This June 8, we are celebrating U.N. World Oceans Day, with the theme of “REIMAGINE: Beyond the world we know, a new relationship with our ocean.” 

Here at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the Columbia Climate School, scientists have spent decades cataloging and reimagining the ocean’s critical role in our lives; they have been mapping the ocean floor, collecting seismic data aboard the R/V Marcus G. Langseth, studying the ocean carbon sink and documenting changes in El Niño, among other deep questions. 

Check out some of our recent coverage of advances in ocean science and educational initiatives below, and keep reading State of the Planet for stories that shed new light on our vast ocean. 

• Hudson River World Fish Migration Day: Hosted by scientists and educators at multiple locations along the lower Hudson River Estuary, this event celebrates the vital role played by estuaries in the life cycle of many ocean fish species.
• Women in Science: Climate Scientist Gisela Winckler focuses on the history and causes of past, present and future climate variability, as well as the ocean’s role in the climate system and the carbon cycle.
• The Ocean Carbon Sink Is Ailing: Measurements analyzed by an international research team indicate the global ocean absorbed significantly less CO₂ than anticipated during the unprecedented marine heatwave in 2023.
• Sea Levels Are Rising—But in Greenland, They Will Fall: Even as global warming causes sea levels to rise worldwide, sea levels around Greenland will likely drop, according to a new paper.
• TRACX Program Connects Educators Worldwide with Ocean Science Research: Last summer, teachers from around the globe got a hands-on opportunity to engage in research alongside scientists at the Gulf Coast Repository at Texas A&M University.
• Swimming Toward a Constitutional Right for Nature: M.A. in Climate and Society graduate Christopher Swain swims long, polluted rivers to advocate for clean water and environmental justice.
• Science for the Planet: Tackling the Invisible Threat of Nanoplastics: Beizhan Yan, an environmental geochemist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, has come up with new methods to detect and analyze tiny plastic particles to better understand their impact on human and environmental health.
• A Climate Change Signal in the Tropical Pacific: Research from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory has the world’s climate scientists rethinking their models.
• Women in Science: Paleoceanographer Apollonia Arellano uses geochemical analyses to reconstruct deep ocean circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean.