PAOC Spotlights

Before the summer ends and we start in on our next year of exciting research and events, catch up on some stories you may have missed from last year. Features from the previous academic year include exciting climate research, new planetary findings, faculty awards and events. Read on!

 

Understanding tropical rainfall: Study finds ocean circulation, coupled with trade wind changes, efficiently limits shifting of tropical rainfall patterns.

 

 

 

 

Study Suggests Complex Life was Present on Earth 2.33 Billion Years Ago: New estimate predates earliest fossil evidence by 800 million years.

 

 

 

Underwater Mountains Help Ocean Water Rise from Abyss: Turbulence from seafloor topography may explain longstanding question about ocean circulation.

 

 

 

  

Stream Network Geometry Correlates with Climate: A "big data" analysis of nearly 1 million river junctions in the contiguous United States shows that branching angles in dendritic drainages vary systematically between humid and arid regions.

 

 

 

 

Lucky Seven: 3Q with Julien de Wit on the discovery of seven temperate, nearby worlds: Planets may harbor conditions suitable for sustaining liquid water — and thus life.

 

 

 

New study sets oxygen-breathing limit for ocean’s hardiest organisms: Bacteria can survive in marine environments that are almost completely starved of oxygen.

 

 

 

Saharan Dust in the Wind: Scientists find huge reduction in African dust plume led to stronger Saharan monsoons 11,000 years ago.

 

 

 

Short-Lived Greenhouse Gases Cause Centuries of Sea-Level Rise: Through warming effects, methane and other gases impact rising seas long after leaving the atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

Study Finds More Extreme Storms Ahead for California: New technique predicts frequency of heavy precipitation with global warming.

 

 

 

 

 Aerocene Soars at the 47th World Economic Forum Meeting: Climate-conscious sculptures influence world perspectives in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.

 

 

 

 

Solomon is 2017 National Academy of Sciences Medalist: Susan Solomon, the Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will receive the 2017 National Academy of Sciences, Arthur L. Day Prize and Lectureship.

 

 

 

Celebrating Pauline Morrow Austin: A Founder of Radar Meteorology: MIT Faculty, friends and family of Mrs. Austin gathered to remember her life and commemorate her contributions to science with the unveiling of an exhibit in EAPS.

 

 

 

 

2015 & 2016 Rossby Awards Announced: Jill McDermott '15 and Joern Callies '16 have been awarded the Rossby Prize for their respective theses.

 

 

 

Ferrari Receives Prestigious Award for Excellence in Oceanography: Raffaele Ferrari, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor in Earth and Planetary Sciences and Director of the Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate, has been selected to receive the 2016 Robert L. and Bettie P. Cody Award in Ocean Sciences.

 

 

 

  

Kerry Emanuel Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Kerry A. Emanuel, the EAPS Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Co-Director of the Lorenz Center, along with other MIT faculty join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, whose members include some of the world’s most accomplished scholars, scientists, writers, artists, as well as civic, business, and philanthropic leaders.  

 

Dara Entekhabi elected to National Academy of Engineering: Selection to the National Academy of Engineering is one of the highest distinctions bestowed upon an engineer