State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Author: Gisela Winckler2

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  • Foreigners in a Strange Land

    Foreigners in a Strange Land

    After a very cold morning in Crucero, the sun burned off the clouds to reveal the black peaks of the Cordillera Carabaya to the east. There´s not so much snow left on the hills these days, just a few glacier patches clinging to the south faces of the highest summits.

  • Into Thin(ner) Air – On Route to the Cordillera Carabaya

    Into Thin(ner) Air – On Route to the Cordillera Carabaya

    This morning we left Arequipa and the comforts of the tourist trail, driving east across the puna towards the Andes proper. Our route took us along the newly constructed Caraterra Interoceanica – a highway linking the Pacific coast of Peru to ports in Brazil – and up to elevations of 4700 m. Along the way…

  • At the Feet of El Misti

    At the Feet of El Misti

    What a difference a day makes! We’ve said goodbye to the sprawling metropolis of Lima and now are happily settled in Arequipa – the White City. This name refers to the white sillar rock used in the construction of the old colonial city and which is in fact a pyroclastic deposit from the volcanoes towering…

  • Off to Lima, World’s Second Largest Desert City

    Off to Lima, World’s Second Largest Desert City

    18th June 2011  Lima, Peru Our 2011 field season is underway. After a full day’s travel from New York, we arrived in Lima, the capital of Peru. This sprawling city perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean is home to more than nine million people and, after Cairo, is the largest desert city in…

  • Deciphering Past Climate Change in the High Andes

    Deciphering Past Climate Change in the High Andes

    High above the tropical lowlands, the Andes form a formidable topographic barrier separating the coastal deserts in the west from the Amazon rainforest to the east. The Peruvian Andes are the highest peaks in all the tropics and, despite their proximity to the equator, are mantled with snow and ice. However, the glaciers clinging to…

  • To the tip of the Andes

    To the tip of the Andes

    In the semi-arid Andes, glaciers store water and control the runoff of mountain rivers. They feed water to big cities such as Lima and Arequipa and irrigate the surrounding lowlands. But as the planet warms, mountain glaciers in the tropics are receding steadily. Despite their paramount importance, we don’t know the scale and the rate…

  • Celebrating the end of the Antarctic field season

    Celebrating the end of the Antarctic field season

    It is the end of a highly successful field season for our ‘Antarctica’s Secrets’ team – a mix of sadness and joy

  • Glacial deposits: A clue to reconstructing the history of the Antarctic ice sheet

    Glacial deposits: A clue to reconstructing the history of the Antarctic ice sheet

    Having been joined by a fifth team member, Tim Flood from St Norbert College, our “Antarctica Secrets” team sets out to a new field site near Mount Achernar.

  • How to cross a crevasse zone on the Antarctic ice sheet

    How to cross a crevasse zone on the Antarctic ice sheet

    Back at the Central Transantarctic Mountain camp, our ‘Antarctica Secrets’ team figures out the best way to cross a crevasse zone to get to their next field camp at Mt Achernar.

  • Foreigners in a Strange Land

    Foreigners in a Strange Land

    After a very cold morning in Crucero, the sun burned off the clouds to reveal the black peaks of the Cordillera Carabaya to the east. There´s not so much snow left on the hills these days, just a few glacier patches clinging to the south faces of the highest summits.

  • Into Thin(ner) Air – On Route to the Cordillera Carabaya

    Into Thin(ner) Air – On Route to the Cordillera Carabaya

    This morning we left Arequipa and the comforts of the tourist trail, driving east across the puna towards the Andes proper. Our route took us along the newly constructed Caraterra Interoceanica – a highway linking the Pacific coast of Peru to ports in Brazil – and up to elevations of 4700 m. Along the way…

  • At the Feet of El Misti

    At the Feet of El Misti

    What a difference a day makes! We’ve said goodbye to the sprawling metropolis of Lima and now are happily settled in Arequipa – the White City. This name refers to the white sillar rock used in the construction of the old colonial city and which is in fact a pyroclastic deposit from the volcanoes towering…

  • Off to Lima, World’s Second Largest Desert City

    Off to Lima, World’s Second Largest Desert City

    18th June 2011  Lima, Peru Our 2011 field season is underway. After a full day’s travel from New York, we arrived in Lima, the capital of Peru. This sprawling city perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean is home to more than nine million people and, after Cairo, is the largest desert city in…

  • Deciphering Past Climate Change in the High Andes

    Deciphering Past Climate Change in the High Andes

    High above the tropical lowlands, the Andes form a formidable topographic barrier separating the coastal deserts in the west from the Amazon rainforest to the east. The Peruvian Andes are the highest peaks in all the tropics and, despite their proximity to the equator, are mantled with snow and ice. However, the glaciers clinging to…

  • To the tip of the Andes

    To the tip of the Andes

    In the semi-arid Andes, glaciers store water and control the runoff of mountain rivers. They feed water to big cities such as Lima and Arequipa and irrigate the surrounding lowlands. But as the planet warms, mountain glaciers in the tropics are receding steadily. Despite their paramount importance, we don’t know the scale and the rate…

  • Celebrating the end of the Antarctic field season

    Celebrating the end of the Antarctic field season

    It is the end of a highly successful field season for our ‘Antarctica’s Secrets’ team – a mix of sadness and joy

  • Glacial deposits: A clue to reconstructing the history of the Antarctic ice sheet

    Glacial deposits: A clue to reconstructing the history of the Antarctic ice sheet

    Having been joined by a fifth team member, Tim Flood from St Norbert College, our “Antarctica Secrets” team sets out to a new field site near Mount Achernar.

  • How to cross a crevasse zone on the Antarctic ice sheet

    How to cross a crevasse zone on the Antarctic ice sheet

    Back at the Central Transantarctic Mountain camp, our ‘Antarctica Secrets’ team figures out the best way to cross a crevasse zone to get to their next field camp at Mt Achernar.