A look back at the past year and lessons from the pandemic that might help in solving climate change.
Research News All
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April 07, 2021
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April 07, 2021
Blog posts and events to help you get informed, inspired, and involved.
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April 07, 2021
This Earth Month, explore our world-leading work and join us in our commitment to creating a more sustainable planet.
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April 06, 2021
A new study finds that that even when air pollution in Kinshasa and Brazzaville is at its lowest, it’s still four times higher than World Health Organization guidelines.
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April 06, 2021
She likes to go hiking during her lunch break and enjoys weekly Zoom calls with her sisters during the pandemic.
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March 15, 2021
The discovery of fossil plants below a mile of Greenland ice indicates that the ice sheet completely melted in the past, and suggests it could rapidly do so again.
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March 15, 2021
Movements of winds in the Southern Hemisphere may be the key to waxing and waning of ice ages, says a new study.
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March 11, 2021
The postdoctoral researcher studies hydrothermal systems and will soon go to the Chilean Andes to explore how geyser activity there may be related to glacier growth and retreat over thousands of years.
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March 09, 2021
A new study employs natural climate archives such as tree rings to better understand volcanoes’ impacts on global rainfall patterns.
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March 08, 2021
Mingfang Ting studies the connection between planetary waves in the atmosphere and climate anomalies, such as droughts and extreme heat.
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March 08, 2021
Fifth graders commemorate pioneering mapmaker Marie Tharp using comics, pictures, and poems.
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March 08, 2021
Gender equality is an essential ingredient in building a fair and sustainable world. Today we’re publishing stories that honor the accomplishments of many of our women colleagues and highlight programs that push for gender equality every day.
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March 03, 2021
New research suggests that photosynthetic green algae also eat bacteria on a previously unsuspected scale.
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February 25, 2021
CO2 molecules make up only a small percentage of the atmosphere, but their impact on our climate is huge. The reason comes down to physics and chemistry.
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February 18, 2021
Is a failure of wind power really behind the blackouts? How can we make sure this doesn’t happen again? Earth Institute scholars have answers to these questions and more.
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February 16, 2021
She studies Earth’s past warm periods to try to understand the future, and was just named a 2021 Sloan Research Fellow.
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February 15, 2021
A new study identifies a climate phenomenon that may have helped sauropodomorphs spread northward across the Pangea supercontinent.
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February 11, 2021
In honor of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, meet just a few of the extraordinary women scientists of Lamont.
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February 11, 2021
The doctoral candidate tells us about her research and some of the challenges of being a woman of color in the sciences.
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February 11, 2021
She’s trying predict fecal bacteria contamination of the river, and researching how environmental degradation disproportionately harms disadvantaged communities.
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February 11, 2021
These women are helping to unravel the mysteries and mechanics of Earth.
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February 11, 2021
In honor of the day, we’re highlighting a few women who play an essential role in the Earth Institute’s work to understand how the planet works, how humans are changing it, and how to build a sustainable future.
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February 09, 2021
Volcanologist Einat Lev tackles reader questions and explains how more monitoring of volcanoes could save lives.
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February 05, 2021
She takes care of hundreds of kilometers of deep-sea sediments that are invaluable to science, and recently received a mentorship award.
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February 03, 2021
Paleoecologist Kevin Uno explains how humans have been adapting to changes in climate for thousands of years, and how we need to adapt now to protect our species' future.
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February 01, 2021
We’ve lost 28 trillion tons of ice globally in 24 years, from 1994 to 2017, and the implications for sea level rise could be significant.
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January 29, 2021
Climate scientist Radley Horton tackles questions about climate tipping points, and how we can tip the scales in a safer direction.
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January 28, 2021
For her work toward charting the global ocean floor, scientist Vicki Ferrini has been named by the Explorer Club as one of 50 people changing the world.
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January 28, 2021
Three goals for the Biden administration as it seeks to put science-based responses at the center of its policy initiatives.
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January 26, 2021
Climate scientist Gisela Winckler explains the link between climate science and solutions, and shares some of her research adventures.
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January 25, 2021
Scientists are working to improve their calculations of earthquake danger by combining maps of known faults with the use of supercomputers to simulate potential shaking deep into the future in California.
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January 21, 2021
Researchers have reconstructed past sea levels in the western Mediterranean in new detail by sampling coastal cave formations.
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January 19, 2021
The Lamont-Doherty physical oceanographer was recently awarded early career honors from the Oceanography Society.
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January 13, 2021
Large numbers of icebergs that drifted unusually far from Antarctica before melting into ocean waters have been key to initiating ice ages of the past, says a new study.
