State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Earthquakes4

  • A Slow-Motion Section of the San Andreas Fault May Not Be So Harmless After All

    A Slow-Motion Section of the San Andreas Fault May Not Be So Harmless After All

    The central section of the great fault spanning California, thought to be creeping along harmlessly at the moment, has experienced big quakes in the past, says a new study.

  • Return of the R/V Pelican to Ocho Rios, Jamaica

    Return of the R/V Pelican to Ocho Rios, Jamaica

    The expedition discovered stresses along an underwater plate boundary and a record of historic and pre-historic earthquakes, which will shed light on the geohazard risks for Jamaica and Haiti.

  • Looking at the Seafloor Without Water

    Looking at the Seafloor Without Water

    Along the Enriquillo fault, large-scale submarine landslides provide possible evidence of earthquakes.

  • Mapping Offshore Faults in Kingston Bay

    Mapping Offshore Faults in Kingston Bay

    Motion along these faults is associated with the 1907 Kingston earthquake, which shook the capital of the island with a magnitude of 6.2

  • Into the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and Back

    Into the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and Back

    For the last week of our trip, we traveled by boat to reach the sites where we are measuring subsidence in the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and nearby embanked islands.

  • The R/V Pelican Sets Sail, and Data Collection Begins

    The R/V Pelican Sets Sail, and Data Collection Begins

    Researchers are mapping the seafloor and subseafloor between Haiti and Jamaica, to evaluate the potential for earthquakes.

  • From Barisal to Khulna

    From Barisal to Khulna

    We continued to service our GNSS and RSET-MH equipment measuring land subsidence in coastal Bangladesh. Long distances, poor roads and slow ferries made for very long days, but we were able to complete the work at the sites.

  • Back to Bangladesh at Last

    Back to Bangladesh at Last

    I am finally back in Bangladesh after a pandemic hiatus. I need to repair precision GPSs that failed over the last few years. They are measuring tectonic movements for earthquake hazard and land subsidence, which exacerbates sea level rise.

  • A Morning That Shook the World: The Seismology of 9/11

    A Morning That Shook the World: The Seismology of 9/11

    Seismologist Won-Young Kim heard the first reports of the World Trade Center attacks while driving to work. Soon, he would be enmeshed in helping figure out exactly what happened, and when.

Collage of Turkiye beach scene and Columbia University Campus with text: UN Climate Change Conference COP31, Antalya, Turkiye, Nov 9-20, 2026

COP31, the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aims to advance dialogue, strengthen consensus, and accelerate climate action on a global scale. From November 9–20, 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye, heads of state, ministers, scientists, business leaders, and civil society will gather to advance efforts in emission targets, climate finance, and adaptation and resilience. Once again, our experts, students, and global thought leaders from Columbia Climate School and across Columbia University are contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More

  • A Slow-Motion Section of the San Andreas Fault May Not Be So Harmless After All

    A Slow-Motion Section of the San Andreas Fault May Not Be So Harmless After All

    The central section of the great fault spanning California, thought to be creeping along harmlessly at the moment, has experienced big quakes in the past, says a new study.

  • Return of the R/V Pelican to Ocho Rios, Jamaica

    Return of the R/V Pelican to Ocho Rios, Jamaica

    The expedition discovered stresses along an underwater plate boundary and a record of historic and pre-historic earthquakes, which will shed light on the geohazard risks for Jamaica and Haiti.

  • Looking at the Seafloor Without Water

    Looking at the Seafloor Without Water

    Along the Enriquillo fault, large-scale submarine landslides provide possible evidence of earthquakes.

  • Mapping Offshore Faults in Kingston Bay

    Mapping Offshore Faults in Kingston Bay

    Motion along these faults is associated with the 1907 Kingston earthquake, which shook the capital of the island with a magnitude of 6.2

  • Into the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and Back

    Into the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and Back

    For the last week of our trip, we traveled by boat to reach the sites where we are measuring subsidence in the Sundarban Mangrove Forest and nearby embanked islands.

  • The R/V Pelican Sets Sail, and Data Collection Begins

    The R/V Pelican Sets Sail, and Data Collection Begins

    Researchers are mapping the seafloor and subseafloor between Haiti and Jamaica, to evaluate the potential for earthquakes.

  • From Barisal to Khulna

    From Barisal to Khulna

    We continued to service our GNSS and RSET-MH equipment measuring land subsidence in coastal Bangladesh. Long distances, poor roads and slow ferries made for very long days, but we were able to complete the work at the sites.

  • Back to Bangladesh at Last

    Back to Bangladesh at Last

    I am finally back in Bangladesh after a pandemic hiatus. I need to repair precision GPSs that failed over the last few years. They are measuring tectonic movements for earthquake hazard and land subsidence, which exacerbates sea level rise.

  • A Morning That Shook the World: The Seismology of 9/11

    A Morning That Shook the World: The Seismology of 9/11

    Seismologist Won-Young Kim heard the first reports of the World Trade Center attacks while driving to work. Soon, he would be enmeshed in helping figure out exactly what happened, and when.