PAOC Spotlights

Assessing changes and risks to the oceans, land and atmosphere

MIT Joint Program researchers to present latest findings at AGU Fall Meeting

Historical Climate Models Accurately Projected Global Warming

New research from MIT EAPS scientists explores the accuracy of models’ climate physics and their relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and temperature rise.

Whales May Owe Their Efficient Digestion to Millions of Tiny Microbes

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.

Red Sea ‘Hotspot’ Study Reveals Behaviors of Whale Sharks

MIT-WHOI JP graduate student Camrin D. Braun PhD '19 coauthors study tracks aggregation behaviors of whale sharks, an endangered species, in the Red Sea.

Relating Marine Picoplankton Cell Size and Metabolism

CBIOMES and EAPS postdoctoral fellow John Casey is a microbial oceanographer, who combines observations, experimental approaches, and computational methods to better understand the diversity of metabolic and physiological designs that influence bioge...

Oceanographic Instrument Development, a First Step to Exploring the Unexplored

MIT-WHOI graduate student Kalina Grabb describes what it's like to design and test the first submersible instrument able to measure superoxide within shallow water aquatic environments affecting coral reefs, algal blooms, and deep-sea processes.

Renewable Energy and Carbon Pricing Policies

State-level adoption saves money and lives.

A Focus on Fronts

Chris Follett, MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) Postdoctoral Fellow and CBIOMES member, is working closely with other project investigators as he seeks to unify data and models through biogeography.

Ring by Carbon Ring

A collaboration of current and former EAPS researchers reveals the genes and proteins controlling the chemical structure of paleoclimate biomarker (GDGT), enabling it to cyclize in response to temperature changes.

Continuing a Legacy of Antarctic Exploration

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."

EAPS Features at AGU’s Fall Meeting 2019

This year, from December 9-13th, roughly 24,000 members are set to attend and experience nearly 2,000 oral and poster sessions in San Francisco, CA.

A Century of Progress in Atmospheric and Related Sciences: Celebrating the American Meteorological Society Centennial

EAPS scientists and MIT alumni add to AMS meteorological monograph tribute to the past century of innovation within our community and a source of inspiration for the scientists and researchers still to come.

In the Blue Holes of the Bahamas, Secrets of Hurricanes Past

Scientists assembled a 1,500-year history of big storm activity by retrieving sediment from the island country’s submarine caverns.

Fall 2019 MESO-SCOPE Meeting

Members of the MIT Darwin project hosted Benedetto Barone (U Hawaii) and Kate Evans (U Montana) for a week of face-to-face collaboration focused on advancing theory and modeling efforts geared towards exploring mesoscale and submesoscale marine ecolo...

The discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole

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.

A Workshop on Atmospheric Dynamics and Transport

On Monday, June 10th, the EAPS department held a workshop on Atmospheric Dynamics and Transport in honor of Prof. Emertius R. Alan Plumb

Antarctic ice cliffs may not contribute to sea-level rise as much as predicted

Study finds even the tallest ice cliffs should support their own weight rather than collapsing catastrophically.

Experts urge “full speed ahead” on climate action

Panelists at MIT climate change symposium describe the state of knowledge in climate science and stress the urgent need for action.

The 2019 PAOC Retreat: Jiminy Peak

This year’s annual PAOC retreat had students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty and staff from MIT’s Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences escape to Jiminy Peak in Hancock, MA for a week...

President Reif speaks at MIT Climate Symposium

President L. Rafael Reif delivered the below introductory remarks at today’s “Progress in Climate Science” symposium.

DEAPS: Understanding Extreme Weather and Climate, from Top to Bottom

The Discovering EAPS (DEAPS) Pre-orientation Program (FPOP) Extreme Weather and Climate immerses 2019 first year students in the geosciences at all scales.

In the 1980s, the World Acted to Save the Ozone Layer. Here's Why the Fight Against Climate Change Is Different

In 1986 and ’87, Susan Solomon, Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies in MIT's EAPS, led expeditions to Antarctica to determine the cause of the ozone hole: CFCs.

Computing in Earth Science: a Non-linear Path

UROP student Sonia Reilly studies the math of machine learning to better predict natural disasters.

How a Volcanic Eruption Set Off a Phytoplankton Bloom

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.

Bacteria Feeding on Arctic Algae Blooms can Seed Clouds

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.