With Brown students and scientists as their hosts, enthusiasts from across campus and the local area convened for an eclipse viewing event on Monday, April 8.
Rhode Island was among several East Coast states that felt a small earthquake on Friday morning, April 5th. Brown University Professor of Geological Sciences Karen Fischer says even though the quake was small, it was felt in multiple states because of the geologic makeup of the East Coast.
As part of annual field trip tradition geared toward students in Brown’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, students continue an annual journey of exploration, discovery and shared adventure.
Angel Mojarro, who graduated from Brown in 2011 with B.Sc. Geological Sciences, discusses his research on lipids at NASA Goddard and the chance to work on the samples from OSIRIS-REx in a recent NASA Early Career Scientist Spotlight.
Dr. Sierra (Wiegman) Brown holds a B.S. (2016) in Geophysics and Geochemistry from SUNY Fredonia, and M.S. (2018) and Ph.D. (2022) degrees in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences from Brown University. Brown is also an enrolled member of the Shinnecock Nation, and draws on the practice of “Two-Eyed Seeing” to provide unique insights that integrate indigenous and western approaches to knowledge.
A new study on how comets evolve reveals that deep space objects like Kuiper Belt Object 486958 Arrokoth may be time capsules containing ancient ices from billions of years ago.
Astronomers and enthusiasts across campus are gearing up for the big eclipse, with educational and viewing events at Brown and trips to prime watch spots in the path of totality.
DEEPS Professor John Mustard recently shared his opinion with Nature about NASA's new considerations for the Perseverance rover's mission, saying the rocks currently on board are “great, but they’re not sufficient to be the transformative samples that we want them to be.”
Recent Postdoctoral Research Fellow Kai-Xun Chen has published a new paper in Geophysical Research Letters, titled “Seismic evidence for a mid-lithospheric discontinuity in 155 million-year-old Pacific lithosphere. Consistent with now-frozen melt that was trapped in the young lithosphere close to the ridge.” The publication lays out evidence for a low velocity layer inside old oceanic lithosphere. Dr. Chen completed this research while he was a postdoctoral researcher in DEEPS, working with Prof. Don Forsyth and Prof. Karen Fischer.
DEEPS PhD candidate César Bucheli recently published a new paper in Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, titled “What can we learn from geothermobarometry at the dacitic Doña Juana Volcanic Complex (Colombia)? Implications for understanding Pleistocene crystal mushes and pre-eruptive storage conditions in the Northern Andes.” Bucheli and co-authors reconstructed the geochemical behavior of Pleistocene melts feeding eruptions of the Doña Juana Volcanic Complex (SW Colombia, Northern Andes) and found evidence to suggest the existence of one of the first examples of long-lived trans-crustal magma systems in the country.
Hosted by Brown’s Multimedia Labs, the Moon Design Challenge encouraged community members to transform vintage NASA materials into out-of-this world art projects.
As the 2024 Black History Month comes to a close, DEEPS is celebrating our Black community members and honoring the Black scientists who have made invaluable contributions to our society. DEEPS Communications Assistant Angela Snider highlights three Black women (from the past, the present, and up-and-coming) who have made important contributions to the geosciences.
Professor Tim Herbert commented on new research in Science, saying “The dance of global temperature is primarily not called by ice, but more likely by [carbon dioxide]."
PhD candidate Jared M. Kodero recently published a new article in Communications Earth & Environment, titled “Future transition from forests to shrublands and grasslands in the western United States is expected to reduce carbon storage.” The article examines the anticipated impact of climate change on vegetation in the western United States, particularly the shifts in dominant Plant Functional Types and carbon storage.
Associate Professor Ingrid Daubar and colleagues recently published a new paper in Space Science Reviews titled “Planned Geological Investigations of the Europa Clipper Mission.” The publication outlines the geological investigations planned for the Europa Clipper mission, which aims to assess Europa’s potential habitability.
Aiming to spark a love for learning, the annual student-organized academic tournament invites high schoolers to showcase knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for science in a fun, competitive atmosphere.
DEEPS Professor Jim Head spoke with Space.com about the MEPAG Tiger Team report and their insights into NASA's moon-to-Mars strategy. "NASA is currently updating the objectives for the Moon-to-Mars initiative with the strategy of 'architect from the right/execute from the left,'" Head said.
Brown researchers DEEPS professor Alberto Saal, and Kim Cobb, DEEPS professor and director of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, were both named to the 2023 class of fellows by the American Geophysical Union, a scientific organization.
Co-authored by 21 international climate experts, including IBES Fellow and DEEPS Professor Baylor Fox-Kemper, a new article in Frontiers in Science offers the first comprehensive analysis of the diverse factors controlling global temperatures and provides a framework for improving warming predictions.
In a new paper published in Science Advances, Professor Donald Fisher, a Geosciences faculty member at Penn State and Brown alumnus, and DEEPS Chair Greg Hirth propose that rocks buried deep in ancient subduction zones could help scientists make better predictions of how these zones behave during the years between major earthquakes.
In a new paper published in the journal of Science China Earth Sciences, DEEPS Professor James Head and colleagues used the phases of volcanic activity and deposits formed by meteorite impacts to propose a new time scale for the Moon's geologic history.
Fatima Husain earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Organic Geochemistry in 2017. Now, she is a PhD student at MIT investigating the co-evolution of life and Earth and works to communicate science to the public.
Postdoctoral Fellow Lillian Dove recently spoke to National Geographic about the cooling power of the perilous Drake Passage, infamous for its deadly ocean currents and massive rogue waves. Dove's findings suggest that the region's less stratified ocean could make it a highly efficient hotspot for carbon storage compared to other areas on Earth.
