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…

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

  • 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…