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January 12, 2021
She is a division administrator at Lamont and one of the 2020 recipients of the Earth Institute Distinguished Staff Award.
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January 08, 2021
Our 2020 Annual Report highlights our accomplishments from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020.
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January 08, 2021
Our popular video series for students, educators, and parents returns with an exciting lineup from January to June.
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January 06, 2021
A new study traces three-million-year-old winds to help predict future circulation patterns.
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January 05, 2021
Climate change is making drylands drier, but scientists have identified a natural process that helps to ease the loss of surface water in arid areas.
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December 28, 2020
Despite the pandemic putting fieldwork on pause, the observatory contributed new knowledge about the planet, its inner workings, and its future changes.
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December 21, 2020
Working across the university, the Earth Networks will focus on climate mobility, environmental justice, habitable planets, and sustainable food systems.
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December 21, 2020
Columbia students and faculty consider the lessons that can be learned from this year to move toward a more equitable and sustainable future.
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December 16, 2020
Undergraduates from Columbia and Barnard will be able to work with distinguished faculty on research projects related to sustainable development and the environment.
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December 16, 2020
Eight opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and PhD students to intern in various departments and research centers across the Earth Institute.
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December 15, 2020
After following an exciting and unpredictable career path, Sweets is settling in as the data manager of a geoinformatics database at Lamont.
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December 09, 2020
Glacial remains suggest that climate patterns in the southern hemisphere have been out of step with those in the north. Understanding why could help project the effects of modern climate change.
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December 07, 2020
Show your Lamont pride and support Lamont science with exclusive merch!
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December 02, 2020
President Bollinger and Lamont-Doherty’s interim director underscore the university’s commitment to solving the climate crisis.
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December 01, 2020
A guide to key talks and other events at the Dec. 1-17 virtual American Geophysical Union meeting.
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December 01, 2020
Out in the middle of the woods in New York’s exurbs, a hiker finds a TV antenna attached to a rotting oil drum. What is this?
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November 30, 2020
A new study looking at seven centuries of water flow in south Asia’s mighty Brahmaputra River suggests that scientists are underestimating the river’s potential for catastrophic flooding as climate warms.
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November 25, 2020
Five women and three men were chosen by the U.S. president-elect to restore the world’s most famous agency, counting on the support of the scientific community.
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November 24, 2020
Andrew Reed is a dedicated family man, supportive foster parent and successful ski instructor. He has dedicated his career to the Earth Institute because of his passion for renewable energy.
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November 18, 2020
This undergraduate student, blogger, and activist organized an upcoming panel around climate action that highlights diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. She shares her thoughts on the changing role of social justice within the climate movement.
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November 16, 2020
The enhanced models will enable insurers to analyze the financial implications of catastrophic events and to understand which areas are most at risk.
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November 11, 2020
The president-elect’s plan will take us closer to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, but there is much work to be done.
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November 10, 2020
Using radar and other techniques, researchers have mapped out the sediments left by a lake that apparently existed before Greenland was glaciated. Next step: drilling through the ice to see what they contain.
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November 06, 2020
The database collects the best available evidence that anthropogenic climate change is real, that it is already here, and that predicted future changes must be taken seriously.
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November 05, 2020
Researchers from around the world have established a new archive of data documenting changes in the movements of animals in the far north.
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November 05, 2020
An international team suggests that research centers around the world using numerical models to predict future climate change should include simulations of past climates.
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November 05, 2020
Whether or not we rejoin — and thereby do our part to prevent the worst impacts of climate change — depends on the outcome of the election.
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November 03, 2020
Installed on top of Lamont’s oceanography building, PhenoCam will help track how trees grow and change with the weather, seasons, and climate change.
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October 30, 2020
An engineer at Lamont-Doherty, Frearson builds instruments that help scientists collect vital data in Antarctica, the deep sea, and at the top of volcanoes.
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October 27, 2020
Emissions from coal-fired power plants and possibly other sources in China are seeding the North Pacific Ocean with metals including iron, a nutrient important for marine life, according to new a new study.
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October 21, 2020
A new study suggests that a series of environmental changes in East Africa some 320,000 years ago challenged a previous long-standing way of life for proto-humans, and produced a more adaptable culture.
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October 19, 2020
A new “escape room–like” game for kids and families offers a fun and puzzle-filled way to explore the discoveries taking place at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
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October 18, 2020
In this episode Marie DeNoia Aronsohn talks with Maureen Raymo, the interim director of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, on her vision for the institution.
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October 15, 2020
To measure algal blooms across large regions of the Greenland ice, and understand their effects on melting over time, scientists are turning to space.
