State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: Arctic5

  • What the Vikings Can Teach Us About Adapting to Climate Change

    What the Vikings Can Teach Us About Adapting to Climate Change

    The rise of the Vikings was not a sudden event, but part of a long continuum of human development in the harsh conditions of northern Scandinavia. How did the Vikings make a living over the long term, and what might have influenced their brief florescence? Today, their experiences may provide a kind of object lesson…

  • Fueled by Melting Glaciers, Algae Bloom Off Greenland

    Fueled by Melting Glaciers, Algae Bloom Off Greenland

    Iron particles catching a ride on glacial meltwater washed out to sea are likely fueling a recently discovered summer algal bloom off the southern coast of Greenland, according to a new study. Microalgae, also known as phytoplankton, are plant-like marine microorganisms that form the base of the food web in many parts of the ocean.…

  • As Climate Stirs Arctic Sea Ice Faster, Pollution Tags Along

    As Climate Stirs Arctic Sea Ice Faster, Pollution Tags Along

    A warming climate is not just melting the Arctic’s sea ice; it is stirring the remaining ice faster, increasing the odds that ice-rafted pollution will foul a neighboring country’s waters, says a new study.

  • Coring Arctic Lakes to Study Vikings

    Coring Arctic Lakes to Study Vikings

    Billy D’Andrea, a Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory paleoclimatologist and Center for Climate and Life Fellow, is investigating the relationship between environmental change and characteristics of early settlements in Norway’s Lofoten Islands.

  • State of the Arctic: Longer Melting Seasons, Thinning Sea Ice

    State of the Arctic: Longer Melting Seasons, Thinning Sea Ice

    The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, and scientists are seeing the effects across ice and ecosystems. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory’s Marco Tedesco describes the changes underway.

  • When Permafrost Melts, What Happens to All That Stored Carbon?

    When Permafrost Melts, What Happens to All That Stored Carbon?

    A new study documents evidence of a massive release of carbon from Siberian permafrost as temperatures rose at the end of the last ice age.

  • Photo Essay: Where the Trees Meet the Tundra

    Photo Essay: Where the Trees Meet the Tundra

    Due to warming climate and increasing human exploitation, far northern forests and the tundra beyond are undergoing rapid changes. In northern Alaska, scientists from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and other institutions are studying the responses of trees at the very edge of their range.

  • Where Trees Meet Tundra, Decoding Signals of Climate Change

    Where Trees Meet Tundra, Decoding Signals of Climate Change

    In northern Alaska’s Brooks Range, the earth as most of us know it comes to an end. The northern tree line-a boundary that circles all of earth’s northern landmasses for more than 8,300 miles, and forms the planet’s biggest ecological transition zone–runs through here. Scientists from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are studying how climate…

  • Red Flags Over the Arctic’s Future

    Red Flags Over the Arctic’s Future

    A new white paper reviews climate impacts already underway in the Arctic, and examines further changes expected to take place even if the world meets the goals of the Paris Agreement. It will be presented today at a meeting at the White House of national-level science ministers and advisors from around the world.

  • What the Vikings Can Teach Us About Adapting to Climate Change

    What the Vikings Can Teach Us About Adapting to Climate Change

    The rise of the Vikings was not a sudden event, but part of a long continuum of human development in the harsh conditions of northern Scandinavia. How did the Vikings make a living over the long term, and what might have influenced their brief florescence? Today, their experiences may provide a kind of object lesson…

  • Fueled by Melting Glaciers, Algae Bloom Off Greenland

    Fueled by Melting Glaciers, Algae Bloom Off Greenland

    Iron particles catching a ride on glacial meltwater washed out to sea are likely fueling a recently discovered summer algal bloom off the southern coast of Greenland, according to a new study. Microalgae, also known as phytoplankton, are plant-like marine microorganisms that form the base of the food web in many parts of the ocean.…

  • As Climate Stirs Arctic Sea Ice Faster, Pollution Tags Along

    As Climate Stirs Arctic Sea Ice Faster, Pollution Tags Along

    A warming climate is not just melting the Arctic’s sea ice; it is stirring the remaining ice faster, increasing the odds that ice-rafted pollution will foul a neighboring country’s waters, says a new study.

  • Coring Arctic Lakes to Study Vikings

    Coring Arctic Lakes to Study Vikings

    Billy D’Andrea, a Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory paleoclimatologist and Center for Climate and Life Fellow, is investigating the relationship between environmental change and characteristics of early settlements in Norway’s Lofoten Islands.

  • State of the Arctic: Longer Melting Seasons, Thinning Sea Ice

    State of the Arctic: Longer Melting Seasons, Thinning Sea Ice

    The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, and scientists are seeing the effects across ice and ecosystems. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory’s Marco Tedesco describes the changes underway.

  • When Permafrost Melts, What Happens to All That Stored Carbon?

    When Permafrost Melts, What Happens to All That Stored Carbon?

    A new study documents evidence of a massive release of carbon from Siberian permafrost as temperatures rose at the end of the last ice age.

  • Photo Essay: Where the Trees Meet the Tundra

    Photo Essay: Where the Trees Meet the Tundra

    Due to warming climate and increasing human exploitation, far northern forests and the tundra beyond are undergoing rapid changes. In northern Alaska, scientists from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and other institutions are studying the responses of trees at the very edge of their range.

  • Where Trees Meet Tundra, Decoding Signals of Climate Change

    Where Trees Meet Tundra, Decoding Signals of Climate Change

    In northern Alaska’s Brooks Range, the earth as most of us know it comes to an end. The northern tree line-a boundary that circles all of earth’s northern landmasses for more than 8,300 miles, and forms the planet’s biggest ecological transition zone–runs through here. Scientists from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are studying how climate…

  • Red Flags Over the Arctic’s Future

    Red Flags Over the Arctic’s Future

    A new white paper reviews climate impacts already underway in the Arctic, and examines further changes expected to take place even if the world meets the goals of the Paris Agreement. It will be presented today at a meeting at the White House of national-level science ministers and advisors from around the world.