Postdoctoral Research Associate Andrea Rajšić has published new research in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, titled "Using the Melosh Model of Acoustic Fluidization to Simulate Impact Crater Collapse on the Earth and Moon." The publication explores the role of acoustic fluidization in crater collapse, examining vibration properties and their effects on subsurface deformation, with models improving upon simplified approaches to reproduce depth-to-diameter trends on Earth and the Moon.

New images taken from space show how dust on and around InSight is changing over time — information that can help scientists learn more about the Red Planet. “Even though we’re no longer hearing from InSight, it’s still teaching us about Mars,” said science team member Ingrid Daubar, DEEPS Associate Professor (Research). “By monitoring how much dust collects on the surface — and how much gets vacuumed away by wind and dust devils — we learn more about the wind, dust cycle, and other processes that shape the planet.”

On Friday, Associate Justice Brian P. Stern authorized Special Master Rick Land to guide Rhode Island Recycled Metals through the environmental permitting process. During and after the July 10th fire at Rhode Island Recycled Metals, Brown University’s Breathe Providence project detected significant spikes in a particulate matter called PM2.5 in South Providence, Fox Point, Hope Street, and Pawtucket. Meredith Hastings, DEEPS Chair and director of Breathe Providence, commented on the court's decision, writing that it's “a step in the right direction. Industries in the Port of Providence really do need to be held accountable and make changes that will protect the health, well being and quality of environment for the surrounding communities and their workers.”

Two new reports highlight concerns from research and non-tenure track faculty about feeling stagnated in their roles. Jim Russell, senior associate dean of the faculty and DEEPS professor, leads a group developing recommendations to support and promote equity for research faculty, emphasizing their significant contributions beyond lab work: “They’re not just doing research in labs, they’re leading really important research programs.” Ingrid Daubar, an associate research professor in DEEPS, noted her department's supportive environment and expressed her hope for improvements: “One thing I hope comes out of this process is a more uniform experience across the university, where all research faculty feel like a valued part of their communities.”

Fishermen and scientists report that tarpon, a large warm-water trophy fish, have been migrating north. In June, Thomas Czernik, a DEEPS graduate student was fishing for striped bass at night off Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island. “I feel lucky,” Czernik says. “It’s a memory I’ll have forever. I’m thankful.”

Brown’s Equitable Climate Futures initiative is looking to bridge the gap between research and community action by bringing together interdisciplinary teams of researchers and community members. Professor Baylor Fox-Kemper, a faculty director of ECF said the initiative is “science meets social sciences meets outlooks for climate change.”

New research led by Peter Buhler from the Planetary Science Institute proposes that a carbon-dioxide ice cap may have acted as an insulating layer on Mars, allowing rivers and a large lake to form in the planet’s southern highlands. DEEPS Professor James Head commented, "Peter Buhler has done a magnificent job of exploring the implications of possible massive atmospheric collapse and CO2 ice accumulation in the south circumpolar region at a critical early time in the history of Mars."

The Brown Daily Herald explores the work of two DEEPS labs contributing to NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission by analyzing specimens returned from a near-Earth asteroid.

Geologists generally think that creep happens on faults that slice through particularly slippery rocks. But a recent study co-authored by Professor Victor Tsai reports that the overall structure of a fault network might also dictate why some faults creep rather than intermittently slip dramatically.

Politicians and green advocates want to keep the focus on limiting global warming to 1.5C, even though scientists say the planet is already on track to soon breach the target. Professor Kim Cobb offered commentary on the issue, noting that people are “more and more talking about how we can limit overshoot.”

UK-based scientists have used a new calculation method to find that global temperature rise is nearly at the Paris Agreement limit. DEEPS Professor and IBES Director Kim Cobb offered commentary on the study, saying it presents "a new approach to an age-old and critical question."

The Brown Daily Herald shares an in-depth remembrance of Jan Tullis and her decades of groundbreaking research and influential mentorship. Julia Grossman ’23 shared her first impressions of Jan, saying “One: this woman is incredible and she’s calling me partner. I don’t know what that means but I like it. Two: she has really strong opinions and usually they are correct. Three: I know I’m going to be taken care of here."

Maya Rallu De Malibran, an OCE High School Research Intern who worked with Professor Di Lorenzo, has received the prestigious AGU David E Lumley Young Scientist Scholarship.

A recent study in Nature Communications, co-authored by Professor Baylor Fox-Kemper, reveals that turbulence from ocean fronts—driven by submesoscale shear—significantly influences the transfer of heat, gases, and nutrients in the upper ocean layer, impacting climate and ocean productivity, especially in winter, which could improve climate model accuracy.

A team of Brown University students participated for the first time in the USDA Northeast Collegiate Soil Judging Competition.

New radiometric dating of material returned from the Moon suggests there was active volcanism 120 million years ago – nearly 2 billion years more recently than previous estimates. Assistant Professor James Dottin III shared his perspective, unconvinced that the three beads are conclusively volcanic.

Ben Friedman ’09 shares a touching memorial of Jan Tullis in this recent Brown Daily Herald opinion piece.

Kim Cobb, a professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences and Director of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, delivered the Family Weekend keynote about the inflection point at which the world finds itself — and the numerous ways that the current generation of students is rising to face critical climate challenges through research and action. “I am extremely optimistic, mostly because the work that we’re doing here at Brown is illustrative of the engagement of this institution, and our entire community in making solutions that are durable and equitable,” Cobb said.

DEEPS community members were on hand to celebrate two successful launches this October.

In a recent study published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, OCE High School Interns working with Professor Emanuele Di Lorenzo found that marine heatwaves in the Gulf of Alaska have intensified since 2013, disrupting ocean currents known as eddies, which support marine life. Using 30 years of satellite data and climate models, the team examined how these heatwaves affect nutrient-rich ocean currents called eddies, which support phytoplankton. The study revealed that marine heatwaves create high-pressure conditions that weaken coastal circulation, reducing the formation of eddies and threatening marine life.

A recent publication in Science by Andrea Tokranov, Class of 2012, presents a national predictive model for assessing the level of "forever chemicals" (PFAS) in groundwater at the depths of drinking-water supplies across the United States. The study suggests that up to 95 million people may unknowingly rely on groundwater contaminated with PFAS. Since PFAS analysis is costly, the model aims to help direct resources to high-risk areas.