Earth and atmospheric sciences

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

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse was the guest speaker at an MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative People and the Planet lecture.

Addressing America’s climate future

At an Environmental Solutions Initiative event, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse speaks about defending science and moving forward on climate action.

November 22, 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

Johan Rockstrom speaks at the Environmental Solutions Initiative's first People and the Planet lecture of 2017.

Johan Rockström: Presenting a framework for preserving Earth’s resilience

Stockholm Resilience Center executive director and Stockholm University professor speaks at the Environmental Solutions Initiative’s People and the Planet lecture series.

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

“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

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

Danielle Wood spoke at the Media Lab’s space event, Beyond the Cradle, in March. She will join the faculty full-time in January 2018.

Danielle Wood joins Media Lab faculty

MIT alumna is establishing a new research group aimed at harnessing space engineering to improve life on Earth.

August 28, 2017

New findings suggest the ancient Earth harbored a mantle that was much more efficient at drawing down pieces of the planet’s crust.

Ancient Earth’s hot interior created “graveyard” of continental slabs

Higher mantle temperatures caused subducting tectonic plates to sink much further than they do today.

August 22, 2017

The Millstone Hill radar facility at MIT Haystack Observatory in Westford, Massachusetts

Investigating space weather effects of the 2017 solar eclipse

Atmospheric scientists at the MIT Haystack Observatory will study North American eclipse effects on space weather with radar and navigational satellites.

August 17, 2017

Phytoplankton and chips

Simons Foundation supports enhanced computer infrastructure for MIT's Darwin Project, which focuses on marine microbes and microbial communities.

August 4, 2017

Geologists report that about 251.9 million years ago, a huge pulse of magma rose up through the Earth, in a region that today is known as the Siberian Traps.

Underground magma pulse triggered end-Permian extinction

Study ties specific interval during an extended period of volcanism to Earth’s most severe mass extinction.

July 31, 2017

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