 Columbia University's Armstrong Hall, the building in which GISS was located. | |
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| Founded | May 1961 (1961-05)[1] |
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| Founder | Robert Jastrow |
| Focus | Atmospheric andclimate change |
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| Coordinates | 40°48′20″N73°57′55″W / 40.80556°N 73.96528°W /40.80556; -73.96528 |
| Affiliations | Columbia University,NASA |
| Website | www |
TheGoddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) is a laboratory in the Earth Sciences Division ofNASA'sGoddard Space Flight Center affiliated with theColumbia University Earth Institute.[2] The institute is located atColumbia University in New York City. It was named afterRobert H. Goddard, American engineer, professor, physicist and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's firstliquid-fueledrocket.[3]
Research at the GISS emphasizes a broad study ofglobal change, the natural and anthropogenic changes in our environment that affect the habitability of our planet. These effects may occur on greatly differing time scales, from one-time forcings such as volcanic explosions, to seasonal/annual effects such asEl Niño, and on up to the millennia of ice ages.
The institute's research combines analysis of comprehensive global datasets (derived from surface stations combined with satellite data forsea surface temperatures) with global models of atmospheric, land surface, and oceanic processes. Study of past climate change on Earth and of other planetary atmospheres provides an additional tool in assessing general understanding of the atmosphere and its evolution.[4]
GISS was established in May 1961 byRobert Jastrow to do basic research in space sciences in support of Goddard programs.[5][6][7] Formally the institute was theNew York City office of the GSFC Theoretical Division but was known as theGoddard Space Flight Center Institute for Space Studies or in some publications as simply theInstitute for Space Studies. But even before it opened, the institute had been referred to in the press as theGoddard Institute for Space Studies.[8] It was separated from the Theoretical Division in July 1962. Its offices were originally located inThe Interchurch Center, and the institute moved into Columbia'sArmstrong Hall (a renovated apartment building previously known as the Ostend apartments and subsequently the OxfordResidence Hotel) in April 1966.
From 1981 to 2013, GISS was directed byJames E. Hansen. In June 2014,Gavin A. Schmidt was named the institute's third director.[9]
On April 25, 2025, NASA announced that it was cancelling the lease on the Armstrong Hall as part of the Trump administration's review of federal leases.[10] Since June 1, 2025, GISS personnel have been working remotely.[11]
In the 1960s, GISS was a frequent center for high-level scientific workshops, including the "History of the Earth's Crust Symposium" in November 1966 which has been described as the meeting that gave birth to the idea ofplate tectonics.[12]
At a GISS workshop in 1967,John Wheeler popularized the term "black hole" as a short-hand for 'gravitationally completely collapsed star', though the term was not coined there.[13]Hong-Yee Chiu is credited with introducing the term "quasar" while working at GISS in 1964.[14]
In September 1974, at a seminal meeting led byPatrick Thaddeus at GISS withJohn Mather (his then post-doc) and others discussions began on the possibility of building a satellite to measure both the spectrum and possible spatial fluctuations of the Cosmic Microwave Background. This led directly to theCOBE satellite project and a Nobel Prize for Mather.[15]
GISS personnel were involved as instrument and science team scientists in multiple historicNASA solar system missions,Mariner 5 to Venus,Pioneer 10 and11 to Jupiter and Saturn, theVoyager program,Pioneer Venus,Galileo to Jupiter, the unsuccessfulMars Observer andClimate Orbiter, andCassini-Huygens mission to Saturn.[citation needed]
Polarimetry has been a speciality of GISS since the Pioneer, Voyager, and Galileo missions, and has been adapted to Earth observing missions as well. Notably, Michael Mishchenko of GISS was project scientist for theGlory mission, which failed to reach orbit after launch in 2011. Glory would have employed the Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor (APS) developed by GISS scientists had it reached orbit.[16] More recently, Brian Cairns of GISS is one of the deputy project scientists of thePACE mission, which launched in February 2024 and has two polarimeters on board.[17][18]
A key objective of Goddard Institute for Space Studies research is prediction ofclimate change in the 21st century, whichEPA andNOAA also focus on. The research combines paleogeological record, analysis of comprehensive global datasets (derived mainly from spacecraft observations), with global models of atmospheric, land surface, and oceanic processes.[citation needed]
Climate science predictions are based substantially on historical analysis of Earth's paleoclimate (climate through geological ages), and the sea-level/ temperature/ carbon dioxide record.[citation needed]
Changes in carbon dioxide associated with continental drift, and the decrease in volcanism as India arrived at the Asian continent, allowed temperatures to drop & Antarctic ice-sheets to form. This resulted in a 75m drop in sea level, allowing our present-day coastlines & habitats to form and stabilize.[19]
Global change studies at GISS are coordinated with research at other groups within the Earth Sciences Division, including the Laboratory for Atmospheres, Laboratory for Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences, and Earth Observing System science office.
GISS directorJames Hansen received theHeinz Award in 2001.[20]
In November 2004, climatologistsDrew Shindell andGavin Schmidt were named amongstScientific American magazine's Top 50 Scientist award.[21]
One-time GISS post-doctoral scientistJohn C. Mather was years later awarded theNobel Prize in Physics in 2006.[22]
Climate impacts researcherCynthia Rosenzweig was awarded theWorld Food Prize in 2022.[23]
People who have worked at GISS and their periods of employment include:
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromOverview.National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This article incorporatespublic domain material fromGoddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) (611) Home.National Aeronautics and Space Administration.| Schools |
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