PAOC Spotlights

Malanotte-Rizzoli and Stone shape the future of climate and ocean science

MIT professors contribute decades of visionary teaching and research, and an endowed chair in climate and geosciences.

Student Spotlight: Lei Ma & Lydia Babcock-Adams

Students in the Joint Program come from a variety of backgrounds: from microbiology, to physics, to mechanical engineering, to marine science.

The climate is moving to greater and greater extremes — acting now can reduce risks

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.

How we know it’s happening

Prof. Kerry Emanuel speaks with Ozak Esu and James Lawler of Climate Now about how we know humans are causing climate change.

Julia Wilcots and Rohini Shivamoggi recognized by MIT for their leadership in DEI

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).

Ozone-depleting chemicals may spend less time in the atmosphere than previously thought

News results point to unexpected, illegal production of several CFCs in recent years.

Quantifying Parameter and Structural Uncertainty in Climate Modeling

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 cli...

Wunsch awarded Prince Albert I Medal 2021

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."

Saving the radome

Student-led efforts preserve iconic campus landmark for future generations of education and research.

MIT Climate Clock from D-Lab: Water, Climate Change, and Health

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.

Deep diving into seawater

Mallory Ringham uses optical sensor to assess oceans’ chemical changes

Climate futures

CliMA collaboration aims to reinvent Earth system modeling.

The big picture

MIT experts outline issues, offer hope for climate action

Degrading Pernicious Plastics and Predicting Using Past Climates

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...

Protecting the world’s vanishing coral reefs

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.

Study reveals uncertainty in how much carbon the ocean absorbs over time

Climate projections could be off by five years, researchers find.

Ancient atmospheric oxygen sleuthing with ocean chromium

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.

Safe to Swim? Scientist’s Study of River Bacteria Motivated by Environmental Justice

Elise Myers ’14, SM ’14 is researching the behavior of bacteria to predict whether water will be safe for recreational use.

Study predicts the oceans will start emitting ozone-depleting CFCs

As atmospheric concentrations of CFC-11 drop, the global ocean should become a source of the chemical by the middle of next century.

EAPS Professor Susan Solomon helped set the Doomsday Clock

Addressing climate change, Solomon was among scientists who revealed the clock’s 2021 position at 100 seconds to midnight.

Life is tough for teenage parasites

For a deep-sea parasitic worm, the epic journey to adulthood starts in a fish’s intestines.

Glaciologist Brent Minchew contributes to new Arctic exhibit at Museum of Science

“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.

Reductions in CFC-11 emissions put ozone recovery back on track

Scientists observe reduction in emissions of banned ozone-depleting chemical after unexpected spike.

Meet the team shaking up climate models

Can machine learning help build a better climate model? If scientists can create a new way to predict climate change – making it as accurate as, say, forecasting the weather – it would help people make everyday decisions: how high to build a sea wall...

Four MIT scientists honored with 2021 National Academy of Sciences awards

Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, Aviv Regev, Susan Solomon, and Feng Zhang are the recipients of distinguished awards for major contributions to science.