State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: rivers

  • Forest Fires Increasingly Affecting Western Rivers and Streams, for Better and Worse

    Forest Fires Increasingly Affecting Western Rivers and Streams, for Better and Worse

    Fires may increase stream flow for years after sweeping the surface, and temporarily increase downstream water supplies. But they may also increase the risks of landslides and floods in affected areas.

  • Glacier Melt to Redirect Alaska’s Alsek River, Endangering World-Famous Rafting Route

    Glacier Melt to Redirect Alaska’s Alsek River, Endangering World-Famous Rafting Route

    As a glacier in southern Alaska melts, a major river is likely to shift course within the next decade, putting the future of local fisheries and a popular rafting path at risk.

  • Rivers Predicted to Jump Banks More Often as World Warms

    Rivers Predicted to Jump Banks More Often as World Warms

    Rainfall changes caused by global warming will increase river flooding risks across the globe by the 2040s, says a new study.

  • How Safe is the Hudson? Scientists Test the River, Adirondacks to Ocean

    How Safe is the Hudson? Scientists Test the River, Adirondacks to Ocean

    A team of scientists conducted an unprecedented health check of the entire Hudson River system, from its source to New York Harbor. This is what they found.

  • Learning from a River’s History to Prepare for the Future

    Learning from a River’s History to Prepare for the Future

    Researchers from eight universities, including Columbia University, are using tree ring and glacier analysis to reconstruct the climate history of the Missouri River Basin in order to give policymakers and water managers better decision-making tools to manage the river.

  • Warming Streams Have Cascading Impacts in the Amazon

    Warming Streams Have Cascading Impacts in the Amazon

    To protect a river, you must preserve its headwaters. Agricultural development is warming streams at the headwaters of the Xingu River, in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Rising temperatures have local impacts that could cascade into regional changes, highlighting the importance of responsible land use outside of protected areas.

  • Seeger’s Legacy Lives on Aboard Sloop Clearwater

    Seeger’s Legacy Lives on Aboard Sloop Clearwater

    In the summer of 1969, legendary folk musician and activist Pete Seeger headed a grassroots campaign to clean up the polluted Hudson River. At the heart of that campaign was a replica of a 200-year-old sailing ship– the sloop Clearwater. Nearly 50 years later, Clearwater remains an emblem of environmental reform. But with Seeger’s death…

  • Using Tree Rings to Understand and Protect New York’s Water

    Using Tree Rings to Understand and Protect New York’s Water

    The upper Delaware River Basin System is one of the largest water supply systems for the city of New York. Today our understanding and management of these reservoir systems is based on the short historical records of data, which are limited. Scientists need to find a way to look further into the past. One of…

  • Jumping Ship

    Jumping Ship

    As we finally reached our prime target area, it was time for me to leave the ship and return home. Despite initial struggles on navigating the Brahmaputra River, we have worked together with the ship’s crew and pilots for a successful method. And now as I leave with many new friends, the best data is…

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.
  • Forest Fires Increasingly Affecting Western Rivers and Streams, for Better and Worse

    Forest Fires Increasingly Affecting Western Rivers and Streams, for Better and Worse

    Fires may increase stream flow for years after sweeping the surface, and temporarily increase downstream water supplies. But they may also increase the risks of landslides and floods in affected areas.

  • Glacier Melt to Redirect Alaska’s Alsek River, Endangering World-Famous Rafting Route

    Glacier Melt to Redirect Alaska’s Alsek River, Endangering World-Famous Rafting Route

    As a glacier in southern Alaska melts, a major river is likely to shift course within the next decade, putting the future of local fisheries and a popular rafting path at risk.

  • Rivers Predicted to Jump Banks More Often as World Warms

    Rivers Predicted to Jump Banks More Often as World Warms

    Rainfall changes caused by global warming will increase river flooding risks across the globe by the 2040s, says a new study.

  • How Safe is the Hudson? Scientists Test the River, Adirondacks to Ocean

    How Safe is the Hudson? Scientists Test the River, Adirondacks to Ocean

    A team of scientists conducted an unprecedented health check of the entire Hudson River system, from its source to New York Harbor. This is what they found.

  • Learning from a River’s History to Prepare for the Future

    Learning from a River’s History to Prepare for the Future

    Researchers from eight universities, including Columbia University, are using tree ring and glacier analysis to reconstruct the climate history of the Missouri River Basin in order to give policymakers and water managers better decision-making tools to manage the river.

  • Warming Streams Have Cascading Impacts in the Amazon

    Warming Streams Have Cascading Impacts in the Amazon

    To protect a river, you must preserve its headwaters. Agricultural development is warming streams at the headwaters of the Xingu River, in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Rising temperatures have local impacts that could cascade into regional changes, highlighting the importance of responsible land use outside of protected areas.

  • Seeger’s Legacy Lives on Aboard Sloop Clearwater

    Seeger’s Legacy Lives on Aboard Sloop Clearwater

    In the summer of 1969, legendary folk musician and activist Pete Seeger headed a grassroots campaign to clean up the polluted Hudson River. At the heart of that campaign was a replica of a 200-year-old sailing ship– the sloop Clearwater. Nearly 50 years later, Clearwater remains an emblem of environmental reform. But with Seeger’s death…

  • Using Tree Rings to Understand and Protect New York’s Water

    Using Tree Rings to Understand and Protect New York’s Water

    The upper Delaware River Basin System is one of the largest water supply systems for the city of New York. Today our understanding and management of these reservoir systems is based on the short historical records of data, which are limited. Scientists need to find a way to look further into the past. One of…

  • Jumping Ship

    Jumping Ship

    As we finally reached our prime target area, it was time for me to leave the ship and return home. Despite initial struggles on navigating the Brahmaputra River, we have worked together with the ship’s crew and pilots for a successful method. And now as I leave with many new friends, the best data is…