State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

NASA2

  • The Undermining of Climate Science

    The Undermining of Climate Science

    The election of Donald Trump has climate scientists concerned about its implications for U.S. environmental policies and worldwide efforts to curb the effects of climate change. Many fear that climate science under Trump could be strategically undermined in a variety of ways.

  • From Top to Bottom: Scientists Map a New Island Volcano

    From Top to Bottom: Scientists Map a New Island Volcano

    One of the earth’s newest islands exploded into view from the bottom of the southwest Pacific Ocean in January 2015, and scientists sailing around the volcano this spring have created a detailed map of its topography.

  • 2015: The Hottest Year

    2016 May Be Even Hotter

  • Finding Pluto

    Finding Pluto

    Far away, a beloved dot Arcs through cold and shrouded spaces, Not lonely, as we had once thought, But circled by more rocky faces:

  • 2014 Was Warmest Year in Modern Record, Say Two U.S. Reports

    Data in Accord With Other Nations’ Studies

  • Ice Loss in West Antarctic is Speeding Up

    Ice Loss in West Antarctic is Speeding Up

    Glaciers in one part of West Antarctica are melting at triple the rate of a decade ago and have become the most significant contributor to sea level rise in that region, a new study says. The study found that the glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica have shrunk by an average of…

  • 2013 Ranks in Top 10 Warmest Years

    2013 Ranks in Top 10 Warmest Years

    Last year was one of the warmest on record, according to analyses of global temperature data by NASA and NOAA. Both federal agencies placed 2013 among the top 10 warmest years since records began in 1880, continuing a longer-term trend of global warming.

  • NASA’s Jim Hansen to Retire

    James E. Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, has announced he will retire as director of GISS this week to devote more time to his campaign to cut global carbon emissions. “Jim Hansen is a one of the true giants of climate…

  • Frozen Water on Mercury, NASA Confirms

    Frozen Water on Mercury, NASA Confirms

    Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, may hold at least 100 billion tons of ice in permanently shaded craters near its north pole, NASA scientists announced Thursday. The findings come as NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft nears its second year of orbit around Mercury. MESSENGER’s lead investigator, Sean Solomon, is director of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth…

  • The Undermining of Climate Science

    The Undermining of Climate Science

    The election of Donald Trump has climate scientists concerned about its implications for U.S. environmental policies and worldwide efforts to curb the effects of climate change. Many fear that climate science under Trump could be strategically undermined in a variety of ways.

  • From Top to Bottom: Scientists Map a New Island Volcano

    From Top to Bottom: Scientists Map a New Island Volcano

    One of the earth’s newest islands exploded into view from the bottom of the southwest Pacific Ocean in January 2015, and scientists sailing around the volcano this spring have created a detailed map of its topography.

  • 2015: The Hottest Year

    2016 May Be Even Hotter

  • Finding Pluto

    Finding Pluto

    Far away, a beloved dot Arcs through cold and shrouded spaces, Not lonely, as we had once thought, But circled by more rocky faces:

  • 2014 Was Warmest Year in Modern Record, Say Two U.S. Reports

    Data in Accord With Other Nations’ Studies

  • Ice Loss in West Antarctic is Speeding Up

    Ice Loss in West Antarctic is Speeding Up

    Glaciers in one part of West Antarctica are melting at triple the rate of a decade ago and have become the most significant contributor to sea level rise in that region, a new study says. The study found that the glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica have shrunk by an average of…

  • 2013 Ranks in Top 10 Warmest Years

    2013 Ranks in Top 10 Warmest Years

    Last year was one of the warmest on record, according to analyses of global temperature data by NASA and NOAA. Both federal agencies placed 2013 among the top 10 warmest years since records began in 1880, continuing a longer-term trend of global warming.

  • NASA’s Jim Hansen to Retire

    James E. Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, has announced he will retire as director of GISS this week to devote more time to his campaign to cut global carbon emissions. “Jim Hansen is a one of the true giants of climate…

  • Frozen Water on Mercury, NASA Confirms

    Frozen Water on Mercury, NASA Confirms

    Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, may hold at least 100 billion tons of ice in permanently shaded craters near its north pole, NASA scientists announced Thursday. The findings come as NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft nears its second year of orbit around Mercury. MESSENGER’s lead investigator, Sean Solomon, is director of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth…