News

July 22 2021
EAPS and Chemistry welcome new DEI Officer
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MIT Chemistry and EAPS News EmmaLee Pallai will disseminate best practices for recruiting, building, and maintaining inclusive and equitable academic communities, and promote shared values of excellence, belonging, openness, integrity, and mutual respect.
June 24 2021
Wanying Kang joins EAPS as assistant professor in climate science
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Lauren Hinkel | EAPS News Kang’s research focuses large-scale atmospheric and oceanic dynamics, and their effects on the climate of Earth and other planetary bodies. Her appointment is effective July 1, 2022.
June 16 2021
Imagining the distant past — and finding keys to the future
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Michaela Jarvis | MIT News correspondent Associate professor of Earth science David McGee studies the atmosphere’s response to paleoclimate changes.
June 11 2021
Malanotte-Rizzoli and Stone shape the future of climate and ocean science
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Lauren Hinkel and Alice McBride | EAPS News MIT professors contribute decades of visionary teaching and research, and an endowed chair in climate and geosciences.
June 2 2021
Student Spotlight: Lei Ma & Lydia Babcock-Adams
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Through the Porthole | MIT-WHOI Joint Program Students in the Joint Program come from a variety of backgrounds: from microbiology, to physics, to mechanical engineering, to marine science.
June 1 2021
The climate is moving to greater and greater extremes — acting now can reduce risks
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Ron Prinn, Opinion Contributer | The Hill MIT TEPCO Professor of Atmospheric Science Ron Prinn pens an op-ed for The Hill laying out our current climate risks and how the U.S. is performing with respect to its climate targets.
May 25 2021
How we know it’s happening
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Climate Now Prof. Kerry Emanuel speaks with Ozak Esu and James Lawler of Climate Now about how we know humans are causing climate change.
May 18 2021
Julia Wilcots and Rohini Shivamoggi recognized by MIT for their leadership in DEI
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Lauren Hinkel | EAPS News Wilcots and Shivamoggi have gone above and beyond to empower and mentor fellow students and researchers within MIT and EAPS on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
May 18 2021
Ozone-depleting chemicals may spend less time in the atmosphere than previously thought
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Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office News results point to unexpected, illegal production of several CFCs in recent years.
May 14 2021
Quantifying Parameter and Structural Uncertainty in Climate Modeling
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Sabrina Pirzada | CliMA Robustly predicting Earth’s climate is one of the most complex challenges facing the scientific community today. By leveraging recent advances in the computational and data sciences, researchers at CliMA are developing new methods for calibrating climate models and quantifying their uncertainties.
May 14 2021
Wunsch awarded Prince Albert I Medal 2021
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International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans Carl Wunsch, the EAPS Professor Emeritus of Physical Oceanography, has been awarded the 2021 Prince Albert I Medal, recognizing "his groundbreaking contributions to the development of modern physical oceanography."
May 7 2021
Saving the radome
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Sara Cody | Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Student-led efforts preserve iconic campus landmark for future generations of education and research.
April 23 2021
MIT Climate Clock from D-Lab: Water, Climate Change, and Health
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Jenning Chen, Alejandro Diaz, Jillian James, Gaurav Patekar, Julie Simpson, Lowry Yankwich, Susan Murcott | MIT D-Lab Eight months ago, in September 2020, artists Andrew Boyd and Gan Golan unveiled the first U.S.-based Climate Clock at “the Metronome,” a public art wall in New York City, on the south side of Union Square.
April 22 2021
Deep diving into seawater
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Ari Daniel PhD '08 | MIT Spectrum Mallory Ringham uses optical sensor to assess oceans’ chemical changes
April 22 2021
Climate futures
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Steve Nadis | MIT Spectrum CliMA collaboration aims to reinvent Earth system modeling.
April 22 2021
The big picture
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MIT Spectrum MIT experts outline issues, offer hope for climate action
April 20 2021
Degrading Pernicious Plastics and Predicting Using Past Climates
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MIT Better World In this MIT Better World (Sustainability) breakout session, hosted by the MIT School of Science in March 2021, David McGee and Jeremiah Johnson, professors in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and the Department of Chemistry, respectively, present aspects of their research programs that impact the prediction of precipitation and the creation of useful, but less harmful, materials of the future.
April 16 2021
Protecting the world’s vanishing coral reefs
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Ari Daniel PhD '08 | Slice of MIT Goreau—whose family’s story is told in the new documentary Coral Ghosts—has borne witness for seven decades to the steady global decline of coral reefs, which have degraded into fields of rubble and algae.
April 5 2021
Study reveals uncertainty in how much carbon the ocean absorbs over time
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Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office Climate projections could be off by five years, researchers find.
March 22 2021
Ancient atmospheric oxygen sleuthing with ocean chromium
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Lauren Hinkel | EAPS News Findings show how the trace metal is chemically altered in the anoxic, modern ocean and provide the basis for investigating paleorecords of atmosphere composition shifts.
March 22 2021
Safe to Swim? Scientist’s Study of River Bacteria Motivated by Environmental Justice
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Alison Gold | School of Science Elise Myers ’14, SM ’14 is researching the behavior of bacteria to predict whether water will be safe for recreational use.
March 16 2021
Study predicts the oceans will start emitting ozone-depleting CFCs
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Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office As atmospheric concentrations of CFC-11 drop, the global ocean should become a source of the chemical by the middle of next century.
February 22 2021
EAPS Professor Susan Solomon helped set the Doomsday Clock
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Alison Gold | MIT School of Science Addressing climate change, Solomon was among scientists who revealed the clock’s 2021 position at 100 seconds to midnight.
February 19 2021
Life is tough for teenage parasites
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Sabrina Imbler | The Atlantic For a deep-sea parasitic worm, the epic journey to adulthood starts in a fish’s intestines.
