State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

seafloor spreading

  • Marie Tharp’s Adventures in Mapping the Seafloor, In Her Own Words

    Marie Tharp’s Adventures in Mapping the Seafloor, In Her Own Words

    The pioneering mapmaker explains how she and colleagues discovered underwater mountain ranges 40,000 miles long, and helped to prove that the continents move.

  • Walter Pitman and the Smoking Gun of Plate Tectonics

    Walter Pitman and the Smoking Gun of Plate Tectonics

    “We had this magic key, this magic magnetic profile,” Pitman said. “We were able to date it and eventually use it not only as a tool that proved continental drift but a tool by which we could actually reconstruct the pattern of drift, that is the relative position of the continents, and the actual timing…

Composite banner with modern building at night and portrait of Dean Alexis Abramson that reads "Science for the Planet"

By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings

  • Marie Tharp’s Adventures in Mapping the Seafloor, In Her Own Words

    Marie Tharp’s Adventures in Mapping the Seafloor, In Her Own Words

    The pioneering mapmaker explains how she and colleagues discovered underwater mountain ranges 40,000 miles long, and helped to prove that the continents move.

  • Walter Pitman and the Smoking Gun of Plate Tectonics

    Walter Pitman and the Smoking Gun of Plate Tectonics

    “We had this magic key, this magic magnetic profile,” Pitman said. “We were able to date it and eventually use it not only as a tool that proved continental drift but a tool by which we could actually reconstruct the pattern of drift, that is the relative position of the continents, and the actual timing…