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Earth and Environmental Science

Penn professor and colleages develop Aurora AI
Satellite image of Hurricane Helene, 2006

Image: Courtesy of NASA’s Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory

Penn professor and colleages develop Aurora AI

Penn professor Paris Perdikaris and collaborators developed Aurora, a machine-learning model that has predictive capabilities for air quality, ocean waves, tropical cyclone tracks, and weather.

5 min. read

What behavioral strategies motivate environmental action?
Drawing of people in park.

Image: Irina_Strelnikova via Getty Images

What behavioral strategies motivate environmental action?

A collaborative study from researchers affiliated with the Annenberg School for Communication, Annenberg Public Policy Center, and School of Arts & Sciences tested 17 strategies in an “intervention tournament.”

4 min. read

Using climate modeling to guide global economic and political decisions
A climate map showing temperatures and contours.

Image: Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Using climate modeling to guide global economic and political decisions

Irina Marinov, associate professor in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Earth and Environmental Science, explains how climate modeling works and the information these models provide.

From the Environmental Innovations Initiative

2 min. read

Can surface fractures on Earth, Mars, and Europa predict habitability on other planets?
A view of a planet in the solar system.

(On homepage) A global view of Jupiter’s moon Europa displaying extensive surface fractures—long, curving lines carved into the ice by tidal forces from Jupiter. These cracks hint at dynamic activity beneath Europa’s frozen shell and may provide clues about the moon’s potentially habitable subsurface ocean.

(Image: Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech)
 

Can surface fractures on Earth, Mars, and Europa predict habitability on other planets?

Geophysicist Douglas Jerolmack has used the mathematical framework developed for understanding fracture patterns on Earth to survey two-dimensional fracture networks across the solar system, which could offer insights into detecting potentially habitable environments on other planets.