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October 14, 2020
He’s working to make the geosciences an area where everyone can thrive.
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October 13, 2020
When you give to Lamont, you help us turn discovery science into solutions science.
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October 08, 2020
The same level of emissions cuts reached during the pandemic would need to be repeated each year to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement by 2030.
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October 05, 2020
One way in which scientists use carbon isotopes found in fossils to identify the sites of ancient rain forests may not work as expected.
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October 02, 2020
Lamont Open House at Home is four days of exciting and informative virtual earth science activities for children, families, educators, and science enthusiasts of all ages.
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September 30, 2020
If human societies don’t sharply curb emissions of greenhouse gases, Greenland’s rate of ice loss this century is likely to greatly outpace that of any century since shortly after the end of the last ice age, a new study concludes.
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September 28, 2020
Join us for fun, informative events, activities, and an awesome interactive game right from home!
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September 28, 2020
A new effort to analyze the ocean’s ability to take up CO2 will be important for predicting the effectiveness of climate change mitigation efforts.
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September 25, 2020
A new project will investigate the relationships between tectonics, climate, and the evolution of humans’ primate ancestors in Kenya’s Turkana Basin.
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September 23, 2020
The warmer it gets, the faster Antarctica will lose ice, and at some point the losses will become irreversible. That is what researchers say in a new cover story in the leading journal Nature, in which they calculate how much warming the Antarctic Ice Sheet can survive.
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September 22, 2020
Using satellite images spanning decades, a new study has found that the northern tundra is becoming greener, as warmer air and soil temperatures lead to increased plant growth.
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September 22, 2020
In this episode, Kevin Krajick explores Marco Tedesco’s obsession with the cryosphere—the part of earth that consists of frozen water.
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September 22, 2020
Unrelenting rains led to a miserable famine in Europe from 1315-1317. Just how wet was it? A new study reveals that the beginning of the famine included some of the wettest years in the last 700 years.
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September 21, 2020
Humanity is failing at preserving biodiversity. But a book from 2006 offers inspiration and instructions on how to preserve what’s left of it.
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September 18, 2020
Susan Trumbore, who earned her Ph.D. at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, is among the recipients of the 2020 Balzan Prize, one of the most prestigious international awards in natural science and humanities.
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September 16, 2020
A new study finds that real-time monitoring of ground motion could have detected a sudden and catastrophic flood in Bhutan five hours before it destroyed a village.
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September 16, 2020
September 21-27 is Climate Week in New York City. Join us for a series of online events covering the climate crisis and pointing us towards action.
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September 14, 2020
A new study of the closest ancient analog to modern carbon emissions finds that massive volcanism was the main cause of high carbon at the time. But nature did not come close to matching what humans are doing today.
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September 10, 2020
iSamples will digitalize scientific samples to enable more discoveries and information-sharing.
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September 09, 2020
Newly discovered deep seabed channels beneath the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica may be pathways for warm ocean water to melt the undersides of the ice, and contribute to sea-level rise say scientists.
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September 04, 2020
Interns developed skills in science communication by creating educational materials about the river’s colorful stories, myths, and misunderstandings.
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September 03, 2020
Join us for our non-degree programs launching this fall and connect to timely topics around climate and sustainability.
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September 02, 2020
The research, from students working with the Center for Climate and Life, also identifies ways to potentially limit arsenic contamination in rice.
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September 02, 2020
The massive ice sheet is now locked into a certain amount of decline. But reducing emissions remains critical to preventing catastrophic loss of the entire ice sheet.
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August 31, 2020
In a summer program, students learned about and discussed the science of the Hudson River watershed, as well as the social issues present in their daily lives.
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August 28, 2020
Atmospheric scientist Adam Sobel writes that yes, Hurricane Laura is about climate change, but first it’s about people.
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August 28, 2020
A new student-driven course explores race, climate change, and social justice.
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August 26, 2020
A new study says that many of the ice shelves ringing Antarctica could be vulnerable to quick destruction if rising temperatures drive meltwater into the numerous fractures that currently penetrate their surfaces.
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August 25, 2020
The training programs connected teachers with renowned scientists and other educators eager to inspire a new generation of environmental stewards.
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August 21, 2020
A new model finds that areas where humans can barely survive, which currently cover about 1 percent of the planet, will grow to about 20 percent within the next 50 years.
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August 20, 2020
An international team of polar researchers says that the Greenland ice sheet experienced record loss in 2019.
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August 20, 2020
Scientists studying leaves from a forest that stood during a warm period 23 million years ago have for the first time linked high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide with increased plant growth, as well with the high temperatures of the time.
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