State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Natural Disasters33

  • Vulnerabilities of a Coastal City: Reflections Five Years After Hurricane Sandy

    Vulnerabilities of a Coastal City: Reflections Five Years After Hurricane Sandy

    A student shares her first-hand experience of the devastating storm, and discusses how New York City is building resilience—and how it could do better.

  • Predicting Hurricane Flooding Risks to the East Coast

    Predicting Hurricane Flooding Risks to the East Coast

    Columbia University researchers to help translate hurricane science into projections for planning for climate and weather risks.

  • Photo Essay: The Re-Greening of Puerto Rico

    Photo Essay: The Re-Greening of Puerto Rico

    Researchers survey the damage to Puerto Rico’s forests in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

  • Climate Change and the Re-Greening of Puerto Rico

    Climate Change and the Re-Greening of Puerto Rico

    Ecologist Maria Uriarte investigates the effects of Hurricane Maria on the forests of Puerto Rico, and how long-term climate change may affect them.

  • Finishing Up in Bangladesh

    Finishing Up in Bangladesh

    In the final push, we split into multiple teams, and caught up and completed all the seismometer installations on time.

  • Installing the seismometer array

    Installing the seismometer array

    Helping Jim’s team, I assisted in installing stations and scouting locations. While some stations go quickly, others took multiple trips to find a good site. Time is growing short for getting all the seismometer installations done on time.

  • Transition to Seismology Scouting

    Transition to Seismology Scouting

    As we finished scouting and installing the GPS stations, we started to assist the seismology team in getting permission to install there instruments in Tea Estates.

  • Finishing the GPS Scouting

    Finishing the GPS Scouting

    We drove through the hills of Sylhet passed rice fields and tea plantations, and through woods looking for appropriate spots to install our GPS systems.

  • Primary Schools to the Rescue

    Primary Schools to the Rescue

    Up ahead was a school, perfect for a GPS installation. Schools proved to be the best sites in the hills, which we covered in either tea plantations or woods.

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

  • Vulnerabilities of a Coastal City: Reflections Five Years After Hurricane Sandy

    Vulnerabilities of a Coastal City: Reflections Five Years After Hurricane Sandy

    A student shares her first-hand experience of the devastating storm, and discusses how New York City is building resilience—and how it could do better.

  • Predicting Hurricane Flooding Risks to the East Coast

    Predicting Hurricane Flooding Risks to the East Coast

    Columbia University researchers to help translate hurricane science into projections for planning for climate and weather risks.

  • Photo Essay: The Re-Greening of Puerto Rico

    Photo Essay: The Re-Greening of Puerto Rico

    Researchers survey the damage to Puerto Rico’s forests in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

  • Climate Change and the Re-Greening of Puerto Rico

    Climate Change and the Re-Greening of Puerto Rico

    Ecologist Maria Uriarte investigates the effects of Hurricane Maria on the forests of Puerto Rico, and how long-term climate change may affect them.

  • Finishing Up in Bangladesh

    Finishing Up in Bangladesh

    In the final push, we split into multiple teams, and caught up and completed all the seismometer installations on time.

  • Installing the seismometer array

    Installing the seismometer array

    Helping Jim’s team, I assisted in installing stations and scouting locations. While some stations go quickly, others took multiple trips to find a good site. Time is growing short for getting all the seismometer installations done on time.

  • Transition to Seismology Scouting

    Transition to Seismology Scouting

    As we finished scouting and installing the GPS stations, we started to assist the seismology team in getting permission to install there instruments in Tea Estates.

  • Finishing the GPS Scouting

    Finishing the GPS Scouting

    We drove through the hills of Sylhet passed rice fields and tea plantations, and through woods looking for appropriate spots to install our GPS systems.

  • Primary Schools to the Rescue

    Primary Schools to the Rescue

    Up ahead was a school, perfect for a GPS installation. Schools proved to be the best sites in the hills, which we covered in either tea plantations or woods.