State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Earth Sciences119

  • It takes a lot of instruments to collect ice measurements!

    It takes a lot of instruments to collect ice measurements!

    The Operation IceBridge (OIB) mission is a truly collaborative project with several agencies and multiple instruments involved in collecting independent measurements. The data is then analyzed concurrently to develop an understanding of the ice processes underway. The measurement of sea ice is an excellent example of how multiple methods of measurement are needed to collect…

  • Jakobshavn Glacier continues to provide surprises!

    Jakobshavn Glacier continues to provide surprises!

    We have moved south! One of the many challenges of our Greenland survey is the need to switch bases in the midst of the season since Thule Air Force Base also serves as a staging location for a major resupply mission for many of the Arctic outposts.  The whole set up has to be packed…

  • Maybe Ben Franklin Was Wrong

    Maybe Ben Franklin Was Wrong

    A new study says that for all of its ill effects, the Laki volcanic eruption of 1783-84 probably was not the main culprit behind one of the coldest winters in hundreds of years, as many scientists — and contemporary observer Benjamin Franklin — have speculated.

  • Insuring the World’s Poorest Farmers

    Insuring the World’s Poorest Farmers

    Index insurance could help small-scale farmers build wealth and cope with climate change, but more accurate weather and climate data is needed for index insurance to catch on, writes Daniel Osgood, a scientist at Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI). In a new piece in Nature Geoscience, Osgood and colleagues outline…

  • Lessons from the Japan Earthquake

    Lessons from the Japan Earthquake

    The jolt in Japan stunned even scientists who’ve studied earthquakes all their lives.

  • Flying Over the Arctic, Collecting Data and Enjoying the View

    Flying Over the Arctic, Collecting Data and Enjoying the View

    By Brian Moses This past week, Operation IceBridge undertook a detailed survey of the ICEX camp, situated on the ice sheet north of Alaska. This complex 3 day mission involves a transit to Fairbanks, AK over the top of the world, refueling in Fairbanks and flying the survey on day two, and a low-altitude nighttime…

  • Improving Climate Prediction in Africa

    Improving Climate Prediction in Africa

    Africa lags the developed world in weather stations but still produces a surprising amount of data. Too bad few people are using it. Scientists at Columbia University and a growing number of others—among them Bill Gates and the charity arm of Google—are pushing to open Africa’s climate archive to the world by making it free.…

  • IceBridge Team Settles in the North

    IceBridge Team Settles in the North

    Operation IceBridge has returned to the Arctic for a second Greenland season collecting critical measurements of Arctic sea ice cover and thickness and Greenland’s coastal outlet glaciers. Traveling on a DC8 outfitted as a cargo plane with only 6 rows of seats, the team flew from Baltimore MD to Thule in northern Greenland. The workhorse…

  • Apply Now for Summer Ecosystem Experience for Undergraduates (SEE-U)

    Apply Now for Summer Ecosystem Experience for Undergraduates (SEE-U)

    The Summer Ecosystem Experiences for Undergraduates (SEE-U) program provides undergraduate students of all majors from all accredited colleges or universities with a global understanding of ecology and environmental sustainability. It provides students with the opportunity to conduct fieldwork in unique natural settings in addition to participation in a combination of classroom lectures and lab work.

  • It takes a lot of instruments to collect ice measurements!

    It takes a lot of instruments to collect ice measurements!

    The Operation IceBridge (OIB) mission is a truly collaborative project with several agencies and multiple instruments involved in collecting independent measurements. The data is then analyzed concurrently to develop an understanding of the ice processes underway. The measurement of sea ice is an excellent example of how multiple methods of measurement are needed to collect…

  • Jakobshavn Glacier continues to provide surprises!

    Jakobshavn Glacier continues to provide surprises!

    We have moved south! One of the many challenges of our Greenland survey is the need to switch bases in the midst of the season since Thule Air Force Base also serves as a staging location for a major resupply mission for many of the Arctic outposts.  The whole set up has to be packed…

  • Maybe Ben Franklin Was Wrong

    Maybe Ben Franklin Was Wrong

    A new study says that for all of its ill effects, the Laki volcanic eruption of 1783-84 probably was not the main culprit behind one of the coldest winters in hundreds of years, as many scientists — and contemporary observer Benjamin Franklin — have speculated.

  • Insuring the World’s Poorest Farmers

    Insuring the World’s Poorest Farmers

    Index insurance could help small-scale farmers build wealth and cope with climate change, but more accurate weather and climate data is needed for index insurance to catch on, writes Daniel Osgood, a scientist at Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI). In a new piece in Nature Geoscience, Osgood and colleagues outline…

  • Lessons from the Japan Earthquake

    Lessons from the Japan Earthquake

    The jolt in Japan stunned even scientists who’ve studied earthquakes all their lives.

  • Flying Over the Arctic, Collecting Data and Enjoying the View

    Flying Over the Arctic, Collecting Data and Enjoying the View

    By Brian Moses This past week, Operation IceBridge undertook a detailed survey of the ICEX camp, situated on the ice sheet north of Alaska. This complex 3 day mission involves a transit to Fairbanks, AK over the top of the world, refueling in Fairbanks and flying the survey on day two, and a low-altitude nighttime…

  • Improving Climate Prediction in Africa

    Improving Climate Prediction in Africa

    Africa lags the developed world in weather stations but still produces a surprising amount of data. Too bad few people are using it. Scientists at Columbia University and a growing number of others—among them Bill Gates and the charity arm of Google—are pushing to open Africa’s climate archive to the world by making it free.…

  • IceBridge Team Settles in the North

    IceBridge Team Settles in the North

    Operation IceBridge has returned to the Arctic for a second Greenland season collecting critical measurements of Arctic sea ice cover and thickness and Greenland’s coastal outlet glaciers. Traveling on a DC8 outfitted as a cargo plane with only 6 rows of seats, the team flew from Baltimore MD to Thule in northern Greenland. The workhorse…

  • Apply Now for Summer Ecosystem Experience for Undergraduates (SEE-U)

    Apply Now for Summer Ecosystem Experience for Undergraduates (SEE-U)

    The Summer Ecosystem Experiences for Undergraduates (SEE-U) program provides undergraduate students of all majors from all accredited colleges or universities with a global understanding of ecology and environmental sustainability. It provides students with the opportunity to conduct fieldwork in unique natural settings in addition to participation in a combination of classroom lectures and lab work.