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.

According to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, conducted during three research cruises from 2017 to 2019 in the Mediterranean Sea, scientists discovered that tiny ocean organisms are transported to deeper waters by currents called intrusions, significantly impacting the ocean's ecosystem. “We found that because these organisms are so small, they can be swept up by ocean currents that then bring them deeper than where they grow,” said Assistant Professor Mara Freilich. “It’s often a one-way trip for these organisms, but by taking this trip, they play a critical role in connecting different parts of the ocean.”

This week, the eleventh session of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Research Board considered critical developments in Artificial Intelligence for weather forecasting under the leadership of Board Chair Professor Amanda Lynch.

NASA has announced a new strategy review team, including DEEPS Professor Jack Mustard, to assess potential architecture adjustments for the agency’s Mars Sample Return Program. The program aims to bring back scientifically selected samples from Mars, and is a key step in NASA’s quest to better understand our solar system and help answer whether we are alone in the universe.

A recent Brown Daily Herald poll found that female students are less likely than their male counterparts to study the physical sciences at Brown. DEEPS Chair, Professor Meredith Hastings discussed how representation and the “leaky pipeline" contribute to this issue, and highlighted ways it is being addressed. “We definitely have seen the numbers go up across the board,” Hastings said, adding that more work is yet to be done, such as addressing exclusionary behaviors.

The Europa Clipper spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral on October 14th to find out whether the icy ocean of Jupiter's moon is habitable. “We’ll be able to describe what that habitable environment is like,” says Associate Professor Ingrid Daubar, who works on Clipper for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Following the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, scientists warn that the Atlantic hurricane season is far from over. Assistant Professor Chris Horvat commented, “The Gulf (of Mexico) remains fairly anomalously warm even at this point in the year, so we shouldn’t relax."

IBES Director and DEEPS Professor Kim Cobb noted that Hurricanes Helene and Milton "should serve 'as a wake up call' for emergency preparedness, resilience planning and the increased use of fossil fuels."