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Dust in the clouds
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 upper layers of the troposphere, often more than...
View ArticleHow anthropogenic emissions interact with organic compounds emitted by trees
MIT researchers are conducting fieldwork this summer in the Talladega National Forest in Alabama as part of the National Science Foundation’s Southeast Atmosphere Study (SAS), an umbrella study...
View ArticleNew low-temperature chemical reaction explained
In all the centuries that humans have studied chemical reactions, just 36 basic types of reactions have been found. Now, thanks to the work of researchers at MIT and the University of Minnesota, a 37th...
View ArticleMaking Martian clouds on Earth
At first glance, Mars’ clouds might easily be mistaken for those on Earth: Images of the Martian sky, taken by NASA’s Opportunity rover, depict gauzy, high-altitude wisps, similar to our cirrus clouds....
View ArticleAn Arctic ozone hole? Not quite
Since the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, scientists, policymakers, and the public have wondered whether we might someday see a similarly extreme depletion of ozone over the Arctic.But a new MIT...
View ArticleStudy: Climate change and air pollution will combine to curb food supplies
Many studies have shown the potential for global climate change to cut food supplies. But these studies have, for the most part, ignored the interactions between increasing temperature and air...
View ArticleChasing the plume
As residents of the Big Island of Hawaii feel the adverse effects from the volcanic smog, or "vog," from the Kilauea volcano, a group of civil and environmental engineering (CEE) students are working...
View ArticleEngineering undergraduates characterize sulfur emissions from Hawaiian volcano
Since 1983, the 180,000 residents of the Big Island of Hawaii have lived in the wake of the pollution caused by the active shield volcano Kilauea. The destructive nature of the volcanic smog (“vog”)...
View ArticleStudents inspire engineering activities and curriculum development for young...
Ever since the 2015 expedition of course 1.092 (Traveling Research Environmental Experiences, or TREX) returned from the Big Island of Hawaii in January, a handful of students have persisted throughout...
View ArticleArlene Fiore appointed first Stone Professor in Earth, Atmospheric and...
The MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) has named atmospheric chemist Arlene Fiore the Peter H. Stone and Paola Malanotte Stone Professor in Earth, Atmospheric and...
View ArticleStudy: Indoor air cleaners fall short on removing volatile organic compounds
Consumer-grade air cleaners that promise to reduce indoor levels of volatile organic compound (VOC) pollutants using chemical oxidation can be a source of VOCs themselves, according to a new study led...
View ArticleUnderstanding air pollution from space
Climate change and air pollution are interlocking crises that threaten human health. Reducing emissions of some air pollutants can help achieve climate goals, and some climate mitigation efforts can in...
View ArticleStudy finds natural sources of air pollution exceed air quality guidelines in...
Alongside climate change, air pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats to human health. Tiny particles known as particulate matter or PM2.5 (named for their diameter of just 2.5...
View ArticleGermicidal UV lights could be producing indoor air pollutants, study finds
Many efforts to reduce transmission of diseases like Covid-19 and the flu have focused on measures such as masking and isolation, but another useful approach is reducing the load of airborne pathogens...
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