Here is a guide to notable research presentations from the Columbia Climate School and its centers and affiliates at the Dec. 15-19 meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Unless otherwise noted, researchers are based at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, one of the world’s leading geoscience institutions. (See a larger list of talks.)

Talks here are in rough chronological order; times are U.S. Central Standard Time. Please reach out to press@columbia.climate.edu for more information or to arrange interviews with our researchers.

Monday

Mapping Antarctica’s Bedrock to Improve Ice Sheet Models

Kirsty Tinto and other Lamont colleagues are mapping the rocks and sediments beneath the Amundsen Sea Embayment, one of the fastest-changing parts of Antarctica, to understand how the hidden landscape affects ice flow and stability. They’ve combined airborne, marine and land-based data to develop a new set of “bedclasses” that group areas with similar geological traits, such as hardness or heat flow. The goal is to make ice sheet models more realistic, and better predict how Antarctica will change as the climate warms and how much it might contribute to future sea-level rise.

Monday, Dec. 15, 14:15 – 17:45 | Poster Hall EFG | C13C-0810

Improving Rainfall Forecasts Weeks in Advance

Andrew Robertson (Center for Climate Systems Research) and colleagues are testing new ways to predict rainfall up to a month ahead of time, using NASA’s GEOS subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) model and a statistical approach that uses observed relationships in the atmosphere to emulate how rainfall patterns develop. More reliable forecasts on a 2-4 week timescale could lead to more accurate early warning systems that help communities prepare for flood, droughts or crop stress. Additional reading: Q&A: Andrew Robertson on Crossing the ‘Predictability Desert’

Monday, Dec. 15, 14:15-17:45 | Poster Hall EFG | A13J-1804

Climate Science and the Case for Polluter Responsibility in Puerto Rico

Isatis Cintrón-Rodríguez presents work on linking climate science with legal accountability in Puerto Rico, where hurricanes and heatwaves are becoming more destructive. Her framework combines emissions data, climate attribution studies and international law to evaluate how major polluters may share responsibility for the island’s climate-related harms. The approach could help guide loss and damage funding, reveal due diligence failures, and strengthen calls for climate reparations.

Monday, Dec. 15, 17:30–17:40 | Room 245 | GC14C-08

Tuesday

Social Learning and Flood Adaptation in Coastal Communities

Erfan Amini uses a computer model of households in coastal New York to explore how people decide whether to invest in home flood protections. The model assumes residents have limited information and learn about risk from their own experience, their neighbors’ actions, and outside warnings, while facing financial constraints and imperfect decision-making. By comparing the model’s outcomes with survey data, Erfan identifies which risk communication and support strategies are most likely to spur greater investment in flood adaptations as climate risks grow.

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 8:30–12:00 | Hall EFG (Poster Hall) | H21Y-1299

Measuring Microplastics and Nanoplastics in New York City’s Tap Water

Hui Ping Deng and colleagues across Columbia are using advanced spectroscopic techniques to measure tiny plastic particles in New York City’s drinking water. Their research has shown that nanoplastics vastly outnumber larger microplastics, and account for more than 90 percent of detected particles. They measured concentrations of 2.3 million plastic particles per liter, several orders of magnitude higher than previously reported. Additional reading: Bottled Water Can Contain Hundreds of Thousands of Previously Uncounted Tiny Plastic Bits, Study Finds

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 10:40–10:50 | Rooms 272–273 | H22F-02

Preserving and Sharing the World’s Marine Geoscience Data

Andrew M. Goodwillie presents the latest capabilities of the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS), a long-standing repository that organizes and preserves seafloor and subseafloor data collected throughout the global oceans. MGDS helps ensure that valuable ship- and submersible-based observations—more than 140 terabytes of open data—remain accessible and usable for a wide range of scientific and applied purposes. The system’s tools streamline the process of searching, downloading and reusing these datasets, strengthening the overall efficiency and impact of federal research investments.

Later in the week, Vicki Ferrini will highlight a key data-management challenge: deep-sea submersible data. She will demonstrate new MGDS capabilities that improve the integration and discoverability of these complex datasets, making it easier for researchers and technical users to access, share and apply information that supports ocean research, technology development and broader mission-driven needs.

Goodwillie: Tuesday, Dec. 16, 14:15–17:45 | Poster Hall EFG | OS23D-1091
Ferrini: Friday, Dec. 19, 8:30-12:00 | Poster Hall EFG | OS51C-0428

Modeling How People Make Decisions Under Crisis

Michael Puma (Center for Climate Systems Research) is working to improve models of refugee movement by using insights from the field of psychology about how people think and react under stress. The research builds on an existing simulation called the Flee model to reflect that people fleeing conflict sometimes make quick, instinctive decisions and other times engage in slower, more deliberate reasoning. Puma and his colleagues are using the model to paint a more realistic view of how refugees move through dangerous environments, which can help humanitarian organizations anticipate needs and design more effective responses.

