Damaged Ecosystems – The Challenge of Haiti

    In 2010, almost two-thirds of the world’s ecosystems were deemed degraded due to human impacts and mismanagement, but fortunately ecosystems can be restored. The Earth Institute’s work in Haiti illustrates just how complicated ecosystem restoration can be.

Columbia Climate School Giving Day on October 28, 2026, featuring students and renewable energy imagery

October 28, 2026 is Columbia Giving Day! Your gift to Columbia Climate School helps advance interdisciplinary research, educate the next generation of leaders, and transform bold ideas into real-world solutions for climate, Earth, and society.

  • Biodiversity in the Shawangunk Mountains

    Biodiversity in the Shawangunk Mountains

    Recently ranked highest in biological diversity and as one of the “last great places on Earth”, the Shawangunk Mountains are being actively reintroduced to forest fires in an attempt to preserve biodiversity.

  • Seeking the Signal in the Noise of Environmental Performance Metrics

    Seeking the Signal in the Noise of Environmental Performance Metrics

    The 2012 Environmental Performance Index is a powerful tool for diagnosing trends not just across countries but over time, too. Consider what we can learn about overfishing, for example.

  • Ecological Succession: Forest Fires to the Ocean Floor

    Ecological Succession: Forest Fires to the Ocean Floor

    A new study reveals that new microbes supplant the active hydrothermal vent’s microbes after the site ceases to produce thermal energy. Though more research is necessary to fully understand the regeneration process in the dormant hydrothermal vents, the study provides an additional platform for ecologists to explore how ecosystems recover from natural unbalances and how…

  • Putting the ‘Death’ Back Into Death Valley?

    Popular Tourist Stop May Have More Potential to Explode Than Thought

  • Ohio Quakes Probably Triggered by Disposal Well, Say Seismologists

    Ohio Quakes Probably Triggered by Disposal Well, Say Seismologists

    Earthquakes that have shaken an area just outside Youngstown, Ohio, in the last nine months are likely linked to a disposal well for injecting wastewater used in the hydraulic fracturing process, say LDEO seismologists.

  • Finding the Right Graduate Program

    “It is important to be present, interested and passionate in a Master’s program.” Taking time off to travel and work helped Meg Sutton to realize that the M.A. Climate and Society program has what she was looking for in a graduate program.

  • Holidays on the High Seas

    Holidays on the High Seas

    With round-the-clock shifts, there are precious opportunities for Santa to slip onto a research ship unseen. But slip in he did, leaving treats and gifts around the R.V. Langseth to brighten our day.

  • Retrieving Instruments from the Deep

    Retrieving Instruments from the Deep

    Over the first 22 days aboard the R/V Marcus G. Langseth, we’ve zigged and zagged our way over a 360×240 mile region of the Pacific plate, first dropping instruments to the seafloor, and then shooting airguns to them (see previous posts). The final step is to recover a subset of the instruments:  34 ocean-bottom seismometers…

  • Restoring Damaged Ecosystems – The Challenge of Haiti

    Restoring Damaged Ecosystems – The Challenge of Haiti

    In 2010, almost two-thirds of the world’s ecosystems were deemed degraded due to human impacts and mismanagement, but fortunately ecosystems can be restored. The Earth Institute’s work in Haiti illustrates just how complicated ecosystem restoration can be.