Earth and atmospheric sciences

Hotspot in the hot seatNew seismic imaging alters the picture beneath Hawaii.

Explained: Measuring earthquakesHow do scientists measure jolts such as the recent disaster in Japan? Hint: They don’t use the Richter scale.

Exploring explorationFrom deep space to deep sea, two-day symposium examined MIT’s impacts and innovations.

Science and policy can catalyze each other, EPA head saysIn MIT visit, Lisa Jackson discusses how technology can affect government regulations.

EAPS, physics professor James Elliot dies at 67Led team that discovered the rings of Uranus in 1977.

Reading Earth’s magnetic historyNew tool allows unprecedented accuracy in dating of some seafloor rocks, with potential to help climate analysis.

3 Questions: Sara Seager on discovering a trove of new planetsNASA’s Kepler orbiting telescope has found hundreds of new possible planets, including 54 in the so-called 'habitable zone.'

Earth’s final growth spurtNASA team suggests that massive projectiles added mass to Earth, Mars and the Moon during final phase of planet formation

Growing Earth’s oceansStudy suggests that trace amounts of water created oceans on Earth and other terrestrial planets, including those outside the solar system.

Four from MIT are Stewardship Science Graduate fellowsGraduate students take practicum at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Tracing Earth’s historyGeologists aim to improve the accuracy of their process for dating ancient rocks.

Study sees changing intensity of storms from warmingHemispheres will respond to climate change differently, with weaker summer storms in the North, study suggests.

Construction begins on high-performance computing centerPresident Hockfield joins Gov. Patrick and others at groundbreaking ceremony.

Better prepared next timeLessons learned from the BP oil spill could help both companies and regulators to be more ready for the next emergency.

Telling time on the moonNew map of lunar craters sheds light on early solar-system activity and points to oldest parts of the moon’s surface.

More hurricanes in greener seas?Research suggests ocean color is linked to formation, movement of tropical cyclones

15 MIT students awarded DOE-funded Science Graduate FellowshipsAmong 150 students nationwide awarded fellowships in program's first year

Bursting a bubble?A generally accepted theory explaining the frequent eruptions at Italy’s Stromboli volcano is called into question by new research.

3 Questions: Richard Binzel on astronomers’ powerful new toolPan-STARRS, a telescope designed to reveal the ‘unexpected surprises’ in our solar system, including possible threats to Earth, just became fully operational.

The aerosols conundrumResearch shows that aerosols not only cool, but also heat the planet — a finding that may cloud the validity of climate-change models.

Coordinated stargazingMIT astronomer leads the first team to study a Kuiper Belt object during a stellar occultation.

3 Questions: Noelle Selin on curbing mercuryAs U.N. negotiations begin this week on a global mercury treaty, an MIT atmospheric scientist explains the challenges ahead.

3 Questions: John Marshall on the Gulf of Mexico oil spillAn MIT oceanographer discusses why ‘we have never had a spill like this’ — and what that means for cleanup efforts.

A look back in timeBy linking the odd geometry of bacterial growths to photosynthesis, researchers may have a new way to study Earth’s oldest fossils.

Genes as fossilsMIT researchers discover the DNA responsible for creating fossil-like molecules found in ancient rocks.

New phenomenon found in internal wavesMIT team shows that waves inside oceans, air and stars are filtered and reflected by layers.

EAPS launches Global Habitat Longevity AwardMIT community members encouraged to submit nominations; entries due by May 21

Volcanic VenusNew research highlights recent volcanic activity on Venus, indicating that Earth’s sister planet is alive — geologically speaking

Explained: Dynamo theoryRecent discoveries raise questions about how small planets can have self-sustaining magnetic fields

Mapping VenusNew analysis supports theory that Venus’ surface evolved through extreme makeover, not plate tectonics