State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory117

  • Women Leaders Tackle the Urban Climate Challenge

    Women Leaders Tackle the Urban Climate Challenge

    Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, will join dozens of other leaders in government, business and the non-profit world at the Women4Climate conference at Columbia University on March 15.

  • Earth Institute Photography Exhibit Opens at Low Memorial Library

    Earth Institute Photography Exhibit Opens at Low Memorial Library

    A new photography exhibit in the Rotunda at Columbia University’s Low Memorial Library highlights the variety and global reach of the Earth Institute’s mission

  • Trump’s Unifying Opportunity: Food Security

    Trump’s Unifying Opportunity: Food Security

    A sound strategy to secure the nation’s food supply and reduce its vulnerability within and beyond our borders will be a major step towards making America and the world more resilient in the face of increasing uncertainty.

  • Peering into Volcanoes: a Talk with Einat Lev

    Peering into Volcanoes: a Talk with Einat Lev

    What do the scientists and researchers around the Earth Institute do? In this second in a series, Einat Lev from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory talks about her work on volcanoes what she’d like people to know about it, and what inspired her to go into the field.

  • In High Sierras, Remnants of Ice Age Tell a Tale of Future Climate

    In High Sierras, Remnants of Ice Age Tell a Tale of Future Climate

    Aaron Putnam’s research in the California Sierras is part of an effort to study glaciers around the world—in Europe’s Alps, the Himalayas, Mongolia, Patagonia, New Zealand. He’s working on an important piece of the worldwide climate puzzle that can help us understand what’s ahead in a warming world.

  • Indonesian Corals Shed Light on Climate System

    Indonesian Corals Shed Light on Climate System

    A new coral salinity record shows that the location of the most significant hydroclimatic feature in the Southern Hemisphere, the South Pacific Convergence Zone, influences a major Pacific Ocean current.

  • 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.

  • Sampling on the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers

    Sampling on the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers

    The final phase of our revolves around visiting chars, sandy river islands, on the Ganges and Brahmaputra River. Chris and Dan are making measurements of soil salinity and moisture and spectra of the soil reflectance, while Liz and I collected samples for OSL dating and understanding the OSL properties of the river sediments here. This…

  • Project Aims to Map World’s Oceans by 2030

    Project Aims to Map World’s Oceans by 2030

    More than 85 percent of the ocean floor remains unmapped, leaving us in the dark about much of the earth’s topography. A global, non-profit effort will try to remedy that, and influence everything from climate research and weather prediction to mineral resource exploration and fisheries.

Banner with images representing environmental issues and text "You Asked: Our Scientists and Experts Answer Your Burning Questions."

You Asked invites you to share your most pressing questions about climate, science, and sustainability. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School experts will respond with clear, evidence-based answers. Pose your questions and story ideas!

  • Women Leaders Tackle the Urban Climate Challenge

    Women Leaders Tackle the Urban Climate Challenge

    Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, will join dozens of other leaders in government, business and the non-profit world at the Women4Climate conference at Columbia University on March 15.

  • Earth Institute Photography Exhibit Opens at Low Memorial Library

    Earth Institute Photography Exhibit Opens at Low Memorial Library

    A new photography exhibit in the Rotunda at Columbia University’s Low Memorial Library highlights the variety and global reach of the Earth Institute’s mission

  • Trump’s Unifying Opportunity: Food Security

    Trump’s Unifying Opportunity: Food Security

    A sound strategy to secure the nation’s food supply and reduce its vulnerability within and beyond our borders will be a major step towards making America and the world more resilient in the face of increasing uncertainty.

  • Peering into Volcanoes: a Talk with Einat Lev

    Peering into Volcanoes: a Talk with Einat Lev

    What do the scientists and researchers around the Earth Institute do? In this second in a series, Einat Lev from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory talks about her work on volcanoes what she’d like people to know about it, and what inspired her to go into the field.

  • In High Sierras, Remnants of Ice Age Tell a Tale of Future Climate

    In High Sierras, Remnants of Ice Age Tell a Tale of Future Climate

    Aaron Putnam’s research in the California Sierras is part of an effort to study glaciers around the world—in Europe’s Alps, the Himalayas, Mongolia, Patagonia, New Zealand. He’s working on an important piece of the worldwide climate puzzle that can help us understand what’s ahead in a warming world.

  • Indonesian Corals Shed Light on Climate System

    Indonesian Corals Shed Light on Climate System

    A new coral salinity record shows that the location of the most significant hydroclimatic feature in the Southern Hemisphere, the South Pacific Convergence Zone, influences a major Pacific Ocean current.

  • 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.

  • Sampling on the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers

    Sampling on the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers

    The final phase of our revolves around visiting chars, sandy river islands, on the Ganges and Brahmaputra River. Chris and Dan are making measurements of soil salinity and moisture and spectra of the soil reflectance, while Liz and I collected samples for OSL dating and understanding the OSL properties of the river sediments here. This…

  • Project Aims to Map World’s Oceans by 2030

    Project Aims to Map World’s Oceans by 2030

    More than 85 percent of the ocean floor remains unmapped, leaving us in the dark about much of the earth’s topography. A global, non-profit effort will try to remedy that, and influence everything from climate research and weather prediction to mineral resource exploration and fisheries.