State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Earth Sciences65

  • Mozambique Core Brings Up 7 Million Years of Climate History

    Mozambique Core Brings Up 7 Million Years of Climate History

    With calm seas, the JOIDES Resolution’s latest sediment core comes up with what appears to be a fantastic, cyclic climate signal that is continuous back 7 million years, writes Sidney Hemming.

  • Attributing Extreme Weather to Causes—Including Climate Change

    Attributing Extreme Weather to Causes—Including Climate Change

    New research and more powerful computer models are advancing scientists’ ability to tease apart the forces that can worsen extreme weather. In a new report, a committee of the National Academy of Sciences that includes Columbia’s Adam Sobel assesses the young field of attribution studies.

  • Pump Meltwater Back on Antarctica? Do You Have 850,000 Wind Turbines?

    Pump Meltwater Back on Antarctica? Do You Have 850,000 Wind Turbines?

    A new study that looked at the feasibility of lowering sea levels by pumping water onto icy Antarctica offers a warning about the costs today’s greenhouse gas emissions may be creating for future generations.

  • We’re Headed for Mozambique!

    We’re Headed for Mozambique!

    After weeks of anticipation, permission arrived just in time to core off Mozambique. Sidney Hemming and her team of scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution are excited about what they might learn from the ocean sediment.

  • Slowly Moving to Protect the Environment

    In some cases we do not understand the impact of human actions on the planet and we need to do more observation and analysis to understand those impacts. In other cases we don’t really know how to repair the damage once it has been done.

  • MESSENGER Data Reveal Evidence of Ancient Carbon-Rich Crust on Mercury

    MESSENGER Data Reveal Evidence of Ancient Carbon-Rich Crust on Mercury

    Mercury’s dark surface is revealing intriguing new clues about the formation of the solar system, including evidence announced today that the planet closest to the Sun may have formed in part from carbon, a key component of life.

  • Bleach Patrol: Turning Surfers into Scientists to Help Coral Reefs

    Bleach Patrol: Turning Surfers into Scientists to Help Coral Reefs

    With coral bleaching spreading, a new project and app called Bleach Patrol is putting surfers, divers and snorkelers to work as citizen scientists, keeping an eye on the world’s coral reefs.

  • Peering into Chile’s Quizapu Volcano

    Peering into Chile’s Quizapu Volcano

    In their quest to unravel the physical and chemical processes controlling volcanic eruptions, Einat Lev and colleagues headed to South America and the volcanoes of Chile.

  • Trials & Tribulations of Coring the Agulhas Plateau

    Trials & Tribulations of Coring the Agulhas Plateau

    Trying to drill sediment cores while the ship rides large ocean swells off the coast of Africa isn’t easy, but it’s paying off for science, writes Sidney Hemming.

Banner with images representing environmental issues and text "You Asked: Our Scientists and Experts Answer Your Burning Questions."

You Asked invites you to share your most pressing questions about climate, science, and sustainability. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School experts will respond with clear, evidence-based answers. Pose your questions and story ideas!

  • Mozambique Core Brings Up 7 Million Years of Climate History

    Mozambique Core Brings Up 7 Million Years of Climate History

    With calm seas, the JOIDES Resolution’s latest sediment core comes up with what appears to be a fantastic, cyclic climate signal that is continuous back 7 million years, writes Sidney Hemming.

  • Attributing Extreme Weather to Causes—Including Climate Change

    Attributing Extreme Weather to Causes—Including Climate Change

    New research and more powerful computer models are advancing scientists’ ability to tease apart the forces that can worsen extreme weather. In a new report, a committee of the National Academy of Sciences that includes Columbia’s Adam Sobel assesses the young field of attribution studies.

  • Pump Meltwater Back on Antarctica? Do You Have 850,000 Wind Turbines?

    Pump Meltwater Back on Antarctica? Do You Have 850,000 Wind Turbines?

    A new study that looked at the feasibility of lowering sea levels by pumping water onto icy Antarctica offers a warning about the costs today’s greenhouse gas emissions may be creating for future generations.

  • We’re Headed for Mozambique!

    We’re Headed for Mozambique!

    After weeks of anticipation, permission arrived just in time to core off Mozambique. Sidney Hemming and her team of scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution are excited about what they might learn from the ocean sediment.

  • Slowly Moving to Protect the Environment

    In some cases we do not understand the impact of human actions on the planet and we need to do more observation and analysis to understand those impacts. In other cases we don’t really know how to repair the damage once it has been done.

  • MESSENGER Data Reveal Evidence of Ancient Carbon-Rich Crust on Mercury

    MESSENGER Data Reveal Evidence of Ancient Carbon-Rich Crust on Mercury

    Mercury’s dark surface is revealing intriguing new clues about the formation of the solar system, including evidence announced today that the planet closest to the Sun may have formed in part from carbon, a key component of life.

  • Bleach Patrol: Turning Surfers into Scientists to Help Coral Reefs

    Bleach Patrol: Turning Surfers into Scientists to Help Coral Reefs

    With coral bleaching spreading, a new project and app called Bleach Patrol is putting surfers, divers and snorkelers to work as citizen scientists, keeping an eye on the world’s coral reefs.

  • Peering into Chile’s Quizapu Volcano

    Peering into Chile’s Quizapu Volcano

    In their quest to unravel the physical and chemical processes controlling volcanic eruptions, Einat Lev and colleagues headed to South America and the volcanoes of Chile.

  • Trials & Tribulations of Coring the Agulhas Plateau

    Trials & Tribulations of Coring the Agulhas Plateau

    Trying to drill sediment cores while the ship rides large ocean swells off the coast of Africa isn’t easy, but it’s paying off for science, writes Sidney Hemming.