February 16 2021
Glaciologist Brent Minchew contributes to new Arctic exhibit at Museum of Science
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Alice McBride | EAPS News “Arctic Adventure: Exploring with Technology” is a gateway to research in the far north—and brings to life polar land- and seascapes that are key components of Earth’s ecosystem and climate.
December 11 2019
Assessing changes and risks to the oceans, land and atmosphere Mark Dwortzan | MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change MIT Joint Program researchers to present latest findings at AGU Fall Meeting
December 4 2019
Whales May Owe Their Efficient Digestion to Millions of Tiny Microbes Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate student Henry Holm coauthors study showing how whales are able to break down high-energy molecules in their food that other animals have difficulty with.
November 22 2019
Renewable Energy and Carbon Pricing Policies Nancy W. Stauffer | MIT Energy Initiative State-level adoption saves money and lives.
November 18 2019
Continuing a Legacy of Antarctic Exploration Fatima Husain | EAPS News EAPS Summons Lab examines lipids from Antarctic microbial communities to understand the evolution of complex life on Earth and life that existed during "snowball Earth."
October 24 2019
The discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole Susan Solomon | Nature The unexpected discovery of a hole in the atmospheric ozone layer over the Antarctic revolutionized science — and helped to establish one of the most successful global environmental policies of the twentieth century.
September 15 2019
How a Volcanic Eruption Set Off a Phytoplankton Bloom Robin George Andrews | The New York Times Science Lava from Kilauea in Hawaii flowed into the Pacific last year and pushed nutrients to the surface. The result was a banquet for light-loving microbes.
August 29 2019
Bacteria Feeding on Arctic Algae Blooms can Seed Clouds Abigail Eisenstadt | AGU A new study co-authored by EAPS graduate student Astrid Pacini finds that bacteria normally found near the sea floor was present in the air above the ocean surface, suggesting ocean currents and turmoil help make the bacteria airborne.
July 8 2019
Breaching a “Carbon Threshold” Could Lead to Mass Extinction Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office Carbon dioxide emissions may trigger a reflex in the carbon cycle, with devastating consequences, study finds.
June 24 2019
NASA Makes Dual Investment in Ocean Worlds Research at WHOI Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Agency funds five-year effort to understand the potential for life in outer solar system and establishes a new Network for Ocean Worlds. Collaborator EAPS professor and oceanographer John Marshall is working with the team looking at ice moons.
June 12 2019
An Escape Route for Carbon Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office Study shows minerals sequester carbon for thousands of years, which may explain oxygen’s abundance in the atmosphere.
April 23 2019
Tracking Radium in the Arctic Hannah Piecuch | Oceanus Magazine A conversation with Jessica Dabrowski, second-year graduate student in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program, who recently travelled to the Arctic to study the impact of climate change.
April 22 2019
Letter Regarding MIT's Upcoming Climate Change Symposia MIT News Office The following letter was sent to the MIT community on April 23, 2019, by President L. Rafael Reif.
April 9 2019
Ozone Hole: How We Saved the Planet PBS A new PBS documentary explores how scientists, including Susan Solomon, worked together to prevent an environmental catastrophe.
April 1 2019
Who’s Who? Who’s New? Lauren Hinkel | EAPS News This April, EAPS welcomes two new members to the department, postdoctoral associates Xiaozhou Ruan and Justin Jacquot.
March 26 2019
Environmental Journals Recognize Contributions from MIT Early Career Scientists ACS Publications Noelle Eckley Selin's research on mercury pollution and mitigation was highlighted in virtual issue of outstanding scientists.
March 5 2019
Climate Change Will Change The Color Of The Ocean, Researcher Says Heather Goldstone and Elsa Partan | Living Lab Radio Stephanie Dutkiewicz talks to Living Lab Radio about how climate change will transform the color of the ocean.
February 27 2019
The climate optimist Amanda Schaffer | MIT Technology Review Susan Solomon is profiled in Tech Review for her work on how CFCs caused the Antarctic ozone hole—and how we can make progress on addressing climate change.
January 1 2019
Can Artificial Intelligence Help Build Better, Smarter Climate Models? Nicola Jones | Yale Environment Paul O’Gorman on how scientists are trying to utilize the latest advances in artificial intelligence to advance climate modeling.
December 6 2018
How to Make Professional Conferences More Accessible for Disabled People: Guidance from Actual Disabled Scientists Gabriela Serrato Marks | The Union of Concerned Scientists Grad student Gabriela Serrato Marks writes on how conferences can do better to accommodate disabled scientists, such as herself.
November 30 2018
A Universal Law for the ‘Blood of the Earth’ Joshua Sokol | Quanta Magazine The EAPS Rothman group shows how simple physical principles can be used to describe how rivers grow everywhere from Florida to Mars.
November 19 2018
Roger Summons on 'Proof' podcast An interview with Prof. Summons on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry on "Proof, America’s Test Kitchen" podcast.
October 31 2018
The Search Continues Nicole Estvanik Taylor | MIT Spectrum MIT Spectrum on PAOC member Julien de Wit joining the TRAPPIST team.
October 17 2018
How Hurricane Michael Became a 'Worst-Case Scenario' Robinson Meyer | The Atlantic Professor Kerry Emanuel speaks on Hurricane Michael's climate-addled rapid intensification with The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and more.
October 16 2018
Climate Fortnite: An Interview with Henri Drake ClimateX Team EAPS graduate student Henri Drake combines gameplay with environmental education to increase awareness of climate change.
August 10 2018
Emanuel selected to the 2018 Class of AGU Fellows Eric Davidson and Mary Anne Holmes | EOS The elected Fellows are AGU members whose visionary leadership and scientific excellence have fundamentally advanced research in their respective fields.