New Year, New Adventures

Year in Review: Our Top Stories of 2023

Faculty Spotlight: Why Trees Will Always Have Something to Teach Us

A New 66 Million-Year History of Carbon Dioxide Offers Little Comfort for Today

American Geophysical Union 2023: Key Research From the Columbia Climate School

Dredging up New York City’s Glacial Memory

Alumni Spotlight: When the Student Becomes the Teacher

Faculty Spotlight: Finding Hope Through Climate Science Research and Education

Events

American Geophysical Union 2023 (AGU23), the world's largest gathering of Earth and space scientists, took place in San Francisco in December, and our scientists were there presenting their research. See our video shorts with postdoc Daniel Babin, PhD student Huy Le, geochemist Claire Nelson, and atmospheric chemist Róisín Commane. 

Congratulations to our new AGU fellows for their outstanding contributions: Suzana Camargo for advancing our understanding of tropical cyclones and their relation to climate variability and change, and Adam Sobel for advancing our understanding of tropical meteorology and climate!

Hudson River Field Station

Map of the Motus stations around the world. Colors represent different frequencies for tracking.

‘Motus’ Tracks Movement on the Hudson 

The Field Station is now home to a Motus wildlife tracking station and part of the Hudson Valley Motus Collaboration. Motus, which means ‘movement’ in Latin, is an open-source international collaborative network of community-hosted radio-telemetry receivers and wildlife researchers. The name links to the network goal of tracking the migratory pathway of birds, bats, butterflies, and other large insects as they move from Canada to Central and South America, and the Caribbean. The Motus.org website is a great resource for anyone interested in exploring different stations, different species and their pathways, and just digging in more to this project. The Hudson River Valley team includes our Hudson River Field Station, Constitution Marsh Audubon, Norrie Point Environmental Center, and Rams-Horn Sanctuary. We hope to learn more about the role of the Hudson Valley as an important stopover site for many migratory birds along the Atlantic Flyway. The Motus network will help us increase the data and critical species knowledge for the Hudson River flyway, and we hope will ultimately drive new and expanded conservation efforts.

Exploring the Pathway into Climate Change

Exciting news regarding next steps for the Next Generation of Hudson River Educators Program! Recently, we were awarded a grant from the NYSDEC, Exploring The Pathway into Climate Change, which will support and aid our upcoming Next Generation of Hudson River Educators interns to explore how climate change, an ever-present challenge we face today, is impacting the Hudson Estuary. The Next Gen interns will explore local climate impacts and ecosystem disturbances through field-based explorations and data collection. Additionally, over the next few years, the Next Gen interns will work with Wolf Tree Designs, which designed our Hudson River Stewards Wall, to build their science communication skills and to develop a community-focused sea level rise signage installation that will be placed in the Hudson River Field Station. We look forward to working with upcoming Next Gen interns to better understand how climate change is disturbing local ecosystems. The Next Generation of Hudson River Educators Program application for 2024 will be opening soon!

Education

Climate LIVE K12 features live lectures and interactive activities with our scientists and experts for K-12 students, educators, families, and the public! FREE but registration required.

Up Next:
On January 10 4-4:30pm ET, join us for Knowing Your Geography: Data Mapping for Sustainable Development, ideal for students grades 6-12, undergraduates, educators, the public. In this session, learn how to use technology, data, and creative storytelling to develop your climate action plans aligned with Sustainable Development Goals with Center for Sustainable Development’s Radhika Iyengar, Haein Shin, and the Eco Ambassadors. RSVP today!

Learn more about all upcoming events in the series.

Pre-College workshops are for high school students (Grades 9-12, and rising 9th graders) who want to sharpen their knowledge and skills in climate change and sustainability, advancing their learning outside of school, and preparing them for the college experience. 

The Spring 2024 Pre-College Virtual Workshop, Climate Connections: Why We Should ALL Care About the Polar Regions, focuses on understanding the polar regions and their importance in driving and maintaining natural processes on Earth. Students will dive into understanding the changes that are occurring, the research in these regions, and how to become a Polar Climate Ambassador, trained to step up to educate and advocate for change to mitigate climate change impacts. Register Today!

Lamont in the Media (Selected Stories)