Researchers from MIT and the University of Washington have found that centuries-old ocean currents have been keeping the Southern Ocean cold, reports Sarah Emerson for Motherboard. The researchers found that “Antarctica’s unique currents and strong westerly winds are constantly dredging up ancient currents from deep beneath the ocean’s surface.”
The Economist writes that MIT researchers have developed a new method for measuring changes in the world’s ice sheets, using earthquake sensors to monitor vibrations. “If more sensors are put into place, then Greenland’s ice sheets (and, presumably, those of other places) can be monitored on a daily basis.”
Washington Post reporter Chris Mooney writes that MIT researchers have found that the Paris climate agreement pledges would let the world warm by as much as 3.5 degrees Celsius by 2100. The researchers found that “with each year that countries wait to strengthen their current pledges, the rate at which emissions must decline gets steeper and steeper.”
In this Reuters video, Ben Gruber reports that MIT researchers have found a risk of water stress across Asia by 2050 due to economic and population growth. "We are looking at a region where nations are really at a very rapid developing stage,” explains Dr. Adam Schlosser, “so you really can't ignore the growth effect.”
MIT researchers have found that countries in Asia may face water shortages by 2050, the Press Trust of India reports. The researchers found that “the median amounts of projected growth and climate change in the next 35 years in Asia would lead to about 1 billion more people becoming ‘water-stressed’ compared to today.”
Voice of America reporter Kevin Enochs writes that a new study by MIT researchers has found that large portions of Asia could face a high risk of severe water stress by 2050. Enochs writes that the researchers found that, “global climate mitigation efforts can result in a measurable decrease in the risk of water stress.”
MIT researchers have found that population and economic growth could lead to severe water stress across Asia by 2050, reports Robert Ferris for CNBC. "We simply cannot ignore the fact that growth in population and the economies can play just as or more important a role in risk," explains Dr. Adam Schlosser.
In this video, The Economist explores how MIT researchers have developed a new algorithm that can predict where and when rogue waves might strike. The algorithm “identifies groups of waves most likely to form a rogue wave. The MIT algorithm is so thrifty that a ship’s skipper can run it on a laptop.”
MIT researchers have developed an algorithm capable of predicting the onset of rogue waves, writes Jason Thomson for The Christian Science Monitor. The algorithm, “hunts through data collected about surrounding waves, sifting for signs of clusters that could coalesce and crest into one of these behemoths.”
MIT researchers have developed an algorithm that can predict rogue waves, reports Matt Burgess for Wired. Burgess explains that the algorithm uses “statistical data, collected from buoys in the ocean, to quantify the range of possible waves for any body of water.”
Popular Science reporter Mary Beth Griggs writes that MIT researchers have developed a new tool that could provide advanced warning of rogue waves. The tool should allow crews “to detect rogue wave minutes before they form, giving them enough time to adjust course, or at least hang on.”
BBC’s Colin Barras writes about research from Prof. Paul O’Gorman which finds that extreme snowfalls are an expected consequence of climate change. O’Gorman says “extreme snowfall events respond to climate change quite differently from total seasonal snowfall."
In an article for The Huffington Post about the Paris climate agreement, senior lecturer Jason Jay argues that the agreement “represents a possibility - that the world can come together and solve one of the most complex problems we face as a civilization.”
Prof. John Sterman writes for The Huffington Post about the Paris climate agreement. Sterman asks “Is the agreement a triumph, as the negotiators and heads of state declare, or another weak pronouncement that will do little to stave off climate catastrophe? The answer is both: The Paris agreement represents real progress. It also falls significantly short.”
A recent analysis by researchers from the MIT Sloan School of Management and Climate Interactive demonstrates how the structure of the Paris climate agreement “could lead to a scenario in which temperatures are held to about 1.8 C,” reports Chris Mooney for The Washington Post.