Category: Archive

ESSIC visiting assistant research scientist Beth Kuser Olsen recently published an article in Human Ecology Review titled “The demographics of public participation access when communicating environmental risk”. In the piece, Kuser Olsen discusses the importance of public engagement in communicating anticipated changes and shifting risks concerning the environment and climate change.  She examines the demographics of flood risk management meeting participants in order to determine the …

ESSIC / AOSC Professor Raghu Murtugudde recently wrote an article published in Hindu Business Line titled “How air pollution is adding to India’s diabetes burden”. The article discusses a recent study that found a link between diabetes and PM2.5, atmospheric particulate matter (PM) with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers.  Diabetes risk increased significantly beyond 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air and plateaued at 22 micrograms.  The measured air quality in Delhi and Kanpur …

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Council has approved a new policy to revoke the honors of AAAS Fellows due to misconduct or ethical concerns. The new measure is in response to a recent public letter and social media anti-harassment campaign headed by ESSIC / CICS-MD associate research professor and Leshner Fellow Melissa Kenney, among other Leshner Fellows.  Nearly 1000 supporters signed the letter. “As Leshner Fellows, we will continue to urge AAAS to take the …

In an article published by Newsweek titled “Gaia Hypothesis: Humans Have Fundamentally Altered Earth’s Self-Regulation System,” quoted ESSIC / AOSC Professor Raghu Murtugudde. The article analyzes the Gaia Hypothesis, a theory developed in the 1970s that suggests that life on Earth is a result of a self-regulating system that has allowed habitable conditions to exist since life first emerged. Some modern scientists have challenged the original hypothesis, believing instead that …

On Monday, September 10, the University of Maryland (UMD) Division of Information Technology (DIT) officially welcomed the campus community to their new location at the Discovery District research park.
The recently constructed 71,000 square foot three-story building is a welcome change to past DIT accommodations, which historically spread across four buildings on the main UMD campus.  According to the university’s press release, the state-of-the-art space will allow DIT to streamline …

An article by ESSIC / CICS-MD research professor Xiaolei Zou and by post-doctoral associate Xiaoxu Tian was recently accepted for publication in the AGU Journal of Geophysical Research Atmosphere. The piece, titled “Hurricane Warm‐Core Retrievals from AMSU‐A and Remapped ATMS Measurements with Rain Contamination Eliminated”, proposes a temperature retrieval algorithm based on GPS radio occultation (RO).  GPS RO is known as an accurate source of temperature profiles in a global range, …