climate change

How to stop an iceberg in its tracks

In Greenland, icebergs are melting fast. With an ocean robot made by Northeastern professor Hanumant Singh, scientists are beginning to understand just how fast.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa February 27, 2020

Penguins are starving as Antarctica gets warmer. Drones are counting the losses.

Scientists suspect that the population of the chinstrap penguins that inhabit Elephant Island is dwindling. A team that includes two Northeastern doctoral students is seeking to measure the decline using drones and machine learning algorithms.

by Vikrant Shah - contributor February 11, 2020

Global population, climate, and technology are changing human health. Here’s what we can do about it.

“We see how much the world is changing,” Northeastern student and 2020 Rhodes Scholar Kritika Singh told an audience of students, researchers, clinicians, and industry experts on Friday. “People, planet, and technology need to change along with it in order to have a healthier and safer world.”

by Laura Castañón February 9, 2020

Better planning might have limited flood damage in Brazil. But would it have been enough?

Resilient, sustainable planning could help, says Thomas Vicino, who studies metropolitan development and housing in Brazil. The question is whether society has “the political will to confront the realities of climate change.”

by Molly Callahan January 31, 2020

Does China’s response to the coronavirus outbreak reflect lessons learned from SARS?

Fear of a global pandemic is one of the factors driving China’s surprising decision to shut down airports in the hope of containing a dangerous virus. The Chinese government also appears to be influenced by the failure of its 2002-03 response to the outbreak of SARS, says School of Journalism director Jonathan Kaufman, former China bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal.

by Ian Thomsen January 24, 2020

A close-up look at the mysterious plague sweeping through Caribbean reefs

BOCAS DEL TORO, Panama—Northeastern students are surveying a coral reef off the coast of Panama for signs of stony coral tissue loss disease, which threatens twenty species that comprise the heart of the Caribbean’s coral reefs.

by Tim Briggs - contributor January 14, 2020

The deep ocean is not on fire. So what’s all that soot doing in there?

Until recently, scientists thought rivers moved black carbon from soil to the ocean. But new research by a team that included Aron Stubbins, an associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern, overturns this long-established idea.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa November 27, 2019

What can we do when power grids fail us?

As winds pick up and the ground stays dry, Pacific Gas and Electric has announced another power shutoff in Northern California to prevent wires from sparking fires. But to put a stop to further damage, the key may be grids that don’t need shutting off: community networks of resources and democratic energy.

by Aria Bracci November 19, 2019

To solve the world’s problems, start small

TORONTO—A group of experts and civically engaged Canadians tackled issues such as the refugee crisis, climate change, and fake news at the Experience Solution Sprint on Northeastern’s Toronto campus.

by Molly Callahan November 15, 2019

Signs of the times: New public art installation brings climate change home

The future (and recent past) of small towns throughout coastal New England are presented by Northeastern graphic and information design professor Thomas Starr in a new exhibit that is as much public art as public science.

by Molly Callahan October 15, 2019