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 16:35–16:45 | Room 207 | GC24F-03

Wednesday

Clues of a Possible Ancient Impact-Generated Tsunami in Hudson River Sediments

Marine geologist Dallas Abbott shows that even familiar landscapes may hold traces to extraordinary events. She and colleagues analyzed a 3,000-year-old layer buried in the Hudson River near Yonkers, New York, and found tin-coated microfossils, nickel-rich grains, and other fragments whose chemistry resembles cosmic dust. The evidence suggests a sudden, high-energy event occurred nearby. The team suspects a small crater on the nearby continental slope may be linked, though confirming that connection will require new seismic data. 

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 08:30–12:00 | Poster Hall EFG | P31F-2597

A New Drought Atlas: 800 Years of Hydroclimate History in Sub-Saharan Africa

Edward Cook presents the first drought atlas to cover most of Sub-Saharan Africa, providing an 800-year view of how rainfall has varied across the region. Because long-term climate records are scarce in much of Africa, Cook and his Lamont colleagues turned to an innovative approach: using climate teleconnections, such as links between African rainfall and El Niño events, to pull information from proxy records around the world and reconstruct drought patterns back to the year 1200. The new atlas captures well-known events like the devastating Sahel drought of the 1970s and shows just how exceptional it was in the context of the past millennium. This dataset gives researchers and policymakers a new window into the history and causes of African drought. Cook is also the recipient of the 2025 AGU Roger Revelle Medal for “outstanding contributions in atmospheric sciences, atmosphere-ocean coupling, atmosphere-land coupling, biogeochemical cycles, climate or related aspects of the Earth system.”

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 11:45–12:00 | Rooms 215–216 | PP32A-06

Machine Learning is Helping Uncover Hidden Faults 

Seismologist Eric Beaucé is applying machine-learning tools to detect and analyze small earthquakes across eastern North America, a region far from plate boundaries but still surprisingly seismically active. He is also exploring how external factors like groundwater changes or large, remote earthquakes may influence when and where the seismic activity occurs in the region. This research builds on what he and others at Lamont worked on after the 2024 New Jersey earthquake.

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 14:15–17:45 | Poster Hall EFG | T33A-0188

X-Snow: A Citizen-Science Initiative for Snow Monitoring in the Northeastern U.S. 

Marco Tedesco presents the latest on X-Snow, a NASA-funded citizen science project led by Lamont. Volunteers across the Catskills and Adirondacks use simple tools and smartphone photos to help fill major gaps in snow data for the region. Their measurements help calibrate satellite data, improve snow and hydrological models, and deepen understanding of how snowpack varies from storm to storm and season to season. 

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 14:15–17:45 | Poster Hall EFG | SY33B-0655

How Atlantic Hurricanes Are Changing: Trends in Strength and Rapid Intensification

Suzana Camargo analyzed more than four decades of Atlantic hurricane data to see how storm strength and rapid intensification have evolved and how they relate to El Niño and La Niña. While the most extreme storms are growing stronger, earlier studies may have overstated how fast intensification trends are increasing. The analysis shows that hurricanes tend to strengthen more quickly and reach higher peak intensities during La Niña years. Additional reading: Here’s What We Know About How Climate Change Fuels Hurricanes

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 14:20–14:25 | Rooms 275–277 | A33E-01
Thursday, Dec. 18, 08:30–12:00 | Poster Board #2235

Thursday 

A Desert Shrub That Soaks Up Toxic Metals From an Old Uranium Mine

Clara Chang reports the discovery of a native desert plant, Ericameria nauseosa, that removes significant levels of metals from the soil of an abandoned uranium mine inside Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park. Flowers from the plant contained thousands of times more selenium, aluminum, lithium and uranium than the surrounding soil. These concentrations are high enough to pose risks if used for traditional teas or forage. The finding adds a new species to the small group of known hyperaccumulators and raise important environmental and public health concerns, as the consumption of hyperaccumulated metals from this plant may pose significant toxicological risks.

