Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

This spring's additions to the School of Science faculty: (left to right) Michael Halassa, Brent Minchew, and Alexander "Sasha" Rakhlin

School of Science welcomes three new professors this spring

January 11, 2018

MIT researchers found a more dramatic decline in organic aerosol across the U.S. than previously reported, which may account for more lives saved than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency anticipated in a 2011 report on the Clean Air Act and amendments. The study found that the decline is likely due to human behaviors.

Cleaner air, longer lives

Research shows the Clean Air Act was likely responsible for a dramatic decline in atmospheric organic aerosol.

December 25, 2017

“You’re rolling the dice every year,” says professor Kerry Emanuel. “And we believe the odds of a flood like Harvey are changing.” Pictured is an aerial view of Houston during the Hurricane Harvey flooding.

Texas’ odds of Harvey-scale rainfall to increase by end of century

Study finds state’s annual risk of extreme rainfall will rise from 1 to 18 percent.

November 13, 2017

"Science is never sufficient to solve an environmental problem but it's always, always necessary," Susan Solomon said at the 7th annual John Carlson Lecture at the New England Aquarium.

A brief history of environmental successes

Susan Solomon's John H. Carlson Lecture examines past environmental challenges in the context of today's fight against climate change.

November 9, 2017

“I remain optimistic about the ability of international agreements to address environmental problems, primarily because that’s the only solution we have at this point,” associate professor Noelle Selin says.

Noelle Selin: Tracing toxins around the world

Atmospheric chemist takes on pollutants and the global treaties written to control them.

October 22, 2017

This model illustrates the three-dimensional upward spiral of North Atlantic deep water through the Southern Ocean.

Deep waters spiral upward around Antarctica

Research reveals the upwelling pathways and timescales of deep, overturning waters in the Southern Ocean.

September 26, 2017

Kerry Emanuel, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Atmospheric Science and co-director of the Lorenz Center at MIT

Kerry Emanuel: This year’s hurricanes are a taste of the future

Climate scientist describes physics behind expected increase in storm strength due to climate change.

September 21, 2017

NASA astronaut and former Whitehead Fellow Kathleen "Kate" Rubins returned to MIT for a public talk and engagement with local students.

Astronaut Kate Rubins returns to the Whitehead Institute to describe her experiences in low-Earth orbit

Former Whitehead Fellow and recent International Space Station resident gives public talk and engages with the next generation of scientists and engineers.

September 20, 2017

“This is not saying that disaster occurs the next day,” says Professor Daniel Rothman about his new study. “It’s saying that, if left unchecked, the carbon cycle would move into a realm which would be no longer stable, and would behave in a way that would be difficult to predict. In the geologic past, this type of behavior is associated with mass extinction.”

Mathematics predicts a sixth mass extinction

By 2100, oceans may hold enough carbon to launch mass extermination of species in future millennia.

September 20, 2017

“The goal was trying to understand the chemistry associated with organic particulate matter in a forested environment,” associate professor Jesse Kroll explains. “We took a lot of measurements using state-of-the-art instruments we had developed.” The team also took many photos while in Colorado. Pictured on the bottom right is Douglas Day, CU researcher and organizer of the field campaign....

Team gathers unprecedented data on atmosphere’s organic chemistry

Colorado forest study provides clearest-ever picture of gases released into the atmosphere and how they change.

September 4, 2017

This artist’s impression shows the view from the surface of one of the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system. At least seven planets orbit this ultracool dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth and they are all roughly the same size as the Earth. Several of the planets are at the right distances from their star for liquid water to exist on the surfaces.

Neighboring exoplanets may hold water, study finds

Observations and modeling suggest TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets may have held onto water, billions of years after their formation.

August 31, 2017

Several thousand people gathered at MIT to watch the partial solar eclipse on Aug. 21.

Experiencing the Great American Solar Eclipse

Thousands attend MIT solar eclipse-watching parties on campus, at the MIT Wallace Observatory, and in Rexburg, Idaho.

August 29, 2017

Scientists in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) have for the first time determined the strength of the stratosphere’s circulation, based on observations of key chemicals traveling within this atmospheric layer.

Strength of global stratospheric circulation measured for first time

Estimate will help gauge hang time of greenhouse gases, water vapor, and ozone in upper atmosphere.

August 28, 2017

Alison Criscitiello PhD '14 summits Mount Logan, Canada’s highest mountain, in May 2016 after ice coring nearby in the Yukon Territory.

For the love of ice: Journeys to the remote and inhospitable

Alison Criscitiello PhD '14 seeks ice cores in inhospitable locations, sometimes camping on ice sheets and sleeping with a shotgun in case of bear attacks.

August 23, 2017

MIT students, students from the University of Venice, and faculty members from both institutions pose in front of Venice's experimental floodgates as part of a collaborative summer workshop.

Saving Venice, MIT-style

MISTI interns and MIT faculty tackle rising sea level challenges at Italian research camp this summer.