CGCS

Cirrus clouds form around mineral dust and metallic particles, study finds. At any given time, cirrus clouds — the thin wisps of vapor that trail across the sky — cover nearly one-third of the globe. These clouds coalesce in the …

Two MIT professors are awarded the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. MIT professors Sallie (Penny) Chisholm and Robert Langer are among 23 eminent researchers nationwide who have been awarded the nation’s highest honors …

Ocean currents play a role in predicting extent of Arctic sea ice — Each winter, wide swaths of the Arctic Ocean freeze to form sheets of sea ice that spread over millions of square miles. This ice acts as a …

In looking for ways to combat climate change and minimize the planet’s warming, atmospheric chemist Susan Solomon says it’s often helpful — and heartening — to look to the past. Solomon points out that recent decades have seen major environmental …

MIT researchers find ocean microbes that produce natural antibiotics that may protect populations from foes. Professor Martin Polz and his team discover evidence that in some populations, a few individuals produce chemical weapons that are harmless to close relatives within …

MIT researchers who have sampled the Indian Ocean’s water and corals have found high concentrations in lead deposited from Asia and Africa’s industrial processes. Levels began to climb in the 1970s, peaking a decade ago — a timeline consistent with …

The MIT Museum’s exhibition “Rivers of Ice: Vanishing Glaciers of the Greater Himalaya” opened in April 2012 and will run through March 2013. A public symposium, “What’s Your Question? – Rivers of Ice“, was held in conjunction with the Cambridge …

An updated circulation model reveals the Southern Ocean as a powerful influence on climate change. Professor John Marshall and colleagues are developing theories and models that help us better understand and predict the ocean’s role in climate and climate change.