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.
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.
Study: A plunge in incoming sunlight may have triggered “Snowball Earths”
Findings also suggest exoplanets lying within habitable zones may be susceptible to ice ages.
Study sheds light on the evolution of the earliest dinosaurs
Geological evidence suggests the known dinosaur groups diverged early on, supporting the traditional dinosaur family tree.
With Perseverance and a little MOXIE, MIT is going to Mars
Led by MIT researchers, one of the experiments aboard the next mission to the Red Planet aims to generate oxygen from Martian air.
An origin story for a family of oddball meteorites
Study suggests the rare objects likely came from an early planetesimal with a magnetic core.
Tiny sand grains trigger massive glacial surges
New model answers longstanding question of how these sudden flows happen; may expand understanding of Antarctic ice sheets.
Melting glaciers cool the Southern Ocean
Research suggests glacial melting might explain the recent decadal cooling and sea ice expansion across Antarctica's Southern Ocean.
Origins of Earth’s magnetic field remain a mystery
The existence of a magnetic field beyond 3.5 billion years ago is still up for debate.
Titan’s missing river deltas and an Earthly climate connection
Samuel Birch, a new Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Fellow at MIT, will investigate the surfaces of outer solar system objects.
Scientists quantify how wave power drives coastal erosion
The average power of waves hitting a coastline can predict how fast that coast will erode.
Machine learning picks out hidden vibrations from earthquake data
Technique may help scientists more accurately map vast underground geologic structures.
Mars 2020: The search for ancient life is on
Researchers in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences will help direct Mars 2020 rover sample acquisition.
Frank Press, MIT geophysicist and U.S. science adviser, dies at 95
An advocate of international scientific cooperation, Press served as an MIT department head and lifetime MIT Corporation member.
Making physics and astronomy more welcoming to African-American students
Report co-chaired by MIT professor cites need for “sweeping changes” in academic culture.