Many of the world’s leading experts in earth, biological, social, and health sciences work on a broad body of research related to climate and climate change at the Earth Institute:
- The paleo record—millions of years of geological history—is examined to reveal previous shifts in climate and how the Earth responded. (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO))
- Today’s ocean and atmospheric circulation, the two largest systems affecting world climate, are observed and studied in relation to changes in temperature, precipitation, ecology, and more. (LDEO, Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS))
- Modeling studies incorporate historical and current data to forecast potential climate-related phenomena like floods and droughts, particularly in regions of the globe where populations are most vulnerable and least able to adapt. This includes study of the El Niño Southern Oscillation at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI). IRI also offers climate prediction tutorials.
- Carbon capture and sequestration are a major focus of research as world reliance on fossil fuels is expected to increase with economic growth in most countries. (LDEO, Earth Engineering Center)
- The New York Health and Climate Project (NYCHP) is exploring how global warming scenarios will affect health in the New York metropolitan region.
- Investigating the impacts of climate change at a regional level is the focus of the Metropolitan East Coast Assessment and follow-on research.
- There is also a Climate Change Information Resource (CICAR) for the New York metro region.
- Providing satellite and geospatial data about the human dimensions of global environmental change is one of the many ways in which the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) supports climate research.
- Convening high-level conferences like Taming the Climate, State of the Planet, and the Global Roundtable on Climate Change contributes significantly to the global discussion on this issue.
Continued scientific and technological research is critical to help us understand, mitigate, and adapt to changes. However, it is widely felt that it’s not a lack of science but rather a lack of public understanding and political will preventing us from taking actions that could be taken today to stem human forced climate change.
Earth Institute scientists are working to enhance the sophistication and specificity of climate forecasting and to create new social, political, and economic mechanisms for using scientific data to build resilience to climate variability and change on the world’s most vulnerable regions.