State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory172

  • Return to Jamalganj

    Return to Jamalganj

    We have been sailing along collecting data, but so far the data quality is poor due to shallow gas in the sediments.  We thought we might have some problems with gas, but the problem is more widespread than we expected.  We are now out of the inland summer lake where we met the boat and…

  • Climate Scientist Studies Ancient Shorelines

    Climate Scientist Studies Ancient Shorelines

    The seas are rising, as they have during past periods of warming in earth’s history. Estimates of how high they will go in the next few thousand years range from five meters, putting greater Miami underwater, to 40 meters, wiping most of Florida off the map. “The range of estimates is huge to the point…

  • Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Readers can follow a New York Times blog from the arctic as the U.S. flagship vessel for charting geology under the seabed sails the Chukchi Sea, north of Alaska and Siberia. By sending sound pulses to the seabed and reading the echoes, scientists conducting the Chukchi Edges project aboard the Marcus G. Langseth hope to understand the structure and history of…

  • Joining the Kokilmoni

    Joining the Kokilmoni

    After a great field season last winter, we had an extraordinary opportunity this fall, a research cruise on the Bangladeshi rivers collecting geophysical data. We are using the same technique that Lamont uses on its ship, the R/V Marcus Langseth, but a mini version.  The basic idea is to use sound waves from bursts of…

  • A Sea Change, Deep Under Antarctic Waters

    A Sea Change, Deep Under Antarctic Waters

    The frigid seabottom off Antarctica holds a surprising riot of life: colorful carpets of sponges, starfish, sea cucumbers and many other soft, bottom-dwelling animals, shown on images from robotic submarines. Now, it appears that many such communities could fast disappear, due to warming climate. Scientists sailing on an icebreaker last year have just published a study showing that gigantic…

  • Drilling for Carbon-Storing Rocks in Suburban New York

    Drilling for Carbon-Storing Rocks in Suburban New York

    Under the shopping malls and highways of suburbia, there might one day be a partial fix for global warming. Since August, engineers have been drilling just west of the Tappan Zee Bridge to collect samples of rock from the Newark Basin, an ancient rock formation stretching beneath New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. As they…

  • Humans Shaped Stone Axes 1.8 Million Years Ago, Study Says

    Evidence Pushes Advanced Tool-Making Methods Back in Time

  • Live, from the Bottom of the Sea

    Live, from the Bottom of the Sea

    Lamont-Doherty scientist Timothy Crone is at sea off the Northwest U.S. coast, dropping sensors into the deep ocean as part of a major initiative to better understand oceans, climate and plate tectonics. Watch a live video feed from the latest dive at 3 p.m. EST.

  • Magnitude 5.8 Quake Rattles East Coast

    Magnitude 5.8 Quake Rattles East Coast

    The magnitude 5.8 earthquake that shook central Virginia on Tuesday afternoon is one of the biggest earthquakes to hit the East Coast since 1897, and was comparable in strength to a quake on the New York-Canadian border in 1944, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered near Mineral, Va., about 38 miles northwest…

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!

  • Return to Jamalganj

    Return to Jamalganj

    We have been sailing along collecting data, but so far the data quality is poor due to shallow gas in the sediments.  We thought we might have some problems with gas, but the problem is more widespread than we expected.  We are now out of the inland summer lake where we met the boat and…

  • Climate Scientist Studies Ancient Shorelines

    Climate Scientist Studies Ancient Shorelines

    The seas are rising, as they have during past periods of warming in earth’s history. Estimates of how high they will go in the next few thousand years range from five meters, putting greater Miami underwater, to 40 meters, wiping most of Florida off the map. “The range of estimates is huge to the point…

  • Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Exploring an Unknown Arctic Seabottom (No Ice Included)

    Readers can follow a New York Times blog from the arctic as the U.S. flagship vessel for charting geology under the seabed sails the Chukchi Sea, north of Alaska and Siberia. By sending sound pulses to the seabed and reading the echoes, scientists conducting the Chukchi Edges project aboard the Marcus G. Langseth hope to understand the structure and history of…

  • Joining the Kokilmoni

    Joining the Kokilmoni

    After a great field season last winter, we had an extraordinary opportunity this fall, a research cruise on the Bangladeshi rivers collecting geophysical data. We are using the same technique that Lamont uses on its ship, the R/V Marcus Langseth, but a mini version.  The basic idea is to use sound waves from bursts of…

  • A Sea Change, Deep Under Antarctic Waters

    A Sea Change, Deep Under Antarctic Waters

    The frigid seabottom off Antarctica holds a surprising riot of life: colorful carpets of sponges, starfish, sea cucumbers and many other soft, bottom-dwelling animals, shown on images from robotic submarines. Now, it appears that many such communities could fast disappear, due to warming climate. Scientists sailing on an icebreaker last year have just published a study showing that gigantic…

  • Drilling for Carbon-Storing Rocks in Suburban New York

    Drilling for Carbon-Storing Rocks in Suburban New York

    Under the shopping malls and highways of suburbia, there might one day be a partial fix for global warming. Since August, engineers have been drilling just west of the Tappan Zee Bridge to collect samples of rock from the Newark Basin, an ancient rock formation stretching beneath New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. As they…

  • Humans Shaped Stone Axes 1.8 Million Years Ago, Study Says

    Evidence Pushes Advanced Tool-Making Methods Back in Time

  • Live, from the Bottom of the Sea

    Live, from the Bottom of the Sea

    Lamont-Doherty scientist Timothy Crone is at sea off the Northwest U.S. coast, dropping sensors into the deep ocean as part of a major initiative to better understand oceans, climate and plate tectonics. Watch a live video feed from the latest dive at 3 p.m. EST.

  • Magnitude 5.8 Quake Rattles East Coast

    Magnitude 5.8 Quake Rattles East Coast

    The magnitude 5.8 earthquake that shook central Virginia on Tuesday afternoon is one of the biggest earthquakes to hit the East Coast since 1897, and was comparable in strength to a quake on the New York-Canadian border in 1944, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered near Mineral, Va., about 38 miles northwest…