State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: polar exploration

  • Can a New Type of Glacier on Mars Aid Future Astronauts?

    Can a New Type of Glacier on Mars Aid Future Astronauts?

    A recent publication identifies evidence of glacial activity and underground ice on Mars in an unusually flat and temperate area, which could serve as a future human landing site.

  • The Melting of the Greenland Ice, Seen Up Very Close

    The Melting of the Greenland Ice, Seen Up Very Close

    A small team of scientists ventures out onto the Greenland ice sheet to study the forces large and small that are accelerating the melting of the world’s second-largest ice mass.

  • Photo Essay: Melting Greenland, Up Close

    Photo Essay: Melting Greenland, Up Close

    As climate warms, the Greenland ice sheet is melting, helping to fuel global sea-level rise. Follow a small team of scientists as they hike onto the sheet to investigate the forces large and small that are demolishing the ice.

  • U.S., UK Scientists Join to Study Possible Collapse of Massive Antarctic Glacier

    U.S., UK Scientists Join to Study Possible Collapse of Massive Antarctic Glacier

    An international collaboration will study the wasting of the Thwaites glacier, which already accounts for around 4 percent of current global sea-level rise, and could collapse within decades or centuries.

  • Over Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica

    PUNTA ARENAS, Chile–After flying for several hours over a windswept Southern Ocean, the mission director announces that we will be slowly descending towards Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier. Just below are the Hudson Mountains, a small group of extinct volcanoes poking through the ice. As we approach our survey area, John Sonntag from NASA’s flight facility…

  • Can a New Type of Glacier on Mars Aid Future Astronauts?

    Can a New Type of Glacier on Mars Aid Future Astronauts?

    A recent publication identifies evidence of glacial activity and underground ice on Mars in an unusually flat and temperate area, which could serve as a future human landing site.

  • The Melting of the Greenland Ice, Seen Up Very Close

    The Melting of the Greenland Ice, Seen Up Very Close

    A small team of scientists ventures out onto the Greenland ice sheet to study the forces large and small that are accelerating the melting of the world’s second-largest ice mass.

  • Photo Essay: Melting Greenland, Up Close

    Photo Essay: Melting Greenland, Up Close

    As climate warms, the Greenland ice sheet is melting, helping to fuel global sea-level rise. Follow a small team of scientists as they hike onto the sheet to investigate the forces large and small that are demolishing the ice.

  • U.S., UK Scientists Join to Study Possible Collapse of Massive Antarctic Glacier

    U.S., UK Scientists Join to Study Possible Collapse of Massive Antarctic Glacier

    An international collaboration will study the wasting of the Thwaites glacier, which already accounts for around 4 percent of current global sea-level rise, and could collapse within decades or centuries.

  • Over Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica

    PUNTA ARENAS, Chile–After flying for several hours over a windswept Southern Ocean, the mission director announces that we will be slowly descending towards Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier. Just below are the Hudson Mountains, a small group of extinct volcanoes poking through the ice. As we approach our survey area, John Sonntag from NASA’s flight facility…