http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu Tapping experts in climate, geology, oceanography, ecology, sustainable development, global health, energy, food and water, State of the Planet captures stories of how the Earth works and how we can sustainably make our lives better. Thu, 23 May 2013 21:18:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/23/ctene-sensations-of-the-arctic-ocean/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/23/ctene-sensations-of-the-arctic-ocean/#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 05:40:49 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36929 One of the goals of Andy Juhl’s and Craig Aumack’s Arctic research is to determine the role of ice algae as a source of nutrition for food webs existing in the water column and at the bottom of the Arctic ocean. During their fieldwork these Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists are deploying a plankton net, a [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/23/ctene-sensations-of-the-arctic-ocean/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/20/collecting-core-data-about-arctic-ecosystems/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/20/collecting-core-data-about-arctic-ecosystems/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 17:53:40 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36868 Our team spent most of Friday on the Arctic sea ice, drilling and sampling ice cores at our main field site. For each core collected, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists Andy Juhl and Craig Aumack take a number of different physical, chemical and biological measurements that characterize the ice and the organisms living inside it. Some [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/20/collecting-core-data-about-arctic-ecosystems/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/19/what-lies-beneath-arctic-ice/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/19/what-lies-beneath-arctic-ice/#comments Sun, 19 May 2013 07:38:08 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36831 On Thursday we lowered a camera into an ice borehole to get a look at the underside of the ice. In the following video, you can clearly see the algae living in the bottom of the ice due to their pigments, which they use to harvest light. These organisms are not frozen into the ice; [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/19/what-lies-beneath-arctic-ice/feed/ 1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/17/ice-capades/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/17/ice-capades/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 10:24:53 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36767 Fieldwork is exciting and inspiring, leading scientists to new ideas, places and observations about how the world works. Spring on Alaska’s North Slope provides an especially productive environment for fieldwork. When the sun never sets, it’s easy to linger in the field and the lab long into the well-lit night. Our team spent about six [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/17/ice-capades/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/settling-in-to-life-in-the-arctic/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/settling-in-to-life-in-the-arctic/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:36 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36672 While I arrived in Barrow, Alaska on Tuesday, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists Andy Juhl and Craig Aumack, and graduate student Kyle Kinzler from Arizona State University, got here one week ago. They took a few days to unpack and set up their lab (everything they need to work here must be shipped to Barrow in [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/settling-in-to-life-in-the-arctic/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/investigating-life-in-the-ice/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/investigating-life-in-the-ice/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 19:08:57 +0000 Rebecca Fowler http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36566 Andy Juhl and Craig Aumack, microbiologists from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, are spending a month in Barrow, Alaska studying algae in and below sea ice, and how our warming climate may impact these important organisms. They’re investigating the factors that control the growth of algae inside of sea ice, how these algal communities are [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/14/investigating-life-in-the-ice/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/climate-and-conquest-how-did-genghis-khan-rise/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/climate-and-conquest-how-did-genghis-khan-rise/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 18:29:08 +0000 Kevin Krajick http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=33146 Eight hundred years ago, relatively small armies of mounted warriors suddenly exploded outward from the cold, arid high-elevation grasslands of Mongolia and reshaped world geography, culture and history in ways that still resound today. How did they do it? ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/climate-and-conquest-how-did-genghis-khan-rise/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/iucn-red-list-for-ecosystems-steps-up-biodiversity-conservation/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/iucn-red-list-for-ecosystems-steps-up-biodiversity-conservation/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 18:14:44 +0000 CERC Guest Blogger http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36486 This week in PLoS One, a group of researchers coordinated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), published a new framework for assessing threats to ecosystems. This study offers the theoretical foundation for the Red List criteria for ecosystems, which like its predecessor, the Species Red List, will aim to inform government and society about the current status of biodiversity and provide the data necessary to develop strategies and priorities for conservation.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/13/iucn-red-list-for-ecosystems-steps-up-biodiversity-conservation/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/10/mysterious-honeybee-deaths-remain-unsolved/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/10/mysterious-honeybee-deaths-remain-unsolved/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 19:40:26 +0000 Brian Kateman http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36380 According to a comprehensive federal study, the collapse of American honeybee colonies stems from a complex slew of factors, including pesticides, parasites, poor nutrition and a lack of genetic diversity.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/10/mysterious-honeybee-deaths-remain-unsolved/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/02/haiti-prime-minister-lamothe-2013/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/02/haiti-prime-minister-lamothe-2013/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 15:27:40 +0000 Alex Fischer http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=36095 On April 22, 2013 the Earth Institute’s Haiti Research and Policy Program at the Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development welcomed Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe to the Spring 2013 Haiti Dialogue Series and the Columbia University World Leader’s Forum. The prime minister and Haitian diplomats met with Earth Institute senior researchers to discuss the strategies for the Haitian government’s national-scale monitoring, planning and implementation development programs.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/02/haiti-prime-minister-lamothe-2013/feed/ 0