State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Geohazards in Bangladesh6

  • 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.

  • Installing the First Two GPS Sites

    Installing the First Two GPS Sites

    From our base in Srimongal, now came the challenging work of finding appropriate locations to install the GPS. It requires a combination of the right tectonic setting and reinforced concrete buildings.

  • Fellowship of the Seismometers

    Fellowship of the Seismometers

    I am back in Bangladesh to start deployment of seismometers and GPS for a large new project that crosses 3 countries: Bangladesh, India and Myanmar.

  • Sampling on the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers

    Sampling on the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers

    The final phase of our revolves around visiting chars, sandy river islands, on the Ganges and Brahmaputra River. Chris and Dan are making measurements of soil salinity and moisture and spectra of the soil reflectance, while Liz and I collected samples for OSL dating and understanding the OSL properties of the river sediments here. This…

  • Side Trip to Hiron Point, Sundarbans

    Side Trip to Hiron Point, Sundarbans

    After helping Chris an Dan with soil salinity and reflectance measurement, Humayun, Liz and I moved onto the smaller M.B. Mewl to sail through the Sundarban Mangrove Forest to service our GPS station at Hiron Point.

  • Equipment Repairs in SW Bangladesh

    Equipment Repairs in SW Bangladesh

    Humayun, Liz and I headed to Khulna in SW Bangladesh a day after Chris and Dan. Along the way, we stopped at our sediment compaction meter for surveying and removing the GPS, and getting feasted by the family that hosts the system.

  • Back to Bangladesh to Date Earthquakes and More

    Back to Bangladesh to Date Earthquakes and More

    I’m back in Bangladesh with a small team after a year and a half away. One different is a police escort as a result of the attacks last year. We start by successfully sampling river sediments to correct the date of an earthquake that caused a river to shift over 3,500 years ago. We also…

Colorful banner with city: "MR 2025: Mobility, Adaptation, and Wellbeing in a Changing Climate."
  • 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.

  • Installing the First Two GPS Sites

    Installing the First Two GPS Sites

    From our base in Srimongal, now came the challenging work of finding appropriate locations to install the GPS. It requires a combination of the right tectonic setting and reinforced concrete buildings.

  • Fellowship of the Seismometers

    Fellowship of the Seismometers

    I am back in Bangladesh to start deployment of seismometers and GPS for a large new project that crosses 3 countries: Bangladesh, India and Myanmar.

  • Sampling on the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers

    Sampling on the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers

    The final phase of our revolves around visiting chars, sandy river islands, on the Ganges and Brahmaputra River. Chris and Dan are making measurements of soil salinity and moisture and spectra of the soil reflectance, while Liz and I collected samples for OSL dating and understanding the OSL properties of the river sediments here. This…

  • Side Trip to Hiron Point, Sundarbans

    Side Trip to Hiron Point, Sundarbans

    After helping Chris an Dan with soil salinity and reflectance measurement, Humayun, Liz and I moved onto the smaller M.B. Mewl to sail through the Sundarban Mangrove Forest to service our GPS station at Hiron Point.

  • Equipment Repairs in SW Bangladesh

    Equipment Repairs in SW Bangladesh

    Humayun, Liz and I headed to Khulna in SW Bangladesh a day after Chris and Dan. Along the way, we stopped at our sediment compaction meter for surveying and removing the GPS, and getting feasted by the family that hosts the system.

  • Back to Bangladesh to Date Earthquakes and More

    Back to Bangladesh to Date Earthquakes and More

    I’m back in Bangladesh with a small team after a year and a half away. One different is a police escort as a result of the attacks last year. We start by successfully sampling river sediments to correct the date of an earthquake that caused a river to shift over 3,500 years ago. We also…