Earth and atmospheric sciences

‘Storm of the Century?’ Try ‘Storm of the Decade’With climate change, today’s ‘100-year floods’ may happen every three to 20 years, according to new research.

The hills are evolvingNew model predicts speed of spreading valleys.

What drove the lunar dynamo?Research supports theory that the moon’s molten core was likely sustained by an alternative power source.

At the core of a continentNew data finds regions of North America have remained extremely stable for more than one billion years.

Microbe metabolismFor the smallest organisms, size determines how microbes spend energy.

Robert van der Hilst named head of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary SciencesSucceeds Maria Zuber, who led department for the last eight years.

Marilyn Wolfson named 2012 fellow of the American Meteorological SocietyRecognized for longtime contributions to atmospheric, oceanic sciences.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory researchers receive NASA awardHonored for their role in the Near Earth Object Observation Program

The first hairy microbesNew fossils reveal oldest known ciliates.

Blooming ocean frontsStudy finds fronts are hot spots for phytoplankton blooms.

Battered asteroid may have warm coreNew analysis of Lutetia finds evidence for molten interior.

Young scientists and babies: White House policy begins with alumna requestA new White House initiative to provide workplace flexibility to young scientists — starting with the National Science Foundation — has MIT fingerprints all over it.

To the moonMIT-led GRAIL mission to map the lunar gravitational field.

On thin iceThe most recent global climate report fails to capture the reality of the changing Arctic seascape, according to MIT researchers.

Putting the pieces togetherMIT researchers reconstruct Baja California’s 2010 ‘Easter Earthquake.’

The tallest tree in the landNew model predicts maximum tree height across the United States; gives information about forest density, carbon storage.

3 Questions: Richard Binzel on near-Earth asteroids'2011 MD,' found by a Lincoln Lab team, will pass close to the planet on Monday.

Ancient armorFossils from the Yukon reveal protective plates for microscopic organisms.

Wind, war and weathermenHow a Swedish bon vivant let MIT introduce modern meteorology to America — just in time to help the Allies win World War II.

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.