State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: microbial oceanography

  • A New Center Will Study  Ocean Chemical-Microbe Networks and Climate Change

    A New Center Will Study Ocean Chemical-Microbe Networks and Climate Change

    Fast turnover of carbon between seawater and microbes is a fact, but how it works is largely a black hole. This projects aims to shed light.

  • As Oceans Warm, Microbes Could Pump More CO2 Back Into Air, Study Warns

    As Oceans Warm, Microbes Could Pump More CO2 Back Into Air, Study Warns

    A new study suggests bacteria may respire more carbon dioxide from the shallow oceans to the air as seas warm, reducing the deep oceans’ ability to store carbon.

  • Sonya Dyhrman Named Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology

    Sonya Dyhrman Named Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology

    The microbial oceanographer was elected a Fellow of the prestigious American Academy of Microbiology in recognition of her scientific achievement.

  • Exploring the Microbiome of an Ocean Bacteria

    Exploring the Microbiome of an Ocean Bacteria

    Braving the high seas and a curious shark, a team of scientists taps into the secret social life of a microbe that’s crucial for marine ecosystems.

  • By 2100, Climate Change Could Alter Key Microbial Interactions in the Ocean

    By 2100, Climate Change Could Alter Key Microbial Interactions in the Ocean

    The warmer, more acidic waters caused by climate change influence the behavior of tiny marine organisms essential to ocean health.

  • Adapting to the Unexpected

    Adapting to the Unexpected

    I grew up outside of Chicago and I wasn’t a Boy Scout, so sometimes I feel like I missed out on learning the type of practical—albeit rarely used—skills that would have garnered merit badges. Now that I’m nearing the conclusion of my fourth research expedition at sea, I think I have amassed a few badge-worthy…

  • Sampling up a Storm

    Sampling up a Storm

    I’m writing from where L’Atalante is currently parked, 18S 170W, right in the middle of a giant, anomalously high sea surface chlorophyll patch. Such a high concentration of chlorophyll—a pigment that helps photosynthetic organisms harvest energy from sunlight, and the one that’s responsible for the green color of plants—can mean but one thing in the…

  • Navigating the South Pacific Using DNA

    Navigating the South Pacific Using DNA

    I’ve never been good at navigating. When I come out of the subway I invariably turn the wrong direction, even though I already have my nose buried in Google Maps, and then walk around the block to save face.

  • A Swirling Stew of Trichodesmium

    A Swirling Stew of Trichodesmium

    Greetings from the center of that eddy I mentioned in my last post! We’ve been here for five days so far, but tomorrow we are finally moving 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.
  • A New Center Will Study  Ocean Chemical-Microbe Networks and Climate Change

    A New Center Will Study Ocean Chemical-Microbe Networks and Climate Change

    Fast turnover of carbon between seawater and microbes is a fact, but how it works is largely a black hole. This projects aims to shed light.

  • As Oceans Warm, Microbes Could Pump More CO2 Back Into Air, Study Warns

    As Oceans Warm, Microbes Could Pump More CO2 Back Into Air, Study Warns

    A new study suggests bacteria may respire more carbon dioxide from the shallow oceans to the air as seas warm, reducing the deep oceans’ ability to store carbon.

  • Sonya Dyhrman Named Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology

    Sonya Dyhrman Named Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology

    The microbial oceanographer was elected a Fellow of the prestigious American Academy of Microbiology in recognition of her scientific achievement.

  • Exploring the Microbiome of an Ocean Bacteria

    Exploring the Microbiome of an Ocean Bacteria

    Braving the high seas and a curious shark, a team of scientists taps into the secret social life of a microbe that’s crucial for marine ecosystems.

  • By 2100, Climate Change Could Alter Key Microbial Interactions in the Ocean

    By 2100, Climate Change Could Alter Key Microbial Interactions in the Ocean

    The warmer, more acidic waters caused by climate change influence the behavior of tiny marine organisms essential to ocean health.

  • Adapting to the Unexpected

    Adapting to the Unexpected

    I grew up outside of Chicago and I wasn’t a Boy Scout, so sometimes I feel like I missed out on learning the type of practical—albeit rarely used—skills that would have garnered merit badges. Now that I’m nearing the conclusion of my fourth research expedition at sea, I think I have amassed a few badge-worthy…

  • Sampling up a Storm

    Sampling up a Storm

    I’m writing from where L’Atalante is currently parked, 18S 170W, right in the middle of a giant, anomalously high sea surface chlorophyll patch. Such a high concentration of chlorophyll—a pigment that helps photosynthetic organisms harvest energy from sunlight, and the one that’s responsible for the green color of plants—can mean but one thing in the…

  • Navigating the South Pacific Using DNA

    Navigating the South Pacific Using DNA

    I’ve never been good at navigating. When I come out of the subway I invariably turn the wrong direction, even though I already have my nose buried in Google Maps, and then walk around the block to save face.

  • A Swirling Stew of Trichodesmium

    A Swirling Stew of Trichodesmium

    Greetings from the center of that eddy I mentioned in my last post! We’ve been here for five days so far, but tomorrow we are finally moving on.