State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Geohazards in Bangladesh

  • Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    The last part of our trip was a whirlwind of seeing multiple sites in the Sundarbans mangrove forest and its wildlife, more interviews with villagers, historic and cultural sites and shopping, followed by tearful goodbyes.

  • Poets and Polders

    Poets and Polders

    Continuing on our journey, we visited the shrine and former home of Bangladeshi cultural icons, continued our interviews, and boarded a boat to take us to the embanked islands known as polders.

  • A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    In Bangladesh, a large and growing population lives in one of the most dynamic and sensitive environments on Earth, subject to multiple natural disasters and threatened by climate change.

  • Finding an Undocumented Earthquake That Moved a River

    Finding an Undocumented Earthquake That Moved a River

    Researchers offer a behind-the-scenes look at their recent discovery of an earthquake that shifted the course of the Ganges.

  • An Earthquake Changed the Course of the Ganges. Could It Happen Again?

    An Earthquake Changed the Course of the Ganges. Could It Happen Again?

    2,500 years ago, an earthquake changed the course of the mighty Ganges River, a new study shows. The region remains vulnerable to a similar event now.

  • Repairing Tectonic GNSS in Bangladesh’s Tea Region

    Repairing Tectonic GNSS in Bangladesh’s Tea Region

    The remainder of my fieldwork focuses on the GNSS (the general term for GPS) instruments in eastern Bangladesh to study the tectonics and earthquake hazard.

  • Finishing the Coastal Service Run

    Finishing the Coastal Service Run

    Traveling by boat, we are finishing our data collection and equipment servicing in coastal Bangladesh.

  • Back to the Sundarbans

    Back to the Sundarbans

    As part of our trip studying land subsidence and elevation changes, we boarded a boat to travel through the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest.

  • Servicing My GNSS (GPS) in Bangladesh Once Again

    Servicing My GNSS (GPS) in Bangladesh Once Again

    The sustainability of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta and Bangladesh depends on the balance of sea level rise, land subsidence and sedimentation. We are measuring the latter two across the coastal zone.

Earth Month Graphic Collage: "Our Power, Our Planet - April 2025"

The first Earth Day in 1970 ignited a movement to stop polluting our planet. This Earth Month, 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.

  • Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    Mangroves, Tigers and Shopping

    The last part of our trip was a whirlwind of seeing multiple sites in the Sundarbans mangrove forest and its wildlife, more interviews with villagers, historic and cultural sites and shopping, followed by tearful goodbyes.

  • Poets and Polders

    Poets and Polders

    Continuing on our journey, we visited the shrine and former home of Bangladeshi cultural icons, continued our interviews, and boarded a boat to take us to the embanked islands known as polders.

  • A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    A Special Trip to Bangladesh

    In Bangladesh, a large and growing population lives in one of the most dynamic and sensitive environments on Earth, subject to multiple natural disasters and threatened by climate change.

  • Finding an Undocumented Earthquake That Moved a River

    Finding an Undocumented Earthquake That Moved a River

    Researchers offer a behind-the-scenes look at their recent discovery of an earthquake that shifted the course of the Ganges.

  • An Earthquake Changed the Course of the Ganges. Could It Happen Again?

    An Earthquake Changed the Course of the Ganges. Could It Happen Again?

    2,500 years ago, an earthquake changed the course of the mighty Ganges River, a new study shows. The region remains vulnerable to a similar event now.

  • Repairing Tectonic GNSS in Bangladesh’s Tea Region

    Repairing Tectonic GNSS in Bangladesh’s Tea Region

    The remainder of my fieldwork focuses on the GNSS (the general term for GPS) instruments in eastern Bangladesh to study the tectonics and earthquake hazard.

  • Finishing the Coastal Service Run

    Finishing the Coastal Service Run

    Traveling by boat, we are finishing our data collection and equipment servicing in coastal Bangladesh.

  • Back to the Sundarbans

    Back to the Sundarbans

    As part of our trip studying land subsidence and elevation changes, we boarded a boat to travel through the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest.

  • Servicing My GNSS (GPS) in Bangladesh Once Again

    Servicing My GNSS (GPS) in Bangladesh Once Again

    The sustainability of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta and Bangladesh depends on the balance of sea level rise, land subsidence and sedimentation. We are measuring the latter two across the coastal zone.