State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory113

  • Columbia, Princeton Scientists Share 2017 Vetlesen Prize

    Columbia, Princeton Scientists Share 2017 Vetlesen Prize

    S. George Philander of Princeton University and Mark A. Cane of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, who untangled the complex forces that drive El Niño, the world’s most powerful weather cycle, have won the 2017 Vetlesen Prize for achievement in earth sciences.

  • Antarctic Scientists Honor Obama by Collecting Climate Data

    Antarctic Scientists Honor Obama by Collecting Climate Data

    Researchers studying the West Antarctic Peninsula marine ecosystem will recognize President Obama’s efforts to combat global warming by collecting climate data at an oceanographic station they named for the 44th president.

  • Green Sahara’s Ancient Rainfall Regime Revealed

    Green Sahara’s Ancient Rainfall Regime Revealed

    Rainfall patterns in the Sahara during the six-thousand-year “Green Sahara” period have been revealed by analyzing marine sediments, according to new research.

  • Lamont to Develop New Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System

    Lamont to Develop New Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System

    A new pilot program led by the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory aims to provide earlier and more accurate warnings of damaging ground-shaking from earthquakes and the imminent arrival of tsunamis.

  • Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    An improved technique developed by a graduate student at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and her colleagues is making it possible to use airborne ice-penetrating radar to reveal meltwater’s life under the ice throughout the year.

  • Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists are loading drones with high-tech instruments and using satellites and undersea cables that are interacting with sensors in some of the most remote locations on Earth to gather data in real time and uncover the secrets of our planet.

  • Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    The Earth Institute digs into the past, tracks the present and models the future of climate. We explore the broader issues surrounding climate change, seek ways to apply our knowledge to real solutions, and nurture collaboration among faculty and researchers in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, law, public health, engineering, architecture and urban…

  • Creating Earthquake Heat Maps: Temperature Spikes Leave Clues in the Rock

    Creating Earthquake Heat Maps: Temperature Spikes Leave Clues in the Rock

    When a fault slips, the temperature can spike by hundreds of degrees, high enough to alter organic compounds in the rocks and leave a signature. Lamont scientists have developed methods to use those organic signatures to reconstruct past earthquakes and better understand what controls them.

  • Learning from Slow-Slip Earthquakes

    Learning from Slow-Slip Earthquakes

    Off the coast of New Zealand, there is an area where earthquakes can happen in slow-motion as two tectonic plates grind past one another. These slow-slip events create an ideal lab for studying fault behavior along the shallow portion of subduction zones.

Composite banner with modern building at night and portrait of Dean Alexis Abramson that reads "Science for the Planet"

By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings

  • Columbia, Princeton Scientists Share 2017 Vetlesen Prize

    Columbia, Princeton Scientists Share 2017 Vetlesen Prize

    S. George Philander of Princeton University and Mark A. Cane of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, who untangled the complex forces that drive El Niño, the world’s most powerful weather cycle, have won the 2017 Vetlesen Prize for achievement in earth sciences.

  • Antarctic Scientists Honor Obama by Collecting Climate Data

    Antarctic Scientists Honor Obama by Collecting Climate Data

    Researchers studying the West Antarctic Peninsula marine ecosystem will recognize President Obama’s efforts to combat global warming by collecting climate data at an oceanographic station they named for the 44th president.

  • Green Sahara’s Ancient Rainfall Regime Revealed

    Green Sahara’s Ancient Rainfall Regime Revealed

    Rainfall patterns in the Sahara during the six-thousand-year “Green Sahara” period have been revealed by analyzing marine sediments, according to new research.

  • Lamont to Develop New Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System

    Lamont to Develop New Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System

    A new pilot program led by the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory aims to provide earlier and more accurate warnings of damaging ground-shaking from earthquakes and the imminent arrival of tsunamis.

  • Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    An improved technique developed by a graduate student at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and her colleagues is making it possible to use airborne ice-penetrating radar to reveal meltwater’s life under the ice throughout the year.

  • Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists are loading drones with high-tech instruments and using satellites and undersea cables that are interacting with sensors in some of the most remote locations on Earth to gather data in real time and uncover the secrets of our planet.

  • Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    The Earth Institute digs into the past, tracks the present and models the future of climate. We explore the broader issues surrounding climate change, seek ways to apply our knowledge to real solutions, and nurture collaboration among faculty and researchers in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, law, public health, engineering, architecture and urban…

  • Creating Earthquake Heat Maps: Temperature Spikes Leave Clues in the Rock

    Creating Earthquake Heat Maps: Temperature Spikes Leave Clues in the Rock

    When a fault slips, the temperature can spike by hundreds of degrees, high enough to alter organic compounds in the rocks and leave a signature. Lamont scientists have developed methods to use those organic signatures to reconstruct past earthquakes and better understand what controls them.

  • Learning from Slow-Slip Earthquakes

    Learning from Slow-Slip Earthquakes

    Off the coast of New Zealand, there is an area where earthquakes can happen in slow-motion as two tectonic plates grind past one another. These slow-slip events create an ideal lab for studying fault behavior along the shallow portion of subduction zones.