Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences Archives

Could AI help imperiled marine species survive climate change?

Changing ocean conditions could drive marine species to extinction if they can’t adapt or move to more hospitable waters. Researchers say they could help—if they can accurately predict which individuals within a species will survive best, and where. Northeastern’s Katie Lotterhos is working to determine whether a machine-learning algorithm could make those predictions accurately.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki April 20, 2022

H William Detrich Professor of Marine and Environmental Sciences poses for a portrait at the Marine Science Center in Nahant, MA.

The legacy of H. William Detrich is rising with the Antarctic tide

Among his many achievements, the world-renowned professor of marine and environmental sciences is most proud of a Northeastern co-op program he launched a dozen years ago. It began with a work-study student washing dishes in the lab; months later, he was near the South Pole.

by Ian Thomsen April 7, 2022

Kalyn Green, resident of Durango, stands on the edge of the Animas River.

Are we part of nature, or separate from it? How you answer matters.

If you see humans as part of the natural world, you’re more likely to support stewardship of the environment, according to a new study by Northeastern psychology and environmental science researchers.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki April 7, 2022

silhouettes of two firefighters standing in front of massive wilfdire

Is wildfire soot leaving a mark on the world’s oceans?

When clouds of smoke and ash billow out over the ocean, stretching away from the wildfires that are their source, they might not just affect the air quality, according to research by Aron Stubbins, associate professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki September 17, 2021

To safeguard key coastal ecosystems, this scientist starts by talking to the local anglers

“Fishermen spend the bulk of their year, if not every day, on the water and the vast majority of scientists only get to spend a small number of days on the water,” says Steven Scyphers, assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern. “But we’re both trying to understand the same system.”

by Halle Marchese - contributor September 13, 2021

If we don’t halt climate change, the world’s oceans may never be the same.

As much as 95% of the climates in the surface ocean that exist today could completely disappear within 80 years—but it’s not too late to change, according to new research led by Katie Lotterhos, associate professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki August 26, 2021

Northeastern University marine science and public policy professor Brian Helmuth and lab technician Sahana Simonetti, a recent marine biology graduate, conduct research on the shores of the Nahant campus. Helmuth’s battery powered robotic mussels provide greater insight into the thermal stresses being placed on various organisms by climate change. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

When a heat wave comes, this scientist takes a shellfish’s perspective

What is it like to be a shellfish in a heat wave? Marine scientist Brian Helmuth takes a mussel’s-eye-view of climate change in his coastal research.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki July 23, 2021

Mark Patteron, professor of marine and environmental sciences, deploys a Trident ROV robot in Nahant, Massachusetts on on July 15, 2021. Patterson recently received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to facilitate this research. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

This robot is going to map uncharted kelp forests in the Arctic–and the impact of climate change

Mark Patterson, professor of marine and environmental sciences, recently received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to study kelp forests in the Canadian Arctic. His robot, “Fetch,” will help lead the way. “I program the mission, but it’s up to the robot to make good choices,” says Patterson.

by Emily Arntsen July 21, 2021

Our plastic pollution problem may have more significant consequences than we think

Plastics are a pervasive source of pollution. And they might also be significantly altering the Earth’s carbon cycle and our ability to monitor it, according to research by Northeastern’s Aron Stubbins.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki July 6, 2021

Sunrise over Northeastern’s Boston campus.

The forecast said it would be 90 degrees. So why does your thermometer say it’s 100?

Some neighborhoods are hotter than others, says Brian Helmuth, professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern. And those temperature differences tend to fall along socioeconomic lines, perpetuating entrenched historical inequalities.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki July 1, 2021