Category: Features

The concrete plumes of a power plant emit steam into the atmosphere.

Why We Can Have Paris Again

January 28, 2021

From revoking the permit on the Keystone XL natural gas pipeline to starting the process of reversing Trump-era polices on national monuments, endangered lands and species, and energy exploration, the environment stands near the top of President Joe Biden’s immediate agenda. The centerpiece was an Inauguration Day executive order to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, negotiated by the nations of the world (with key oversight from a Terp) to head off the devastating effects of climate change, from famines to coastal flooding.

The Potomac River winds through dense green forests.

Kaushal and Duan Assess Micropollutants in Potomac River Watershed

January 14, 2021

Sujay Kaushal, ESSIC and Department of Geology Associate Professor, recently published a paper in Water Research alongside co-authors from the University at Buffalo’s Department of Chemistry, UMD’s Department of Geology, and private firm Hazen and Sawyer.

A scenic view of the ocean and the beach.

Farrell and Thomas Discuss the Hidden Talents of ICESat-2

December 14, 2020

A new NASA Goddard feature highlights how the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2), originally intended to precisely measure the height of the ice sheets at Earth’s poles, of sea ice floes above the ocean waters, and of forest canopies, has gone beyond its original purposes to map the Earth’s surface. In the article, ESSIC/CISESS scientists Sinéad Farrell and Nathan Thomas are quoted discussing these unintended benefits.

Lau, Li, Tao Find Link Between Western Wildfires and Global Warming

October 22, 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljE6iZr_kjY For the last few years, life on the West Coast of the United States has been marked by wildfires. Most recently, August lightning storms

Dr. Ellen Williams smiles in a red blazer.

Williams Speaks on Clean Energy Innovation at National Academies Workshop

October 5, 2020

In July, ESSIC and CISESS Director Ellen Williams participated in the National Academies Workshop on Enhancing Federal Clean Energy Innovation, a series supported by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to identify strategies for accelerating clean energy innovation across the federal government.

Liza smiles in front of a dark background.

ESSIC’s Liza Goldberg Uses National Geographic Young Explorers Grant to Bring Satellite Imagery into Classrooms

July 28, 2020

Last week, The National Geographic Society announced the 2020 recipients of the Young Explorers Grant, a prestigious grant awarded to young people, between the ages of 16 and 26, engaged in complex, impact-driven efforts to address global issues. Liza Goldberg, 18-year-old ESSIC scientist and NASA student research assistant, is one of the 22 recipients.

A closeup of a visualization of the COVID-19 molecule.

ESSIC Scientists Find Link Between Climate and COVID-19

May 4, 2020

There might be a link between climate and the spread of COVID-19, finds a study co-authored by ESSIC Director Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, Assistant Research Scientist Augustin Vintzileos, and collaborators from The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran.

Dos Santos, Community Scientists Map COVID-19 Spread Through Brazil

May 4, 2020

A group of volunteers including ESSIC scientist Fernando Dos Santos are putting together an interactive map that tracks the spread of COVID-19 across Brazilian states and cities.

Dr. John Mather smiles warmly at the camera wearing a suit in front of a nondescript background.

ESSIC Hosts Nobel Prize Award Winner John Mather in Seminar Series

February 24, 2020

On March 2, 2020, ESSIC will be welcoming Dr. John Mather, 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate, as a speaker in the Spring 2020

People swim in the Seine River in front of the Eiffel Tower on a hot summer day.

Vintzileos Monitors Heat Events and Health on New Website

August 20, 2019

This has been a summer of record-breaking heat waves, both in the United States and across the world. Last month, several European countries that usually enjoy temperate summer conditions have hit all-time heat records, with temperatures reaching up to 108.6 degrees Fahrenheit.