May 25, 2018
Geophysical Science Professor Noboru Nakamura and his former GeoSci graduate student Clare Huang have come up with an unorthodox approach to understanding a persistent meteorological phenomenon. In a recently published article in Science Nakamura and Huang argue that the best way to understand 'blocking patterns' in the jet stream is to use mathematical models that describe traffic jams. Understanding that the jet stream has a 'speed limit' that, if exceeded, can cause congestion could help forecasters understand and model blocking patterns in the future.
May 24, 2018
Geophysical Sciences Professor Doug MacAyeal and Geophysical Sciences graduate student Grant Macdonald were recently interviewed about their recent research paper on supraglacial lakes. Understanding the role that supraglacial lakes play in the melting and thinning of glaciers, made famous by the disintegration of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in Antartctica in 2002, is essential for understanding the future of ice shelves in a warming climate.
May 24, 2018
Geophysical Sciences Professor Nicolas Dauphas co-authored a recently published article in Nature that sheds new light on the rate and manner of the emergence of land on Earth billions of years ago. Dauphas and his colleagues analyzed shale rocks from every continent for oxygen isotopes, which indicate the existence of precipitation across these land masses up to 3.5 billion years ago.