Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

Several thousand people gathered at MIT to watch the partial solar eclipse on Aug. 21.

Experiencing the Great American Solar Eclipse

Thousands attend MIT solar eclipse-watching parties on campus, at the MIT Wallace Observatory, and in Rexburg, Idaho.

August 29, 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

Alison Criscitiello PhD '14 summits Mount Logan, Canada’s highest mountain, in May 2016 after ice coring nearby in the Yukon Territory.

For the love of ice: Journeys to the remote and inhospitable

Alison Criscitiello PhD '14 seeks ice cores in inhospitable locations, sometimes camping on ice sheets and sleeping with a shotgun in case of bear attacks.

August 23, 2017

MIT students, students from the University of Venice, and faculty members from both institutions pose in front of Venice's experimental floodgates as part of a collaborative summer workshop.

Saving Venice, MIT-style

MISTI interns and MIT faculty tackle rising sea level challenges at Italian research camp this summer.

August 23, 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

A map of the United States shows the path of totality for the August 21 solar eclipse.

Q&A: Richard Binzel on tips for observing the 2017 solar eclipse

Whether you'll be in the path of totality on Aug. 21 or anywhere else in North America, you should be able to view the eclipse.

August 15, 2017

The path of the International Space Station can be seen from the Observe@MIT rooftop observing platform on Building 37. Participants in the second annual MIT Astronomy Training Camp took to the roof for pointers on night sky observing.

Training students' eyes on the skies

MIT hosts Astronomy Training Camp for student-run national astronomy team.

August 10, 2017

New measurements of lunar rocks have demonstrated that the ancient moon generated a dynamo magnetic field in its liquid metallic core (innermost red shell). The results raise the possibility of two different mechanisms — one that may have driven an earlier, much stronger dynamo, and a second that kept the moon’s core simmering at a much slower boil toward the end of its lifetime.

Lunar dynamo’s lifetime extended by at least 1 billion years

Findings suggest two mechanisms may have powered the moon’s ancient churning, molten core.

August 9, 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

Engineers test one of the TESS cameras at the Kavli Institute lab.

TESS mission to discover new planets moves toward launch

Satellite’s cameras have been delivered by MIT researchers and passed NASA inspection.

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

This image is a combination of cloud data from NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-11) and color land cover classification data. The Intertropical Convergence Zone is the band of bright white clouds that cuts across the center of the Earth.

Understanding tropical rainfall

Study finds ocean circulation, coupled with trade wind changes, efficiently limits shifting of tropical rainfall patterns.

July 28, 2017

As principal investigator of the Psyche mission, Lindy Elkins-Tanton '87, SM ’87, PhD ’02 is just the second woman to lead a NASA spacecraft mission to a planetary body. The first was her former MIT colleague, Vice President for Research Maria Zuber.

Exploring an unusual metal asteroid

Alumna and former MIT professor Lindy Elkins-Tanton is working with MIT faculty in her role as principal investigator for NASA's upcoming Psyche mission.

July 25, 2017

“The Indian monsoon is considered a textbook, clearly defined phenomenon, and we think we know a lot about it, but we don’t,” says Senior Research Scientist Chien Wang. An image from Varanasi, India, shows flooding in 2011.

Study: Indian monsoons have strengthened over past 15 years

A 50-year dry spell has reversed, with more rain to come.

July 24, 2017

Susan Solomon, the Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies

Susan Solomon awarded the Royal Society's Bakerian Medal

Professor of atmospheric chemistry honored for her contributions to atmospheric science.

July 18, 2017

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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