State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: plate tectonics2

  • Expedition Explores Undersea Rift off Greece

    Expedition Explores Undersea Rift off Greece

    The Corinth rift is one of the most seismically active areas in Europe. Starting this month, researchers will drill into the rift to discover its past and future.

  • Learning from Slow-Slip Earthquakes

    Learning from Slow-Slip Earthquakes

    Off the coast of New Zealand, there is an area where earthquakes can happen in slow-motion as two tectonic plates grind past one another. These slow-slip events create an ideal lab for studying fault behavior along the shallow portion of subduction zones.

  • New Study Upends a Theory of How Earth’s Mantle Flows

    New Study Upends a Theory of How Earth’s Mantle Flows

    A new study carried out on the floor of Pacific Ocean provides the most detailed view yet of how the earth’s mantle flows beneath the ocean’s tectonic plates.

  • The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The young scientists who led the plate tectonics revolution 50 years ago showed how asking the right questions and having access to a wide range of shared data could open doors to an entirely new understanding of our planet.

  • 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…

  • Top Seismology Award Goes to Pioneer in Rock Mechanics: Christopher Scholz

    Top Seismology Award Goes to Pioneer in Rock Mechanics: Christopher Scholz

    For his pioneering work in rock mechanics and his skill at communicating earthquake science, Scholz is being honored on April 20 by the Seismological Society of America with its top award, the Harry Fielding Reid Medal.

  • The Floor of the Ocean Comes into Better Focus

    The Floor of the Ocean Comes into Better Focus

    The bottom of the ocean just keeps getting better. Or at least more interesting to look at.

  • Ancient Faults & Water Are Sparking Earthquakes Off Alaska

    Ancient Faults & Water Are Sparking Earthquakes Off Alaska

    Ancient faults that formed in the ocean floor millions of years ago are feeding earthquakes today along stretches of the Alaska Peninsula, and likely elsewhere, a new study suggests.

  • Climate Change Leaves Its Mark on the Sea Floor? Maybe Not

    Climate Change Leaves Its Mark on the Sea Floor? Maybe Not

    A new study in Science questions the provocative idea that climate change may shape the texture of the sea floor. A Snickers bar helps explain what’s really going on.

Science for the Planet: In these short video explainers, discover how scientists and scholars across the Columbia Climate School are working to understand the effects of climate change and help solve the crisis.
  • Expedition Explores Undersea Rift off Greece

    Expedition Explores Undersea Rift off Greece

    The Corinth rift is one of the most seismically active areas in Europe. Starting this month, researchers will drill into the rift to discover its past and future.

  • Learning from Slow-Slip Earthquakes

    Learning from Slow-Slip Earthquakes

    Off the coast of New Zealand, there is an area where earthquakes can happen in slow-motion as two tectonic plates grind past one another. These slow-slip events create an ideal lab for studying fault behavior along the shallow portion of subduction zones.

  • New Study Upends a Theory of How Earth’s Mantle Flows

    New Study Upends a Theory of How Earth’s Mantle Flows

    A new study carried out on the floor of Pacific Ocean provides the most detailed view yet of how the earth’s mantle flows beneath the ocean’s tectonic plates.

  • The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The Plate Tectonics Revolution: It Was All About the Data

    The young scientists who led the plate tectonics revolution 50 years ago showed how asking the right questions and having access to a wide range of shared data could open doors to an entirely new understanding of our planet.

  • 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…

  • Top Seismology Award Goes to Pioneer in Rock Mechanics: Christopher Scholz

    Top Seismology Award Goes to Pioneer in Rock Mechanics: Christopher Scholz

    For his pioneering work in rock mechanics and his skill at communicating earthquake science, Scholz is being honored on April 20 by the Seismological Society of America with its top award, the Harry Fielding Reid Medal.

  • The Floor of the Ocean Comes into Better Focus

    The Floor of the Ocean Comes into Better Focus

    The bottom of the ocean just keeps getting better. Or at least more interesting to look at.

  • Ancient Faults & Water Are Sparking Earthquakes Off Alaska

    Ancient Faults & Water Are Sparking Earthquakes Off Alaska

    Ancient faults that formed in the ocean floor millions of years ago are feeding earthquakes today along stretches of the Alaska Peninsula, and likely elsewhere, a new study suggests.

  • Climate Change Leaves Its Mark on the Sea Floor? Maybe Not

    Climate Change Leaves Its Mark on the Sea Floor? Maybe Not

    A new study in Science questions the provocative idea that climate change may shape the texture of the sea floor. A Snickers bar helps explain what’s really going on.