Cornell Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

March 13 is Giving Day and the EAS Advisory Council has generously offered to match donations dollar-for-dollar up to a total of $16,806. Please help us take full advantage of their largesse by giving a donation at whatever level you can afford! Thank you for your support! https://lnkd.in/gPVv-WJ7

Ready to take your learning to the next level? ?? ?? ?? Discover Cornell Engineering’s 14 Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) programs at our tabling session. We will be visiting Syracuse University this week on Wednesday, March 19th. Join us in Link Hall's first floor lobby between 11AM to 3PM. Learn more about innovative coursework, hands-on projects, and opportunities to advance your career?as we offer both on-campus and distance learning options. Sign up here today: https://lnkd.in/dD8p46DG In the meantime, you can also visit our website for more info: https://lnkd.in/eDVpxj3k

CU GeoData is one of the newer Project Teams at Cornell and they can use your support this Giving Day!

?? We are thrilled to be taking part this week in the 2025 National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Convention at McCormick Place in Chicago! You can find us on the career fair map (booth 1656) when you walk into the lobby—we can’t wait to connect with you! This year’s NSBE Convention is extra special as this amazing organization celebrates 50 years of advancing the mission to "increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community." It’s an incredible milestone, and we’re excited to be a part of it! Learn more about NSBE's history here: https://nsbe.org/about/ If you're considering your next step after undergraduate studies or looking to advance your career, come chat with us about our 14 Master of Engineering programs at Cornell Engineering. Whether you're curious about specializations, professional development, or the application process, we’d love to answer all of your questions! #NSBE50

We are sad to share the news that longtime Cornell and UC-Davis geology professor Donald Turcotte passed away at the Sutter Hospital in Davis last week. He was 92 years old. Don was beloved at Cornell and will be deeply missed. University of California, Davis Photo credit: AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Physics Today Collection

What differentiates an active volcano from a dormant one? While visible lava at the surface is an obvious indicator of activity, the long-standing belief is that active volcanoes have large magma bodies that are expelled during eruptions and then dissipate over time as the volcanoes become dormant. However, new research led by the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences challenges that assumption. Researchers used seismic waves to identify magma chambers beneath the surface of six volcanoes of various sizes and dormancy within the Cascade Range, which includes half of the U.S. volcanoes designated?by the U.S. Geological Survey as?“very high threat.” The team found that all of the volcanoes, including dormant ones, have persistent and large magma bodies. The study, led by postdoctoral researcher Guanning Pang, was?published Jan. 23?in Nature Geoscience.?Geoffrey Abers, the William and Katherine Snee Professor in Geological Sciences, co-authored the study in collaboration with Seth Moran and Weston Thelen at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Cascades Volcano Observatory. Cornell Engineering Cornell University US Geological Survey

The summer of 2023 saw a surprising increase in global temperatures, even within the context of the ongoing greenhouse gas-driven warming trend. Many scientists were flummoxed. Their simulations didn’t show this kind of spike. Ilaria Quaglia, postdoctoral researcher in the Sibley School, and Daniele Visioni of Cornell Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, found a surprising contributing factor to this spike: mandated reductions in sulfate emissions from international shipping routes in 2020. Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences https://lnkd.in/eeDSDAhD

An international marine research team guided by Cornell Engineering expertise has successfully completed an ambitious drilling project to investigate the plate boundary fault that ruptured during the Tohoku earthquake that devastated Japan in 2011. At an extreme water depth of 7 kilometers, the team used the Japanese drilling vessel Chikyu to drill a series of deep boreholes, including a sub-seafloor borehole observatory that intersects the fault nearly 1 kilometer beneath the seafloor. They also conducted geophysical logging and coring, and reinstalled temperature sensors in a previous observatory well across the fault – a feat that had never before been attempted at such depths. “The main technical challenge with this project is that we’re in 7 kilometers water depth, and then we go another kilometer underground, and so that is ultra-deep water. There are not many ships that can operate in that extreme water depth. It’s kind of like a NASA mission,” said Patrick Fulton, the David Croll Sesquicentennial Fellow and assistant professor of earth and atmospheric sciences in Cornell Engineering, who served as a co-chief scientist and the project’s science lead for the observatories. Read more at https://lnkd.in/gQd4MBmF.

Could next-generation geothermal energy finally fulfill its promise of ridding us of fossil fuels for good? “Unlike other readily scalable renewable energy technologies, the highly site-specific aspects of geothermal power production introduce risk that has been a major obstacle to commercial development,” said Seth Saltiel, a research professor at Cornell and co-author of the siting report. Cornell University Cornell Engineering

Cornell EAS alum (and member of the EAS Advisory Council) Alan Sealls is the 2025 President-elect of the American Meteorological Society. Congratulations, Alan, on this well-deserved honor! Cornell University Cornell Engineering Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences https://lnkd.in/dnhr74kP