Thursday, Dec. 18, 08:30–12:00 | Poster Hall EFG | GH41D-0705

How Congestion Pricing Is Shaping New York City’s Air Quality

Abhishek Anand and Lamont colleagues showcase new research on how New York City’s congestion pricing program, launched in January 2025, is affecting air pollution across the city. Using data from local air-quality monitors and satellite observations, the team found that while fine-particle and nitrogen dioxide pollution decreased in much of Manhattan, levels rose in parts of Queens and Brooklyn as traffic patterns shifted. These findings highlight the importance of evaluating both direct and spillover effects when assessing urban environmental policy impacts. Additional reading: How Congestion Pricing Will Benefit New York City

Thursday, Dec. 18, 08:30–12:00 | Poster Hall EFG | GH41B-0686

Melting Arctic Ice Could Affect New England’s Lobster Fishery

By combining models and observations of Greenland and Arctic glacier melt, sea-ice loss, and ocean circulation, Patrick M. Alexander and other Lamont colleagues are helping quantify how much freshwater enters the North Atlantic now and how that flow may change by 2050. The work is part of the Navigating the New Arctic Lobster Network project, tracing how freshwater from melting Arctic ice is reshaping ocean conditions along the New England coast and other areas, where lobster populations are already under stress. 

Thursday, Dec. 18, 08:30–12:00 | Poster Hall EFG | C41C-1068

Drilling Into Deep Time to Understand Natural Contaminants

What can 100 million years of rock tell us about present-day water pollution? The Colorado Plateau Coring Project is drilling deep into the high desert’s past to find out. Paul Olsen and colleagues are analyzing cores to trace how uranium, arsenic, lithium and other naturally occurring elements in ancient sediments moved through the subsurface over time, and now seep into groundwater. The team plans to use four new proposed core holes made by the project as wells to test new water purification methods.

Thursday, Dec. 18, 08:30–12:00 | Poster Hall EFG | GH41D-0707

Testing Rocks in Kenya’s Rift Valley for Carbon Storage

George Okoko presents research exploring whether basalt rocks in Kenya’s Rift Valley could lock away carbon dioxide underground. By analyzing the chemistry and physical properties of basalt samples, the team is assessing their potential for mineralizing carbon into solid rock. Initial experiments show that these basalts can form carbonates under simulated subsurface conditions, pointing to their promise as sites for long-term carbon storage. Additional reading: A Search for Rocks To Help Fight Climate Change

Thursday, Dec. 18, 08:30–12:00 | Poster Hall EFG | GC41K-0791

Future La Niña-Induced Droughts in the Southwest May Be Harder to Escape

Using climate models and reanalysis data, Yelin Jiang and colleagues found that in the past, a wet year leading up to a La Niña event often softened La Niña’s drought impacts in the Southwest. That’s because the soil held enough water to carry the region past the drought. But as the climate warms and the land grows more arid, that natural buffer is disappearing. Even when soils start out moist, future La Niña events are projected to produce more intense and persistent droughts, largely because higher temperatures drive faster evapotranspiration. 

Thursday, Dec. 18, 14:15–17:45 | Poster Hall EFG | GC43O-0977

Anticipating Volcanic Eruptions in Real-Time

Terry Plank presents the latest from the AVERT project, which is testing how an expanded toolkit of sensors can sharpen real-time eruption forecasting at Costa Rica’s Poás Volcano. On recent field visits, Plank and her team paired traditional tools like seismometers and gas sensors with newer technologies that measure tiny changes in the ground and surrounding environment. By comparing how these instruments capture the volcano’s rumblings and gas pulses, the team is building a fuller picture of what the volcano looks like in the lead-up to an eruption, in real time. Additional reading: High in a Cloud Forest, Tapping Into the Breathing of a Volcanic Beast

Thursday, Dec. 18, 14:15–17:45 | Poster Hall EFG | V43D-0118

Rethinking Methane Sources in Cities

Róisín Commane and her group at Lamont are reassessing how methane emissions are attributed in large cities. For this presentation they focused on the New York metropolitan area, the nation’s largest urban source of greenhouse gases. Using atmospheric observations, transport modeling, and new laboratory experiments, the team found that the chemical fingerprints used to distinguish natural gas leaks from other sources may have been misleading. The finding suggests that past studies may have underestimated how much of the city’s methane comes from natural gas systems, prompting a fresh look at how urban methane emissions are measured and managed. Additional reading: Researchers Map New York State Methane Emissions With a Mobile Laboratory

Thursday, Dec. 18, 17:15–17:25 | Room 245 | A44F-06

Friday

Which Ice Sheets Melted Most During the Last Interglacial?

Jacqueline Austermann and colleagues from Lamont and other institutions are using sea-level data and advanced modeling to pinpoint how much ice melted from Greenland and Antarctica the last time our planet was naturally warmer than it is today. By combining hundreds of geological records with thousands of simulations of how the planet’s crust and mantle respond to changing ice loads, and aided by machine learning, they can “fingerprint” the sea-level signals left behind by each ice sheet. Additional reading: For Good Measure: Scientists Collaborate to Track Sea Level Rise From Glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica

Friday, Dec. 19, 09:00–09:15 | Room 214 | PP51B-03