State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

oceans5

  • ‘Popping Rocks’ and Robots

    ‘Popping Rocks’ and Robots

    It turns out that studying lava flows at the bottom of the ocean uses many of the same methods as studying lava flows on other planets, writes Lamont’s Elise Rumpf.

  • Mozambique Core Brings Up 7 Million Years of Climate History

    Mozambique Core Brings Up 7 Million Years of Climate History

    With calm seas, the JOIDES Resolution’s latest sediment core comes up with what appears to be a fantastic, cyclic climate signal that is continuous back 7 million years, writes Sidney Hemming.

  • We’re Headed for Mozambique!

    We’re Headed for Mozambique!

    After weeks of anticipation, permission arrived just in time to core off Mozambique. Sidney Hemming and her team of scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution are excited about what they might learn from the ocean sediment.

  • Bleach Patrol: Turning Surfers into Scientists to Help Coral Reefs

    Bleach Patrol: Turning Surfers into Scientists to Help Coral Reefs

    With coral bleaching spreading, a new project and app called Bleach Patrol is putting surfers, divers and snorkelers to work as citizen scientists, keeping an eye on the world’s coral reefs.

  • Trials & Tribulations of Coring the Agulhas Plateau

    Trials & Tribulations of Coring the Agulhas Plateau

    Trying to drill sediment cores while the ship rides large ocean swells off the coast of Africa isn’t easy, but it’s paying off for science, writes Sidney Hemming.

  • Exploring Ocean Turbulence: 2016 Sloan Fellow Ryan Abernathey

    Exploring Ocean Turbulence: 2016 Sloan Fellow Ryan Abernathey

    When you examine the behavior of the global oceans closely—really closely, at scales smaller than 100 kilometers—eddies and jets and fronts start to appear. For Ryan Abernathey, this is where ocean physics gets interesting.

  • A New Tool for Coastal Planners Preparing for Sea Level Rise

    A New Tool for Coastal Planners Preparing for Sea Level Rise

    Globally, the tool estimates at least 11 inches of sea level rise this century with ambitious efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions and as much as 52 inches if greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow unchecked.

  • 6 Million Years of Sediment, Studded with Tiny Fossils

    6 Million Years of Sediment, Studded with Tiny Fossils

    Sidney Hemming and her team have started examining their first sediment core from off southern Africa. It appears to contain about 6 million years of history.

  • Gearing Up for Our First Cores

    Gearing Up for Our First Cores

    As they get to know their ship, the scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution prepare to drill their first sediment cores along the Natal Valley off the coast of southern Africa.

  • ‘Popping Rocks’ and Robots

    ‘Popping Rocks’ and Robots

    It turns out that studying lava flows at the bottom of the ocean uses many of the same methods as studying lava flows on other planets, writes Lamont’s Elise Rumpf.

  • Mozambique Core Brings Up 7 Million Years of Climate History

    Mozambique Core Brings Up 7 Million Years of Climate History

    With calm seas, the JOIDES Resolution’s latest sediment core comes up with what appears to be a fantastic, cyclic climate signal that is continuous back 7 million years, writes Sidney Hemming.

  • We’re Headed for Mozambique!

    We’re Headed for Mozambique!

    After weeks of anticipation, permission arrived just in time to core off Mozambique. Sidney Hemming and her team of scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution are excited about what they might learn from the ocean sediment.

  • Bleach Patrol: Turning Surfers into Scientists to Help Coral Reefs

    Bleach Patrol: Turning Surfers into Scientists to Help Coral Reefs

    With coral bleaching spreading, a new project and app called Bleach Patrol is putting surfers, divers and snorkelers to work as citizen scientists, keeping an eye on the world’s coral reefs.

  • Trials & Tribulations of Coring the Agulhas Plateau

    Trials & Tribulations of Coring the Agulhas Plateau

    Trying to drill sediment cores while the ship rides large ocean swells off the coast of Africa isn’t easy, but it’s paying off for science, writes Sidney Hemming.

  • Exploring Ocean Turbulence: 2016 Sloan Fellow Ryan Abernathey

    Exploring Ocean Turbulence: 2016 Sloan Fellow Ryan Abernathey

    When you examine the behavior of the global oceans closely—really closely, at scales smaller than 100 kilometers—eddies and jets and fronts start to appear. For Ryan Abernathey, this is where ocean physics gets interesting.

  • A New Tool for Coastal Planners Preparing for Sea Level Rise

    A New Tool for Coastal Planners Preparing for Sea Level Rise

    Globally, the tool estimates at least 11 inches of sea level rise this century with ambitious efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions and as much as 52 inches if greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow unchecked.

  • 6 Million Years of Sediment, Studded with Tiny Fossils

    6 Million Years of Sediment, Studded with Tiny Fossils

    Sidney Hemming and her team have started examining their first sediment core from off southern Africa. It appears to contain about 6 million years of history.

  • Gearing Up for Our First Cores

    Gearing Up for Our First Cores

    As they get to know their ship, the scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution prepare to drill their first sediment cores along the Natal Valley off the coast of southern Africa.