State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

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  • A Meeting for the Kullorsuaq Community

    A Meeting for the Kullorsuaq Community

    It seems that many of the local fishermen have gone to hunt Narwal further north but there are several good prospects for boats that Søren will scout further as several of the fishermen are sleeping as the fishing is better right now at night. With 24 hours of daylight day or night fishing doesn’t really…

  • The Changing Upernavik Waterfront

    The Changing Upernavik Waterfront

    Project Background: Changing conditions in Greenland’s northwest glaciers over the last decade have led to a range of questions about water temperature and circulation patterns in the fjords where ocean water meets the glacial fronts.

  • Gavin Schmidt Named Director of Goddard Institute for Space Studies

    Gavin Schmidt Named Director of Goddard Institute for Space Studies

    NASA has named Gavin A. Schmidt to head its Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), an affiliate of Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Currently serving as deputy director, Schmidt takes over from long-time director James E. Hansen, who retired last year to open a separate climate science and advocacy center at the Earth Institute.

  • EPA’s Upcoming Carbon Rules: A Primer

    EPA’s Upcoming Carbon Rules: A Primer

    On Monday, June 2, President Obama will announce proposed federal rules aimed at curbing carbon emissions from existing U.S. power plants–possibly a landmark in U.S. climate policy. It is uncertain how far the rule will go, and the announcement is being closely watched around the world.

  • How High Will Sea Levels Rise?

    How High Will Sea Levels Rise?

    Scientists from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are trying to determine how high sea levels may rise in the future by studying the shorelines of the past. Led by a team of researchers including Lamont climate scientist and marine geologist Maureen Raymo, the goal of Pliomax is to increase the accuracy of global sea level estimates for…

  • Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Tiny one-celled organisms called radiolaria are ubiquitous in the oceans, but various species prefer distinct habitats. Thus it aroused considerable intrigue in 2012 when protozoa specialist O. Roger Anderson and colleagues published a study showing that radiolaria normally found near the equator were suddenly floating around in arctic waters above Norway. Was this a sign…

  • Amid a Fossil Bonanza, Drilling Deep into Pre-Dinosaurian Rocks

    Amid a Fossil Bonanza, Drilling Deep into Pre-Dinosaurian Rocks

    On a high ridge in Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park, paleontologist Paul Olsen sits on the fallen trunk of a 215-million-year-old tree, now turned to stone. The tree once loomed 70 or 80 feet above a riverine landscape teeming with fish, turtles, giant crocodilians and tiny, early species of dinosaurs.

  • Photo Essay: Unearthing the Lost World Below a Petrified Forest

    Photo Essay: Unearthing the Lost World Below a Petrified Forest

    In Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park, researchers are scouring the fossil-rich surface and drilling deep into ancient rocks to learn what happened during the late Triassic, some 201 million to 235 million years ago.

  • Celebrate Earth Day with Extreme Science

    Celebrate Earth Day with Extreme Science

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientist Robin Bell will participate in a Google+ Hangout hosted by the White House on Tuesday, April 22 at 4:00 p.m. EDT. Bell, who will join the Hangout from New Zealand, is a polar scientist who studies sub-glacial lakes, ice sheet dynamics and tectonics in Earth’s polar regions.

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

  • A Meeting for the Kullorsuaq Community

    A Meeting for the Kullorsuaq Community

    It seems that many of the local fishermen have gone to hunt Narwal further north but there are several good prospects for boats that Søren will scout further as several of the fishermen are sleeping as the fishing is better right now at night. With 24 hours of daylight day or night fishing doesn’t really…

  • The Changing Upernavik Waterfront

    The Changing Upernavik Waterfront

    Project Background: Changing conditions in Greenland’s northwest glaciers over the last decade have led to a range of questions about water temperature and circulation patterns in the fjords where ocean water meets the glacial fronts.

  • Gavin Schmidt Named Director of Goddard Institute for Space Studies

    Gavin Schmidt Named Director of Goddard Institute for Space Studies

    NASA has named Gavin A. Schmidt to head its Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), an affiliate of Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Currently serving as deputy director, Schmidt takes over from long-time director James E. Hansen, who retired last year to open a separate climate science and advocacy center at the Earth Institute.

  • EPA’s Upcoming Carbon Rules: A Primer

    EPA’s Upcoming Carbon Rules: A Primer

    On Monday, June 2, President Obama will announce proposed federal rules aimed at curbing carbon emissions from existing U.S. power plants–possibly a landmark in U.S. climate policy. It is uncertain how far the rule will go, and the announcement is being closely watched around the world.

  • How High Will Sea Levels Rise?

    How High Will Sea Levels Rise?

    Scientists from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are trying to determine how high sea levels may rise in the future by studying the shorelines of the past. Led by a team of researchers including Lamont climate scientist and marine geologist Maureen Raymo, the goal of Pliomax is to increase the accuracy of global sea level estimates for…

  • Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Climate and the Opal Artisans of the Sea

    Tiny one-celled organisms called radiolaria are ubiquitous in the oceans, but various species prefer distinct habitats. Thus it aroused considerable intrigue in 2012 when protozoa specialist O. Roger Anderson and colleagues published a study showing that radiolaria normally found near the equator were suddenly floating around in arctic waters above Norway. Was this a sign…

  • Amid a Fossil Bonanza, Drilling Deep into Pre-Dinosaurian Rocks

    Amid a Fossil Bonanza, Drilling Deep into Pre-Dinosaurian Rocks

    On a high ridge in Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park, paleontologist Paul Olsen sits on the fallen trunk of a 215-million-year-old tree, now turned to stone. The tree once loomed 70 or 80 feet above a riverine landscape teeming with fish, turtles, giant crocodilians and tiny, early species of dinosaurs.

  • Photo Essay: Unearthing the Lost World Below a Petrified Forest

    Photo Essay: Unearthing the Lost World Below a Petrified Forest

    In Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park, researchers are scouring the fossil-rich surface and drilling deep into ancient rocks to learn what happened during the late Triassic, some 201 million to 235 million years ago.

  • Celebrate Earth Day with Extreme Science

    Celebrate Earth Day with Extreme Science

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientist Robin Bell will participate in a Google+ Hangout hosted by the White House on Tuesday, April 22 at 4:00 p.m. EDT. Bell, who will join the Hangout from New Zealand, is a polar scientist who studies sub-glacial lakes, ice sheet dynamics and tectonics in Earth’s polar regions.