An escape route for seafloor methane
Leakage from frozen layers was a puzzle, but a new study shows how the potent greenhouse gas breaks through icy barriers.
Mini-satellite maker
With her students, aerospace engineer Kerri Cahoy is developing small, affordable “CubeSats” to monitor weather and search for exoplanets.
Saudi Arabia faces increased heat, humidity, precipitation extremes by mid-century
High-resolution climate projections could enable a robust adaptation and resilience response.
Universities should lead the way on climate action, MIT panelists say
An online symposium explores roles for research universities and outlines the Institute’s efforts to be a testbed for research and policy innovations.
Institute Professor Emeritus Mario Molina, environmental leader and Nobel laureate, dies at 77
The atmospheric chemist shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery that chemicals known as CFCs deplete the ozone layer.
Geologists raise the speed limit for how fast continental crust can form
Study suggests parts of the Sierra Nevadas formed in a “geologic instant,” more than twice as fast as previously thought.
Antarctic sea ice may not cap carbon emissions as much as previously thought
Study suggests sea ice blocks the flow of carbon both into and out of the ocean, in roughly equal measure.
Astronomers discover an Earth-sized “pi planet” with a 3.14-day orbit
The rocky world, with its baking-hot surface, is likely not habitable.
MIT Integrative Microbiology Initiative will stimulate environmental microbiology research
Project supported by the Simons Foundation aims to reinvigorate environmental science by leaning on Parsons Laboratory's past as a leader in the space.
Did our early ancestors boil their food in hot springs?
Scientists have found evidence of hot springs near sites where ancient hominids settled, long before the control of fire.
Astronomers may have found a signature of life on Venus
Evidence indicates phosphine, a gas associated with living organisms, is present in the habitable region of Venus’ atmosphere.
School of Science appoints 12 faculty members to named professorships
Those selected for these positions receive additional support to pursue their research and develop their careers.
Winners of 2020 Teaching With Digital Technology Award recognized for their innovations
Thirty-one MIT instructors honored for digital teaching excellence in extraordinary circumstances.