Earth and Environment News

01/23/2015

Douglas Smith

Fredric ("Fred") Raichlen, professor emeritus of civil and mechanical engineering in Caltech's Division of Engineering and Applied Science, passed away on December 13, 2014. He was an expert in coastal engineering whose pioneering studies of tsunami mechanics have led to standards for designing tsunami-resistant structures that have saved lives around the world.

09/30/2014

Swimming Sea-Monkeys Reveal How Zooplankton May Help Drive Ocean Circulation

Marcus Woo

The effect could be as strong as those due to the wind and tides, the main factors that are known to drive the up-and-down mixing of oceans.

09/08/2014

Textbook Theory Behind Volcanoes May Be Wrong

Marcus Woo

In the typical textbook picture, volcanoes, such as those that are forming the Hawaiian islands, erupt when magma gushes out as narrow jets from deep inside Earth. But that picture is wrong, according to a new study.

09/03/2014

Measuring Earthquake Shaking

Cynthia Eller

This summer, Caltech junior Kevin Li has been working with computational scientists and seismologists to refine the Community Seismic Network (CSN) by developing a machine-learning system that can accurately estimate the magnitude of an earthquake within seconds of its detection.

Caltech junior Kevin Li and his mentor Julian Bunn

08/28/2014

Caltech's Green Revolving Fund: Financing Energy Efficiency

Kimm Fesenmaier

For the last six years, Caltech Facilities has managed an innovative, green revolving fund that has enabled the Institute to finance new energy efficiency projects around campus with the cost savings from previous energy efficiency improvements and upgrades.

08/21/2014

Checking the First Data from OCO-2

Jessica Stoller-Conrad

Caltech researchers work to make sure that NASA's newly launched satellite provides accurate data about carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere.

07/31/2014

Looking Forward to 2020 . . . on Mars

Kimm Fesenmaier

Ken Farley, Caltech's W.M. Keck Foundation Professor of Geochemistry and chair of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, is serving as project scientist for Mars 2020. We recently sat down with him to talk about the mission and his new role.

07/15/2014

Corals Provide Clues for Climate Change Research

Katie Neith

Just as growth rings can offer insight into climate changes occurring during the lifespan of a tree, corals have much to tell about changes in the ocean.

06/25/2014

Geothermometer for Methane Formation

Kimm Fesenmaier

A team of scientists led by Caltech geochemist John M. Eiler has developed a new technique that can, for the first time, determine the temperature at which a natural methane sample formed.

06/20/2014

DOE Awards $15 Million to Caltech's Solar Energy Research

Cynthia Eller

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) announced yesterday that it will be awarding $15.2 million to Caltech's Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion (LMI) program.

06/17/2014

Earth-Building Bridgmanite

Katie Neith

"The most abundant mineral of the earth now has an official name," says Chi Ma, a mineralogist and director of the Geological and Planetary Sciences division's Analytical Facility at Caltech.