Prof. Kerry Emanuel writes for The Washington Post about how climate change and U.S. disaster policies are threat-multipliers for natural disasters like hurricanes. “The confluence of rising sea levels and stronger and wetter hurricanes with increasing coastal population and unwise government interference in insurance markets portends ever increasing hurricane disasters."
Popular Science reporter Kendra Pierre-Louis writes about Prof. Kerry Emanuel’s research showing that climate change could make it harder to predict the intensity of hurricanes. “Storm intensity matters, because a weak storm might just mean staying home for the day, while a strong storm may require evacuation,” Pierre-Louis explains.
Prof. Kerry Emanuel speaks with Miles O’Brien of the PBS NewsHour about the link between climate change and an increase in extreme storm systems. “What all the models and theories seem to agree on, at least globally, at this point is that the frequency of the very high intensity, Category 3 or 4 or 4 events, should go up,” says Emanuel.
Wired reporter Eric Niiler writes that Prof. Kerry Emanuel has found that the probability of a storm like Hurricane Harvey hitting Texas has increased due to warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico and the lack of high-level winds that normally push such storms out to sea or towards Oklahoma.
Prof. Kerry Emanuel speaks with Washington Post reporter Chris Mooney about how several factors related to climate change, such as sea levels and atmospheric moisture, can help intensify hurricanes like Harvey.
An MIT study finds that the Earth’s mantle was 200 degrees Celsius hotter three billion years ago than it is today. That finding shows “that the Earth's ancient crust was made up of a much denser, iron- and magnesium-enriched material than today's rocky mantle,” writes Amy Wallace for UPI.
Lowell Sun reporter Chris Lisinski spotlights the total eclipse viewing party held at MIT’s Wallace Observatory in Westford. Lisinski notes that the Observatory, “hosted close to 200 people, many of them young children, for a viewing of Monday's "Great American Eclipse."
Large crowds gathered at MIT's Kresge Oval to observe the solar eclipse using special glasses or catching a glimpse from telescopes, reports Monica Madeja of NECN.
More than 100 people gathered on the lawn of the Wallace Observatory to view the solar eclipse, reports CBS Boston. “I think it just happens to be a special event where the entire country is able to see the same event at the same time,” says Senior Research Support Associate Tim Brothers.
More than 5,000 people gathered at MIT’s Kresge Oval to watch the solar eclipse, reports Michael Levenson, Steve Annear and Sara Salinas of The Boston Globe. In addition to a few hundred pairs of eclipse glasses, two telescopes were available to detect sunspots and sun flares.
In this video, Jason Brewer of FOX 25 reports from MIT’s Kresge Oval, where an estimated 5,000 people gathered to watch the partial solar eclipse.
A study co-authored by MIT researchers shows that the moon’s magnetic field could have lasted for as long as two billion years, according to Xinhua. “The researchers are planning to analyze more lunar rocks to determine when the dynamo died off completely.”
MIT researchers have found that the moon’s magnetic field lasted at least 1 billion years longer than initially thought, reports Charles Q. Choi for NBC News. “Understanding more about the nature of the magnetic field of Earth's moon could shed light on the magnetic fields of distant moons and planets, which could influence their habitability."
By examining a lunar rock from the Apollo 15 mission, researchers from MIT and Rutgers University have found that the moon had a magnetic field for at least one billion years longer than initially thought, reports Nicola Davis for The Guardian. The researchers found that the, “lunar dynamo was still going until somewhere between one billion and 2.5bn years ago.”
Boston Globe reporter Martin Finucane writes that a new study co-authored by MIT researchers provides evidence that the moon’s magnetic field lasted 1 billion years longer than previously thought. “Researchers now believe the moon’s magnetic field existed for a total of at least 2 billion years,” Finucane explains.