Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

This image shows humidity in the lower atmosphere in a global high-resolution model used to study the effect of climate change on weather extremes.

3Q: Refocusing climate research in a new era

Associate Professor Paul O'Gorman describes three questions climate scientists recently suggested should frame the future of climate research.

May 3, 2017

2017 Kendall Lecture speaker Thomas Karl

Correcting the records

Climate data analyst Thomas Karl describes global temperature and precipitation measurement and interpretation in the 16th Henry W. Kendall Memorial Lecture.

April 25, 2017

Left to right: Graduate student Tiziana Smith (3rd place), junior Alexa Jaeger (1st place) and senior Kathy Dieppa (2nd place) were the three winners of the fourth annual CEE Video Competition.

From fieldwork to the big screen

Fourth annual CEE Video Competition highlights global research and opportunities.

April 24, 2017

An artist’s impression of the newly-discovered rocky exoplanet, LHS 1140b, located in the liquid water habitable zone surrounding its host star, a small, faint red star named LHS 1140. The planet weighs about 6.6 times the mass of Earth and is shown passing in front of LHS 1140. Depicted in blue is the atmosphere the planet may have retained.

Another potentially habitable extrasolar planet discovered

Some 40 light-years away, "super-Earth" identified as new target for atmospheric study.

April 21, 2017

Eleven from MIT elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2017

Prestigious honor society announces 228 new members this year.

April 12, 2017

“MIT has given me more opportunities than I could have imagined as a prefrosh,” Senior Elizabeth Rider says. “I've traveled to new places and met new people that I wouldn't otherwise have had the opportunity to.”

Environmentalist and explorer

Senior Elizabeth Rider uses atmospheric chemistry research to create international connections.

April 11, 2017

The many genetic variations of the tiny bacteria called Prochlorococcus are distributed in a layered structure, with each variant adapted to the particular mix of sunlight and nutrients found in that layer of seawater.

Tiny bacterium provides window into whole ecosystems

Ubiquitous marine organism has co-evolved with other microbes, promoting more complex ecosystems.

March 27, 2017

MIT Vice President for Research Maria Zuber takes part in a panel on post-Paris Agreement climate and energy strategies at CERAWeek 2017 in Houston, Texas.

Setting the pace for change in the energy sector

MIT energy and climate thought leaders play integral part in discussions at CERAWeek 2017.

March 24, 2017

Oliver Jagoutz is a newly tenured associate professor of geology in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS).

“This work has allowed me to see most of the world”

Geologist Oliver Jagoutz scales mountains to gain tectonic insights.

March 23, 2017

MIT scientists have found that climate change will likely worsen drought conditions in parts of Africa, dramatically reshaping the production of maize throughout sub-Saharan Africa as global temperatures rise over the next century.

Climate change to worsen drought, diminish corn yields in Africa

Over the next century, southern Africa will see widespread decreases in maize production.

March 16, 2017

Astronauts and organizers of Beyond the Cradle gathered at the Media Lab on March 12. Back row, left to right: HI-SEAS IV Mars simulation participant Sheyna Gifford, NASA astronauts Jeff Hoffman and Leland Melvin, and PhD student Dan “Novysan” Novy. Front row, left to right: NASA astronaut Cady Coleman '83, PhD student Ariel Ekblaw, Media Lab Director Joi Ito.

Media Lab sets sights on space

MIT Media Lab event, Beyond the Cradle, launches a new initiative to explore the final frontier.

March 14, 2017

MIT rates No. 1 in 12 subjects in 2017 QS World University Rankings

MIT ranked within the top 5 for 19 of 46 subject areas.

March 8, 2017

MIT earth scientists have found evidence that eukaryotes — the domain of life comprising animals, plants, and protists — were present on Earth as early as 2.33 billion years ago, right around the time when oxygen became a permanent fixture in the atmosphere.

Study suggests complex life was present on Earth 2.33 billion years ago

New estimate predates earliest fossil evidence by 800 million years.

March 6, 2017

A map of a seamount in the Arctic Ocean created by gathering data with a multibeam echo sounder. Researchers have found that such topographic features can trap deep waters and produce turbulence.

Underwater mountains help ocean water rise from abyss

Turbulence from seafloor topography may explain longstanding question about ocean circulation.

March 6, 2017

Clockwise from top left: Andrew Babbin, Eliezer Calo, Max Metlitski, Matěj Peč, Salvatore Vitale

School of Science welcomes five new professors this spring

March 3, 2017

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