IAP 2001 Activity

2001 Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Lecture Series Reg Newell No enrollment limit, no advance sign up Participants welcome at individual sessions (series) Series of noontime lectures and lab demonstrations on various topics in earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences. Contact: Reg Newell, 54-1824, x3-2940, renewell@mit.edu Sponsor: Earth, Atmos & Planetary Sci Interior Structure and Dynamics of Planet Earth Rob van der Hilst This presentation will show how we can infer Earth’s internal structure from the propagation of seismic waves and how we can use the results to constrain the scale and nature of mantle convection. Mon Jan 8, 12-01:15pm, 54-915 Earthquakes: Major Natural Hazards and How to Live with Them Nafi Toksoz Tue Jan 9, 12-01:15pm, 54-915 Hurricane Physics Kerry Emanuel What makes hurricanes go? How do we forecast them? And will global warming cause more intense storms? We will tackle these questions in a one-hour presentation. Wed Jan 10, 12-01:15pm, 54-915 Atmospheric Chemistry: Smog, Fog, and Clouds Mario and Luisa Molina with Vivan Faye McNeill Laboratory demonstrations and discussion of common phenomena in atmospheric chemistry and physics, including smog and aerosol formation, cloud formation, and cloud freezing. Thu Jan 11, 02-03:30pm, 54-1811 Big Rivers-Chemistry and Field Work John Edmond Amazon, Congo, Nile, Yangtze. The names alone conjure up images of exotic, sometimes dangerous, habitats. All you ever wanted to know about these formidable waterways–but were afraid to ask! Fri Jan 12, 12-01:15pm, 54-915 Observing the Oceans with Alvin John Edmond Take a dive in the ALVIN! Huge fields of hot springs, much bigger and hotter than any on land, exist on the sea floor. These springs support dense and thriving colonies of organisms found nowhere else on the planet. These beautiful organisms can only be seen from ALVIN, a deep-diving research submarine. Wed Jan 17, 12-01:15pm, 54-915 Global Atmospheric Pollution Measurements from Aircraft Reg Newell Almost every country now produces some type of air pollution which is often blown around the world several times before being neutralized. How fast is pollution increasing? Is there a critical concentration? We discuss observations collected by five aircraft missions to the Pacific and five commercial airliners flying outside the Pacific. Fri Jan 19, 12-01:15pm, 54-915 Rediscovering the Red Planet: Recent Results from the Exploration of Mars Maria Zuber Observations from recent spacecraft missions to Mars have provided dramatic new views of the atmosphere, surface, and interior of the planet that have led to changes in our perceptions about present and past Martian environments. This presentation will highlight the new global view of Mars in the context of the history of water, the factors that influenced climate change, and strategies and challenges for future exploration. Mon Jan 22, 12-01:15pm, 54-915 The Migration of Magmas Brian Evans The migration of partially molten rocks in the Earth result in the great eruptions along the Earth's island arcs and the building of magnificent volcanic edifices along continent margins and in the ocean basins. Mechanically the system is quite non-linear, prone to localization, and physically unstable. The deformation of the partially molten rocks has analogies to everyday experience including squeezing a sponge, mixing frosting for a cake, or building a sand castle on the beach. Wed Jan 24, 12-01:15pm, 54-915 Abrupt Climate Change: Lessons from the Past Julian Sachs Greenhouse gases from human industrial activities have the potential to warm the planet in the coming decades. How quickly can the climate change? This talk will cover evidence for abrupt climate change during the past 150,000 years, and how this evidence may be instructive for the future. Fri Jan 26, 12-01:15pm, 54-915 Effects of Large Collisions on the Atmosphere/Biosphere Ron Prinn The Earth has been bombarded by asteroids and comets over geologic time with potentially profound effects on the atmosphere and the land and ocean biospheres. The nature of these effects and tentative evidence for their occurence will be discussed. Mon Jan 29, 12-01:15pm, 54-915 Asteroid Impacts on Earth J.Scott Stuart A discussion of the history of impacts on the Earth, as well as the scientific basis for the risk and consequences of future impacts. Wed Jan 31, 12-01:15pm, 54-915 A Discussion of the Permian Mass Extinction: Wipe Out of Life on Earth 250 Million Years Ago Sam Bowring, John Marshall, Charles Marshall, Andrew Knoll A Harvard and MIT forum to discuss the implications of the Permian Extinction 250 million years ago. Descriptions of the talks within this session are detailed below. Fri Feb 2, 12-03:30pm, 54-915, Refreshments will follow Biological Selectivity in Permo-Triassic Survival Andrew Knoll Harvard Professor Dead men are said to tell no tales, but fossils found near the Permian-Triassic boundary constrain explanations for this remarkable shattering of Earth’s biological order. Survival was strongly enhanced in organisms able to tolerate or buffer against the physiological effects of high CO2. In contrast, proposed kill mechanisms such as productivity collapse and asphyxiation in anoxic waters predict patterns of extinction selectivity opposite from those actually observed. Fri Feb 2, 12-03:30pm, 54-915 Analyzing the End-Permian Patterns of Biotic Extinction (250 mya) Charles Marshall Harvard Professor This presentation discusses the patterns of extinction at the end-Permian and illustrates methods for quantitatively adjusting for the incompleteness of the fossil record. One needs to establish the timing of the extinctions relative to other events that have left their signatures in the rock record to determine the causes of mass extinctions. However, the incompleteness of the fossil record makes it difficult to establish the relative order of key events. Fri Feb 2, 12-03:30pm, 54-915 Latest update: 03-Nov-2000

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Listing generated: 31-Jan-2001