State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory130

  • Peat Fires Choking Southeast Asia Pose a New Threat to Global Climate

    Peat Fires Choking Southeast Asia Pose a New Threat to Global Climate

    The Indonesian peat fires that have been choking cities across Southeast Asia with a yellow haze are creating more than a local menace—burning peat releases immense stores of CO2, contributing to global warming.

  • Ancient Faults & Water Are Sparking Earthquakes Off Alaska

    Ancient Faults & Water Are Sparking Earthquakes Off Alaska

    Ancient faults that formed in the ocean floor millions of years ago are feeding earthquakes today along stretches of the Alaska Peninsula, and likely elsewhere, a new study suggests.

  • Unlocking the Secrets of the Ross Ice Shelf

    Unlocking the Secrets of the Ross Ice Shelf

    The Ross Ice Shelf is much like the Rosetta Stone. The historic stone inscribed in three scripts told the same story but in different tongues, so when matched together scholars could decode an ancient language. The Antarctic Rosetta Project also brings together three different “scripts,” each written by an Earth system; the ice, the ocean…

  • Polar Ice, Penguin Tracks and Phytoplankton

    Polar Ice, Penguin Tracks and Phytoplankton

    Jeff Bowman, a postdoctoral research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, is in Antarctica for the field season studying how phytoplankton and bacteria interact. Follow his reports from Palmer Station.

  • In 2015: Hot, Wet and Opinionated

    In 2015: Hot, Wet and Opinionated

    This year is shaping up to be the warmest year on record since 1880, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And, perhaps not so coincidentally, a new poll says more people in the United States are coming around to the view that climate change is happening.

  • Last Sample and Home

    Last Sample and Home

    We finished our work at the river transect. Now we had one more sample to collect. Alamgir had arranged for drillers at this new site, but they were delayed because of a knife fight between two villages over some property.

  • OSL Samples at Last

    OSL Samples at Last

    The success of the tube wells for drilling and obtaining samples was a great boon to our field program. We drilled three additional tube wells to complete a five-well transect across the abandoned river valley. When we date the samples, we will find out if the river switched position suddenly, possibly from an earthquake.

  • Exploring Rugged Hills & Turbulent Waters 4,500 Meters Down

    Exploring Rugged Hills & Turbulent Waters 4,500 Meters Down

    Aboard a ship at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, scientists are studying how the deepest and coldest waters mix with shallower waters, gaining heat in the process.

  • El Niño: Resources for Journalists

    El Niño: Resources for Journalists

    El Niño is earth’s most powerful climate cycle, influencing weather and affecting crops, water supplies and public health globally. What may be the strongest El Niño ever measured is now getting underway, and is already affecting parts of the world.

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

  • Peat Fires Choking Southeast Asia Pose a New Threat to Global Climate

    Peat Fires Choking Southeast Asia Pose a New Threat to Global Climate

    The Indonesian peat fires that have been choking cities across Southeast Asia with a yellow haze are creating more than a local menace—burning peat releases immense stores of CO2, contributing to global warming.

  • Ancient Faults & Water Are Sparking Earthquakes Off Alaska

    Ancient Faults & Water Are Sparking Earthquakes Off Alaska

    Ancient faults that formed in the ocean floor millions of years ago are feeding earthquakes today along stretches of the Alaska Peninsula, and likely elsewhere, a new study suggests.

  • Unlocking the Secrets of the Ross Ice Shelf

    Unlocking the Secrets of the Ross Ice Shelf

    The Ross Ice Shelf is much like the Rosetta Stone. The historic stone inscribed in three scripts told the same story but in different tongues, so when matched together scholars could decode an ancient language. The Antarctic Rosetta Project also brings together three different “scripts,” each written by an Earth system; the ice, the ocean…

  • Polar Ice, Penguin Tracks and Phytoplankton

    Polar Ice, Penguin Tracks and Phytoplankton

    Jeff Bowman, a postdoctoral research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, is in Antarctica for the field season studying how phytoplankton and bacteria interact. Follow his reports from Palmer Station.

  • In 2015: Hot, Wet and Opinionated

    In 2015: Hot, Wet and Opinionated

    This year is shaping up to be the warmest year on record since 1880, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And, perhaps not so coincidentally, a new poll says more people in the United States are coming around to the view that climate change is happening.

  • Last Sample and Home

    Last Sample and Home

    We finished our work at the river transect. Now we had one more sample to collect. Alamgir had arranged for drillers at this new site, but they were delayed because of a knife fight between two villages over some property.

  • OSL Samples at Last

    OSL Samples at Last

    The success of the tube wells for drilling and obtaining samples was a great boon to our field program. We drilled three additional tube wells to complete a five-well transect across the abandoned river valley. When we date the samples, we will find out if the river switched position suddenly, possibly from an earthquake.

  • Exploring Rugged Hills & Turbulent Waters 4,500 Meters Down

    Exploring Rugged Hills & Turbulent Waters 4,500 Meters Down

    Aboard a ship at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, scientists are studying how the deepest and coldest waters mix with shallower waters, gaining heat in the process.

  • El Niño: Resources for Journalists

    El Niño: Resources for Journalists

    El Niño is earth’s most powerful climate cycle, influencing weather and affecting crops, water supplies and public health globally. What may be the strongest El Niño ever measured is now getting underway, and is already affecting parts of the world.