Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences Archives

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

Associate Professor Rebeca Rosengaus studies social insect behavior and researches how insects control and contain pathogen outbreaks in their own colonies.

For ideas about fighting pandemics, look to termites and ants

Social insects like termites and ants have evolved many methods to combat disease. What can we learn from them in fighting human pandemics? A lot, says Rebeca Rosengaus, an associate professor and behavioral ecologist at Northeastern.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki May 28, 2021

NAHANT, Mass. Northeastern students Jaxon Derow and Sahana Simonetti gather mussels for a research project at Northeastern’s Marine Science Center.

Northeastern’s award-winning coastal research campus in Massachusetts faces public vote

Nahant residents on Saturday will vote on whether to seize part of the property where Northeastern’s Marine Science Center conducts research to improve the sustainability of coastal communities facing the effects of climate change.

by Peter Ramjug May 13, 2021

Megan Carter and Sammy Shupe stand outside their co-op stations.

These athletes pursue championships while on co-op

Megan Carter, a sophomore who maintains a 4.0 grade point average in biology, was on co-op at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston while striving for a national title in women’s ice hockey. Here’s how she and other student-athletes learn to balance sports, academics, and co-op.

by Ian Thomsen April 27, 2021