State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate science18

  • Park Williams Discovers History and Science in a Tree Ring

    Park Williams Discovers History and Science in a Tree Ring

    Park Williams studies trees and climate, in particular the causes of drought and the effects of climate change on forests. In this latest in a series of Earth Institute videos, we spoke to him about what he does, what’s important about it, and how his interest in history and environmental science blended into a career.

  • Work on Dead Sea Geology Earns Yael Kiro an Award

    Work on Dead Sea Geology Earns Yael Kiro an Award

    Yael Kiro, an associate research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, has received the 2017 Professor Rafi Freund Award from the Israel Geological Society for work published on the ancient climate history of the Dead Sea.

  • The Science of Carbon Dioxide and Climate

    The Science of Carbon Dioxide and Climate

    The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that our climate is changing at a faster rate than ever recorded in human history because of our use of fuels such as coal and oil, so-called fossil fuels. The conclusion rests on basic physics known since the early 1800s, when physical scientists first recognized that…

  • Grasslands More Sensitive to Dryness than Rainfall, Study Says

    Grasslands More Sensitive to Dryness than Rainfall, Study Says

    A new study shows that dryness of the atmosphere affects U.S. grassland productivity more than rainfall does. The findings could have important implications for predicting how plants will respond to warming climate conditions.

  • Shifting Monsoon Altered Early Cultures in China, Study Says

    Shifting Monsoon Altered Early Cultures in China, Study Says

    The annual summer monsoon that drops rain onto East Asia has shifted dramatically, at times moving northward by as much as 400 km and doubling rainfall in that northern reach. The monsoon’s changes over the past 10,000 years likely altered the course of early human cultures in China, say the authors of a new study.

  • Scientists Say They Now Know Why Antarctic Meltwater Stays Below Ocean Surface

    Scientists Say They Now Know Why Antarctic Meltwater Stays Below Ocean Surface

    Up to now, it has been a mystery why much of the fresh water resulting from the melting of Antarctic ice shelves ends up in the depths instead of floating above saltier, denser ocean waters. Scientists working along one major ice shelf believe they have found the answer.

  • Tracking the Undoing of Climate-Change Measures

    Tracking the Undoing of Climate-Change Measures

    The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law is launching a new tool to identify and explain the efforts taken by the incoming administration to scale back or wholly eliminate federal climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

  • ‘Tail Risk’: a Chat with Scientist Radley Horton

    ‘Tail Risk’: a Chat with Scientist Radley Horton

    We’re talking to experts around the Earth Institute about what they’re working on, what they would like people to know about it, and what inspired them to go into their field.

  • 2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    The news doesn’t come as a surprise to scientists and others who’ve been watching, but marks a milestone nonetheless: 2016 was the warmest year on record, dating back to the start of modern record keeping in 1880.

Banner: Climate Week NYC 2025, September 21-28, 2025
  • Park Williams Discovers History and Science in a Tree Ring

    Park Williams Discovers History and Science in a Tree Ring

    Park Williams studies trees and climate, in particular the causes of drought and the effects of climate change on forests. In this latest in a series of Earth Institute videos, we spoke to him about what he does, what’s important about it, and how his interest in history and environmental science blended into a career.

  • Work on Dead Sea Geology Earns Yael Kiro an Award

    Work on Dead Sea Geology Earns Yael Kiro an Award

    Yael Kiro, an associate research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, has received the 2017 Professor Rafi Freund Award from the Israel Geological Society for work published on the ancient climate history of the Dead Sea.

  • The Science of Carbon Dioxide and Climate

    The Science of Carbon Dioxide and Climate

    The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that our climate is changing at a faster rate than ever recorded in human history because of our use of fuels such as coal and oil, so-called fossil fuels. The conclusion rests on basic physics known since the early 1800s, when physical scientists first recognized that…

  • Grasslands More Sensitive to Dryness than Rainfall, Study Says

    Grasslands More Sensitive to Dryness than Rainfall, Study Says

    A new study shows that dryness of the atmosphere affects U.S. grassland productivity more than rainfall does. The findings could have important implications for predicting how plants will respond to warming climate conditions.

  • Shifting Monsoon Altered Early Cultures in China, Study Says

    Shifting Monsoon Altered Early Cultures in China, Study Says

    The annual summer monsoon that drops rain onto East Asia has shifted dramatically, at times moving northward by as much as 400 km and doubling rainfall in that northern reach. The monsoon’s changes over the past 10,000 years likely altered the course of early human cultures in China, say the authors of a new study.

  • Scientists Say They Now Know Why Antarctic Meltwater Stays Below Ocean Surface

    Scientists Say They Now Know Why Antarctic Meltwater Stays Below Ocean Surface

    Up to now, it has been a mystery why much of the fresh water resulting from the melting of Antarctic ice shelves ends up in the depths instead of floating above saltier, denser ocean waters. Scientists working along one major ice shelf believe they have found the answer.

  • Tracking the Undoing of Climate-Change Measures

    Tracking the Undoing of Climate-Change Measures

    The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law is launching a new tool to identify and explain the efforts taken by the incoming administration to scale back or wholly eliminate federal climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

  • ‘Tail Risk’: a Chat with Scientist Radley Horton

    ‘Tail Risk’: a Chat with Scientist Radley Horton

    We’re talking to experts around the Earth Institute about what they’re working on, what they would like people to know about it, and what inspired them to go into their field.

  • 2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    The news doesn’t come as a surprise to scientists and others who’ve been watching, but marks a milestone nonetheless: 2016 was the warmest year on record, dating back to the start of modern record keeping in 1880.