Pollution

Jareth Holt, Susan Solomon, and Noelle Selin of the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences have developed new insights into how energy-related emissions form fine airborne particles that damage human health.

Regulating particulate pollution: Novel analysis yields new insights

MIT researchers demonstrate a new approach to designing location-specific emissions-control measures.

July 11, 2016

David Hagan, a Tata Fellow and MIT PhD candidate in civil and environmental engineering, is designing and building low-cost sensors that could be deployed in dense networks to monitor air pollution.

Air quality sensors track pollution

Research from MIT's Tata Center for Technology and Design is helping to quantify emissions in the world’s most polluted cities.

June 15, 2016

Coal barges head upstream on the Huangpu River in Shanghai.

Target coal or carbon?

Researchers are analyzing coal and energy caps as carbon policy instruments for China.

May 24, 2016

Higher coal use in Asia could increase water stress

Aerosol emissions would slow warming but suppress rainfall.

April 28, 2016

"Even when you have great technology, you need some incentive for people to reduce pollution. We need to find ways to make the benefit of reducing pollution felt by the ones who are paying the cost of reducing pollution." —Ariel Zucker, MIT doctoral student in economics

Incentives matter

Working with the Tata Center, two MIT economics students are testing projects to reduce industrial pollution in India.

January 29, 2016

Aerosols can lower surface temperatures either directly, by reflecting sunlight skyward, or indirectly, by increasing the reflectivity of clouds.

How aerosols drive the rain

Study finds human-made aerosols exert strong influence on the geography of precipitation.

January 21, 2016

Engineers at MIT have developed a queuing model that may help air traffic controllers direct departures more efficiently, minimizing runway congestion.

Cutting down runway queues

Model that predicts time from gate departure to takeoff could cut airport congestion, fuel waste.

January 14, 2016

In a new study published this week, MIT researchers report that global action on reducing mercury emissions will lead to twice the economic benefits for the U.S., compared to domestic action, by 2050.

Global reductions in mercury emissions should lead to billions in economic benefits for U.S.

Benefits from international regulations may double those of domestic policy.

December 28, 2015

MIT Visiting Artist Tomás Saraceno’s "Aerocene" inspires us to rethink our relationship with Earth.

At COP21, finding hope for climate in the "Aerocene"

Visiting Artist Tomás Saraceno and MIT scientists join forces to confront climate crisis at United Nations conference.

December 21, 2015

Workers inspect a car on the production line in a Volkswagen factory in Poznan, Poland.

Study: Volkswagen’s emissions cheat to cause 60 premature deaths in U.S.

Timely vehicle recall by German automaker would avoid some 130 early deaths, researchers say.

October 28, 2015

The enzyme benzylsuccinate synthase captures and attaches to the hydrocarbon toluene, a major component in gasoline, to break it down into benzylsuccinate. Shown here are the enzymatic reaction and chemical structures of toluene (right), fumarate (center), and benzylsuccinate (left) against the backdrop of an oil spill.

Using microbes to clean up oil spills

Professor Catherine Drennan and graduate student Michael Funk want energy production and environmental protection to go hand in hand.

October 19, 2015

Can rain clean the atmosphere?

Study explains how rain droplets attract aerosols out of the atmosphere.

August 28, 2015

Better estimates of worldwide mercury pollution

New findings show Asia produces twice as much mercury emissions as previously thought.

August 12, 2015

Nanoparticles that lose their stability upon irradiation with light have been designed to extract endocrine disruptors, pesticides, and other contaminants from water and soils. The system exploits the large surface-to-volume ratio of nanoparticles, while the photoinduced precipitation ensures nanomaterials are not released in the environment.

New study shows how nanoparticles can clean up environmental pollutants

Nanomaterials and UV light can “trap” chemicals for easy removal from soil and water.

July 21, 2015

A spot market for water

Sourcewater pioneers an exchange for trading and recycling water for oil and gas production and other operations.

July 16, 2015

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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