State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Earth Sciences82

  • Bottom Feeders

    Bottom Feeders

    Graduate students, microbe goo … What is it that links the two? It seems that both life forms are found Where electron donors (food) abound!

  • Seismic Stomp

    Seismic Stomp

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory graduate student Natalie Accardo recently returned from Tanzania and Malawi, where she installed seismic instruments in both countries alongside Lamont seismologists Donna Shillington and Jim Gaherty. Natalie produced this video, which shows the scientists and their Tanzanian colleagues conducting a “stomp test” at one of their sites in the Tanzanian village of…

  • The Long Life of Death Valley

    The Long Life of Death Valley

    Geologist Nicholas Christie-Blick has studied the Death Valley region for more than four decades. Each spring, he leads a group of Columbia University undergraduates there on a fieldtrip. Check out highlights from this year’s trip.

  • Deep Sea Plough

    Deep Sea Plough

    Giant fleets the oceans trawl, Gasping fish they skywards haul. Not just critters do they move, But sediments they push and groove …

  • Solving the Mysteries of Carbon Dioxide

    Solving the Mysteries of Carbon Dioxide

    About 50 percent of the CO2 produced by human activity remains in the atmosphere, warming the planet. But scientists don’t know where and how oceans and plants have absorbed the rest of the manmade CO2. To try to answer these questions, on July 2, 2014, NASA launched the $468 million Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), its…

  • Investigating Water Quality and Arsenic in Bangladesh

    Investigating Water Quality and Arsenic in Bangladesh

    Postcard from the Field: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory graduate student Rajib Mozumder, who works with Lamont scientists Lex van Geen and Ben Bostick, has spent part of his summer drilling water wells and collecting samples in Bangladesh.

  • A ‘Bumper-Car’ Ride in the Ice Mélange

    A ‘Bumper-Car’ Ride in the Ice Mélange

    Today’s plan is to extend the sampling to include a wider region of the water exchange between Alison (Nanatakavsaup), the surrounding ocean and the connection to Hayes glacier. At the Village Meeting we had queried the local fisherman about the iceberg exit pathways for both Alison and Hayes to confirm or correct information we have…

  • World Trade Center Ship Traced to Colonial-Era Philadelphia

    World Trade Center Ship Traced to Colonial-Era Philadelphia

    Four years ago this month, archeologists monitoring the excavation of the former World Trade Center site uncovered a ghostly surprise: the bones of an ancient sailing ship. In a new study, scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory say that an old growth forest in the Philadelphia area supplied the white oak used in the ship’s frame,…

  • View from an Iceberg

    View from an Iceberg

    The science goal for today is to complete 8 CTD casts. We load into our vessel, a Poca 500GR. We have discussed a 6 to 8 hour window of boat time with Gabriel the captain and Magnus our navigator and stocked up on 40 liters of benzene.

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The first Earth Day in 1970 ignited a movement to stop polluting our planet. Today, our scientists and experts are tackling the most pressing challenges to achieve real-world impact. This Earth Day, join us in our commitment to realizing a just and sustainable future for our planet. Visit our Earth Day website for ideas, resources, and inspiration.

  • Bottom Feeders

    Bottom Feeders

    Graduate students, microbe goo … What is it that links the two? It seems that both life forms are found Where electron donors (food) abound!

  • Seismic Stomp

    Seismic Stomp

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory graduate student Natalie Accardo recently returned from Tanzania and Malawi, where she installed seismic instruments in both countries alongside Lamont seismologists Donna Shillington and Jim Gaherty. Natalie produced this video, which shows the scientists and their Tanzanian colleagues conducting a “stomp test” at one of their sites in the Tanzanian village of…

  • The Long Life of Death Valley

    The Long Life of Death Valley

    Geologist Nicholas Christie-Blick has studied the Death Valley region for more than four decades. Each spring, he leads a group of Columbia University undergraduates there on a fieldtrip. Check out highlights from this year’s trip.

  • Deep Sea Plough

    Deep Sea Plough

    Giant fleets the oceans trawl, Gasping fish they skywards haul. Not just critters do they move, But sediments they push and groove …

  • Solving the Mysteries of Carbon Dioxide

    Solving the Mysteries of Carbon Dioxide

    About 50 percent of the CO2 produced by human activity remains in the atmosphere, warming the planet. But scientists don’t know where and how oceans and plants have absorbed the rest of the manmade CO2. To try to answer these questions, on July 2, 2014, NASA launched the $468 million Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), its…

  • Investigating Water Quality and Arsenic in Bangladesh

    Investigating Water Quality and Arsenic in Bangladesh

    Postcard from the Field: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory graduate student Rajib Mozumder, who works with Lamont scientists Lex van Geen and Ben Bostick, has spent part of his summer drilling water wells and collecting samples in Bangladesh.

  • A ‘Bumper-Car’ Ride in the Ice Mélange

    A ‘Bumper-Car’ Ride in the Ice Mélange

    Today’s plan is to extend the sampling to include a wider region of the water exchange between Alison (Nanatakavsaup), the surrounding ocean and the connection to Hayes glacier. At the Village Meeting we had queried the local fisherman about the iceberg exit pathways for both Alison and Hayes to confirm or correct information we have…

  • World Trade Center Ship Traced to Colonial-Era Philadelphia

    World Trade Center Ship Traced to Colonial-Era Philadelphia

    Four years ago this month, archeologists monitoring the excavation of the former World Trade Center site uncovered a ghostly surprise: the bones of an ancient sailing ship. In a new study, scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory say that an old growth forest in the Philadelphia area supplied the white oak used in the ship’s frame,…

  • View from an Iceberg

    View from an Iceberg

    The science goal for today is to complete 8 CTD casts. We load into our vessel, a Poca 500GR. We have discussed a 6 to 8 hour window of boat time with Gabriel the captain and Magnus our navigator and stocked up on 40 liters of benzene.