State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Papua New Guinea

  • Paige West, Environmental Anthropologist, Wins Guggenheim Fellowship

    Paige West, Environmental Anthropologist, Wins Guggenheim Fellowship

    A Q&A with the anthropologist, who plans to continue her work supporting Indigenous land stewardship in Papua New Guinea and is also working on a new book.

  • Drought in Papua New Guinea Heightens Tensions over Gold Mine

    Drought in Papua New Guinea Heightens Tensions over Gold Mine

    In the highlands of Papua New Guinea, tensions between local villagers and a gold mining operation over access to clean water are being heightened by a prolonged drought.

  • Uncovering Impacts of Gold Mining in Papua New Guinea

    Uncovering Impacts of Gold Mining in Papua New Guinea

    From late December 2015 through January, a team of Earth Institute scientists and human rights lawyers from Columbia University worked in the highlands of Papua New Guinea to deliver the results of an independent study of water quality and human rights to the indigenous communities living near an industrial gold mine.

  • The Downs and Ups of Mountain Building

    The Downs and Ups of Mountain Building

    In the islands off Papua New Guinea, the rocks are giving rise to new ideas about the ways mountain chains form. A new scientific model shows how two seemingly opposite processes can take place in the same region.

  • Where Continents Divide, and Rocks Rise from the Deep

    Where Continents Divide, and Rocks Rise from the Deep

    Along the Woodlark Rift in eastern Papua New Guinea, continents are breaking apart, “like a snake opening its mouth.” Geologic processes that are still a mystery are actively stretching the crust and pushing huge masses of rock, formed under immense pressures as deep as 100 kilometers below, to the surface.

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

  • Paige West, Environmental Anthropologist, Wins Guggenheim Fellowship

    Paige West, Environmental Anthropologist, Wins Guggenheim Fellowship

    A Q&A with the anthropologist, who plans to continue her work supporting Indigenous land stewardship in Papua New Guinea and is also working on a new book.

  • Drought in Papua New Guinea Heightens Tensions over Gold Mine

    Drought in Papua New Guinea Heightens Tensions over Gold Mine

    In the highlands of Papua New Guinea, tensions between local villagers and a gold mining operation over access to clean water are being heightened by a prolonged drought.

  • Uncovering Impacts of Gold Mining in Papua New Guinea

    Uncovering Impacts of Gold Mining in Papua New Guinea

    From late December 2015 through January, a team of Earth Institute scientists and human rights lawyers from Columbia University worked in the highlands of Papua New Guinea to deliver the results of an independent study of water quality and human rights to the indigenous communities living near an industrial gold mine.

  • The Downs and Ups of Mountain Building

    The Downs and Ups of Mountain Building

    In the islands off Papua New Guinea, the rocks are giving rise to new ideas about the ways mountain chains form. A new scientific model shows how two seemingly opposite processes can take place in the same region.

  • Where Continents Divide, and Rocks Rise from the Deep

    Where Continents Divide, and Rocks Rise from the Deep

    Along the Woodlark Rift in eastern Papua New Guinea, continents are breaking apart, “like a snake opening its mouth.” Geologic processes that are still a mystery are actively stretching the crust and pushing huge masses of rock, formed under immense pressures as deep as 100 kilometers below, to the surface.