PAOC Spotlights

Improving US air quality, equitably

Study finds climate policy alone cannot meaningfully reduce racial/economic disparities in air pollution exposure.

Explained: The 1.5 C climate benchmark

After a summer of weather extremes, where does the world stand in its goal to stem rising temps?

Study: The ocean’s color is changing as a consequence of climate change

To track the changes in ocean color, scientists analyzed measurements of ocean color taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite, which has been monitoring ocean color for 21 years.

Exploring new sides of climate and sustainability research

With the support of each other and MIT faculty, students in the MCSC’s Climate and Sustainability Scholars Program are making their impact on real-world climate challenges.

Study: Smoke particles from wildfires can erode the ozone layer

MIT chemists show the Australian wildfires widened the ozone hole by 10 percent in 2020.

Improving health outcomes by targeting climate and air pollution simultaneously

New modeling tool enables rapid design of effective and equitable policy combinations.

Combining forces to advance ocean science

“As a species and as a society we really want to understand the planet that we live on and our place in it,” says Professor Michael Follows. Since 1968, the MIT-WHOI Joint Program has provided research and educational opportunities for PhD students s...

Looking to the past to prepare for an uncertain future

Using sand and rock, MIT senior Aviva Intveld tells stories of ancient climates.

A healthy wind

Health benefits of using wind energy instead of fossil fuels could quadruple if the most polluting power plants are selected for dialing down, new study finds.

Earth can regulate its own temperature over millennia, new study finds

Scientists have confirmed that a “stabilizing feedback” on 100,000-year timescales keeps global temperatures in check.

Coordinating climate and air-quality polices to improve public health

New MIT tool pinpoints policy combinations that maximize health benefits.

Small eddies play a big role in feeding ocean microbes

Swirling waters replenish nutrients in open ocean, a new study finds, and could mitigate some climate change effects.

Ferrari named 2022 AGU Ocean Sciences Harald Sverdrup Lecture recipient

Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Oceanography Raffaele Ferrari has been named the 2022 Harald Sverdrup Lecture Recipient by the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

3 Questions: O'Gorman awarded the 2023 Haurwitz Lectureship by the American Meteorological Society

The lectureship recognizes outstanding mid-career scientists who have made “significant contributions to the understanding of atmospheric and ocean fluid dynamics, the circulation of the middle atmosphere, or the dynamics of climate”.

Kerry Emanuel: A climate scientist and meteorologist in the eye of the storm

With over 200 published papers, multiple books, and countless media appearances, Emanuel’s 41 years at MIT have been marked by influential research into hurricane formation and climate change outreach.

Susan Solomon new chair of PAOC; Raffaele Ferrari stepping down to become co-director of Lorenz Center

The changes in leadership took effect July 1st.

MIT-WHOI Joint Program announces new leadership

Ed Boyle to step down as director; Mick Follows will take over the directorship in July.

Commencement 2022 - Meet the EAPS Senior Class

Each year, graduating seniors majoring in EAPS present a thesis in completion of their Bachelor of Science Degree. This year we had a class of seven students specializing in areas across the Earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences. We asked them ab...

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