Earth and atmospheric sciences

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

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

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

A production line in a Volkswagen factory in Poland. Scientists at MIT and elsewhere report that the manufacturer’s emissions in excess of the test-stand limit value have had a significant effect on public health not just in Germany but across Europe.

Study: Volkswagen’s excess emissions will lead to 1,200 premature deaths in Europe

Countries hit hardest by automaker’s emissions scandal include Germany, Poland, France, and Czech Republic.

March 3, 2017

Climate@MIT

New online publication reports on climate science research at the Institute.

February 27, 2017

The TRAPPIST-1 star, an ultra-cool dwarf, has seven Earth-size planets orbiting it.

3Q: Julien de Wit on the discovery of seven temperate, nearby worlds

Planets may harbor conditions suitable for sustaining liquid water — and thus life.

February 22, 2017

Ozone exacts a particularly heavy toll on people living in economically disadvantaged areas, where industrial and power plants tend to cluster. While policies have been implemented to reduce ozone emissions across the country, they have not yet addressed built-in inequities in the U.S. economy, leaving low-income Americans at greatest risk for health and economic damages.

Modeling the unequal benefits of U.S. environmental policy

New toolset evaluates economic impacts of ozone reduction policies for nine income groups.

February 15, 2017

“The ultimate objective,” atmospheric scientist Jesse Kroll says, “is to understand what policies could help, and what changes policymakers could make to minimize the negative health and climate effects of particulate pollution.”

Zeroing in on the chemistry of the air

Jesse Kroll examines how pollutants change chemically as they waft around the globe.

February 1, 2017

Celebrating Pauline Morrow Austin, a founder of radar meteorology

MIT faculty, friends, and family gathered to remember Austin's life and commemorate her contributions to science with the unveiling of an exhibit in EAPS.

January 31, 2017

MIT Institute Professor Sallie (Penny) Chisholm poses with the first two books in the “Sunlight Series,” a collection of children's books that teach Earth's natural processes from the point of view of the sun.

How the smallest, most abundant bacteria inspired a children's book series

Institute Professor Penny Chisholm teams up with author and illustrator Molly Bang to write environmental children’s book series.

January 31, 2017

“There’s no question that carbon dioxide is the biggest contributor to human-caused climate change, so that’s the big focus of mitigation efforts. But there are a number of others that are also significant,” says Jessika Trancik, the Atlantic Richfield Career Development Associate Professor in Energy Studies at MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.

Explained: Greenhouse gases

Carbon dioxide isn’t the only one that matters, and the gases vary widely in potency and duration.

January 30, 2017

Projecting food, water, energy, climate and other global changes

Marking 25 years of science and policy studies, the MIT Joint Program launches new website showcasing its expanded research portfolio.

January 27, 2017

The SMAP observations are providing an unprecedented level of detailed, worldwide information on the amount of water in the top 2 inches (5 centimeters) of soil, collected globally every two to three days.

Study tracks “memory” of soil moisture

First year of data from SMAP satellite provides new insights for weather, agriculture, and climate.

January 16, 2017

Researchers report that warming from short-lived compounds — greenhouse gases such as methane and chlorofluorocarbons, that linger in the atmosphere for just a year to a few decades — can cause sea levels to rise for hundreds of years after the pollutants have been cleared from the atmosphere.

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.

January 9, 2017

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