State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate science32

  • Columbia University to Monitor NYC Waterways

    Dr. Wade McGillis of Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory is the Lead Principal Investigator on a new project entitled “NYC Sustainable Urban Water Quality: the Earthwatch Institute Freshwater Program”, set to take place through January 2017. Dr. McGillis and his staff will be working in partnership with the Earth Watch Institute to deliver this…

  • Extreme Weather Adds Up to Troubling Future

    Extreme Weather Adds Up to Troubling Future

    Extreme weather and climate-related events already have cost the United States billions of dollars. A recent symposium focused on what we know about the causes and how changing climate affects agriculture, water supplies, wildlife and our economy.

  • Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario Costa-Cabral and her brothers harvest hundreds of fruits, oils and wood products from the stream-laced forest of the Amazon River delta. But the climate here is changing: Tides rise higher, and seasonal floods are growing worse.

  • Two Climate Scientists Win 2012 Vetlesen Prize for Work on Ozone Hole, Ice Cores

    An American atmospheric chemist who led efforts to identify the cause of the Antarctic ozone hole and a French geochemist who extracted the longest-yet climate record from polar ice cores have won the prestigious 2012 Vetlesen Prize. Susan Solomon and Jean Jouzel will share the $250,000 award, considered to be the earth sciences’ equivalent of…

  • We Don’t Know All About Hurricanes–But We Know Enough to Act

    We Don’t Know All About Hurricanes–But We Know Enough to Act

    Sandy instantly brought a new kind of national media attention to the influence of global warming on weather disasters. After several years of near-silence on climate from our political leaders and the mainstream media, the renewed attention is profoundly welcome.

  • The ‘Skinny’ on Antarctic Sea Ice

    The ‘Skinny’ on Antarctic Sea Ice

    One piece of our IceBridge mission focuses on sea ice here in the south. Sea ice in the northern regions has been reducing at dramatic rates over the last decade, setting a new record just this year, but the story in the south is not so clear. In fact, there has been a buzz that…

  • Socially Speaking, the State of the Planet

    Socially Speaking, the State of the Planet

    If you wanted to get a sense of the State of the Planet, you didn’t need to be at the Columbia University conference on Oct. 11. You just needed to follow #SOP2012. Six hundred people gathered at the event to think about the future of sustainable development, while 476 people sent 1,300 tweets, making about…

  • The Science and the Lessons of Hurricane Sandy

    The Science and the Lessons of Hurricane Sandy

    Reports and studies have been imagining events like Sandy for years now; so why were so few people ready to listen? And will this lead to a serious conversation about climate change in the halls of power?

  • A Talk with Sean Solomon, Lamont-Doherty’s New Director

    A Talk with Sean Solomon, Lamont-Doherty’s New Director

    “The Observatory has remained a powerhouse in Earth science research and a very special place. The scientists here are true explorers—creative and fiercely independent.”

Overhead view of Columbia campus with text Columbia Climate School Class Day 2026: Congratulations Graduates

Congratulations to our Columbia Climate School Class of 2026 and all of our 2026 Columbia University graduates! Learn more about our May 15 Climate School Class Day celebration. 💙 #Columbia2026 #ColumbiaClimate2026

  • Columbia University to Monitor NYC Waterways

    Dr. Wade McGillis of Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory is the Lead Principal Investigator on a new project entitled “NYC Sustainable Urban Water Quality: the Earthwatch Institute Freshwater Program”, set to take place through January 2017. Dr. McGillis and his staff will be working in partnership with the Earth Watch Institute to deliver this…

  • Extreme Weather Adds Up to Troubling Future

    Extreme Weather Adds Up to Troubling Future

    Extreme weather and climate-related events already have cost the United States billions of dollars. A recent symposium focused on what we know about the causes and how changing climate affects agriculture, water supplies, wildlife and our economy.

  • Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario’s Farm: Rising Tides, Shrimp from the Forest

    Rosario Costa-Cabral and her brothers harvest hundreds of fruits, oils and wood products from the stream-laced forest of the Amazon River delta. But the climate here is changing: Tides rise higher, and seasonal floods are growing worse.

  • Two Climate Scientists Win 2012 Vetlesen Prize for Work on Ozone Hole, Ice Cores

    An American atmospheric chemist who led efforts to identify the cause of the Antarctic ozone hole and a French geochemist who extracted the longest-yet climate record from polar ice cores have won the prestigious 2012 Vetlesen Prize. Susan Solomon and Jean Jouzel will share the $250,000 award, considered to be the earth sciences’ equivalent of…

  • We Don’t Know All About Hurricanes–But We Know Enough to Act

    We Don’t Know All About Hurricanes–But We Know Enough to Act

    Sandy instantly brought a new kind of national media attention to the influence of global warming on weather disasters. After several years of near-silence on climate from our political leaders and the mainstream media, the renewed attention is profoundly welcome.

  • The ‘Skinny’ on Antarctic Sea Ice

    The ‘Skinny’ on Antarctic Sea Ice

    One piece of our IceBridge mission focuses on sea ice here in the south. Sea ice in the northern regions has been reducing at dramatic rates over the last decade, setting a new record just this year, but the story in the south is not so clear. In fact, there has been a buzz that…

  • Socially Speaking, the State of the Planet

    Socially Speaking, the State of the Planet

    If you wanted to get a sense of the State of the Planet, you didn’t need to be at the Columbia University conference on Oct. 11. You just needed to follow #SOP2012. Six hundred people gathered at the event to think about the future of sustainable development, while 476 people sent 1,300 tweets, making about…

  • The Science and the Lessons of Hurricane Sandy

    The Science and the Lessons of Hurricane Sandy

    Reports and studies have been imagining events like Sandy for years now; so why were so few people ready to listen? And will this lead to a serious conversation about climate change in the halls of power?

  • A Talk with Sean Solomon, Lamont-Doherty’s New Director

    A Talk with Sean Solomon, Lamont-Doherty’s New Director

    “The Observatory has remained a powerhouse in Earth science research and a very special place. The scientists here are true explorers—creative and fiercely independent.”