State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: 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.

  • 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:

  • 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.

  • 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 Intersection of Population and Elevation Examined

    The Intersection of Population and Elevation Examined

    This map shows the estimated number of people in 2010 living at different elevation levels across several Southern Asian countries. The database it’s taken from lets users without specialized geospatial training or software compare populations in various environmental contexts in different countries.

  • Fresh Evidence of Life on Mars?

    Fresh Evidence of Life on Mars?

    In a landscape shaped by wind and water, is it possible that microbial life was found on Mars in 1976? A new paper indicates life may be present, and a new mission to Mars may confirm the results.

  • The Indiana Jones of Climate Modeling

    The Indiana Jones of Climate Modeling

    By JD Capuano Benjamin Cook is a climate modeler at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Cook completed his Ph.D. in environmental science at the University of Virginia in 2007. He was among a select group of scientists awarded a Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship by the National Oceanic…

  • 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.

  • 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:

  • 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.

  • 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 Intersection of Population and Elevation Examined

    The Intersection of Population and Elevation Examined

    This map shows the estimated number of people in 2010 living at different elevation levels across several Southern Asian countries. The database it’s taken from lets users without specialized geospatial training or software compare populations in various environmental contexts in different countries.

  • Fresh Evidence of Life on Mars?

    Fresh Evidence of Life on Mars?

    In a landscape shaped by wind and water, is it possible that microbial life was found on Mars in 1976? A new paper indicates life may be present, and a new mission to Mars may confirm the results.

  • The Indiana Jones of Climate Modeling

    The Indiana Jones of Climate Modeling

    By JD Capuano Benjamin Cook is a climate modeler at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Cook completed his Ph.D. in environmental science at the University of Virginia in 2007. He was among a select group of scientists awarded a Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship by the National Oceanic…