The Spring 2024 semester begins this week, and we are excited to welcome everyone back to campus. We reached out to members of the DEEPS community to hear what they're looking forward to in the upcoming semester, and here's what they shared:
Brown research team finds small unmapped lakes in the Arctic are far less abundant than previously thought, greatly reducing the cumulative methane emissions they were thought to contribute to Earth’s atmosphere.
Samuel W. Bell, a 2016 Ph.D. graduate of DEEPS, is currently the State Senator representing District Five (Providence) in the Rhode Island Senate. He recently sat down with the Brown Political Review to discuss his campaign and political journey.
Brown's Multimedia Lab encourages students to create projects using film negatives from NASA Lunar Orbiter 4 Mission. The scans were originally part of the Brown/NASA Northeast Planetary Data Center and were donated to the Creative Reuse Center in June 2023 after a DEEPS consolidation effort. “We were surprised and delighted to see some of the scans turn up back at Brown,” Jackson wrote to the Brown Daily Herald.
NBC 10's Mark Searles and Dan Jaehnig were joined by a panel of experts, including DEEPS Professor Meredith Hastings, to talk about climate change's impact in Rhode Island and possible solutions.
DEEPS PhD students Brianna Hoegler and Jared Nirenberg, with the support of hundreds of fellow scientists, have written a letter to the National Science Foundation expressing their concerns regarding the future of scientific ocean drilling research. The letter is published in AGU Perspectives, and garnered signatures from nearly three hundred scientists, a majority being early career scientists.
NASA-funded researchers have been granted permission to apply to the China National Space Administration (CNSA) for access to portions of samples collected by China’s Chang’e-5 mission. This is an exciting and welcome development, DEEPS Professor James Head told SpaceNews. “The Solar System is a big place, and planetary science can benefit tremendously from complementary, non-duplicative exploration destinations, and the sharing of samples and other results.”
The next wave of lunar explorers is headed to terrain that promises to be both stunning and challenging. DEEPS Professor James Head offered his comment, saying "I don’t think we know yet how the trafficability is going to affect how the astronauts are going to be able to walk and drive."
A high-grade air quality sensor installed on Brown’s campus is providing detailed measurements of carbon dioxide and methane concentrations in Providence, painting a clearer picture of local air quality.
The Odyssey orbiter captured clouds and dust in the Red Planet’s skies, along with one of its two tiny moons. Laura Kerber '11, deputy project scientist for NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter, explains in a video how and why the spacecraft captured a view of the Red Planet similar to the International Space Station’s view of Earth.
“There’s no scenario in which melting ice in the Arctic is good news,” said DEEPS Professor Amanda Lynch, the lead author on a 2022 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “But the unfortunate reality is that the ice is already retreating, these routes are opening up, and we need to start thinking critically about the legal, environmental, and geopolitical implications.”
Sonam Sherpa, one of IBES & DEEPS's newest postdoctoral researchers, recently offered insights in a Brown Daily Herald interview on an earthquake that shook her native Nepal earlier this month.
The Brown Daily Herald spoke with DEEPS researchers and faculty about the recent study using models atmospheric modeling to show that Venus once had plate tectonics similar to Earth.
The Community Noise Lab and Swearer Center at Brown University organized a forum titled, "Firing Back" held on November 13 at the School of Public Health. At the event, Juliet Fang, a second-year undergraduate student at Brown studying Public Health and Geology-Biology, shared data indicating that the noise levels from the firing range were higher than what the city of Cranston legally allows. Her study underscored the link between noise pollution and various health issues, including disrupted sleep, heightened stress, and cognitive impairments, as well as chronic conditions like hypertension and heart disease.
DEEPS Professor and IBES Director Kim Cobb offered commentary to TIME on the Fifth National Climate Assessment, noting, "at the center of the report are people ... who have escalating risks associated with climate change as well as clear opportunities for win-win climate action."
The last 12 months were the hottest Earth has ever recorded, according to a new report by Climate Central, a nonprofit science research group. IBES Director and DEEPS Professor Kim Cobb commented that the heat of the last year, intense as it was, is tempered because the oceans have been absorbing the majority of the excess heat related to climate change, but they are reaching their limit. “Oceans are really the thermostat of our planet ... they are tied to our economy, food sources, and coastal infrastructure.”
At the annual Careers Day, DEEPS students and community members had the opportunity to hear from two alumni, Isabella Gama Dantas and Mali'o Kodis, about their career journeys outside academia.
The “Solid Earth Geophysics” class joined the North Burial Ground for a groundbreaking project this Halloween season, using ground penetrating radar (GPR) to help investigate the mysteries buried within the historic cemetery.
Simulations produced by a Brown-led research team offer evidence that Venus once had plate tectonics — a finding that opens the door for the possibility of early life on the planet and insights into its history.
DEEPS & IBES Professor Meredith Hastings is a co-PI on a new project that will center on a field safety, anti-harassment, and bystander intervention training certificate program. “In scientific work, hostile behaviors such as bullying and harassment create a negative work environment that is more often experienced by people of color and those with disabilities. This is an important reason why the geosciences remain one of the least diverse STEM fields,” said Hastings.
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Justice has released a new environmental justice policy to prioritize racial and socioeconomic fairness in its agency practices. Professor Meredith Hastings commented, saying she listened to input from community members when deciding where exactly to put the air monitors for her research. “More needs to be done to better understand what residents are exposed to, what sources/industries are responsible and our regulatory system needs to move beyond simply expecting industry to comply by making it harder for these businesses to cause harm in the first place,” Hastings wrote to The Public's Radio.