Scientists Discover Link Between Climate Change and Biological Evolution of Phytoplankton

Emergence of new species of the coccolithophere (calcite producing marine algae), paced by approximately 400,000 year variations in the shape of Earth’s revolutions around the sun (eccentricity shown in inset) has been documented by the changes in the shape and size of their internal calcite plates shown here in photos obtained from scanning electron microscope. Figure courtesy of Luc Beaufort, Centre for Research and Teaching in Environmental Geoscience in France.

Using artificial intelligence techniques, an international team that included Rutgers-New Brunswick researchers have traced the evolution of coccolithophores, an ocean-dwelling phytoplankton group, over 2.8 million years. Their findings, published this week in the journal Nature, reveal new evidence that evolutionary cycles in a marine phytoplankton group are related to changes in tropical seasonality, shedding light on the link between biological evolution …

U.S. Department of Education Awards $500,000 to Rutgers to Support Students Pursuing Advanced Education in Environmental Sciences

Andy Sandy, lecturer in the Department of Environmental Sciences, on ladder working alongside a Rutgers student during a project in the Piedmont region of New Jersey.

Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) was awarded $500,000 in Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) funding by the U.S. Department of Education to support students pursuing a doctoral degree in Environmental Sciences. The GAANN program provides grants to academic departments and programs of institutions of higher education in the U.S. to fund graduate fellowships for students with excellent …

Climate Action Can Lessen Poverty and Inequality Worldwide

factory

The redistribution of revenues from a carbon tax can promote equity and protect vulnerable populations If all countries adopted the same tax on carbon emissions and returned the revenues to their citizens, it is possible to keep the global temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius while also benefiting wellbeing, reducing inequality, and alleviating poverty, according to a Rutgers …

Rutgers Awarded $750,000 Multi-Institutional Grant to Develop Online Tools for Demonstrating Societal Impacts of Scientific Research

Distinguished Professor Scott Glenn (Center for Ocean Observing Leadership or COOL) discusses ocean gliders with a group of middle school students attending an Ocean Day community event.

Rutgers University and the University of Missouri-Columbia recently received a $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop online tools to help university researchers connect their research with society. The National Science Foundation (NSF), as part of its granting requirements, encourages researchers to provide opportunities for the public to engage and share their findings with policy makers, educators …

Engineering, Data Science and Mathematical Models to Optimize Wind Energy Farms

wind turbine

The wind energy industry could soon count on a much-needed precise analysis to achieve an optimal balance for wind farm productivity and profitability, thanks to a team of researchers working with digitization, predictive and prescriptive analytics to bring down its operational costs. Rutgers researchers led by Principal Investigator Ahmed Aziz Ezzat, assistant professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the School of …

Volcanic Eruptions Contributed to Collapse of China Dynasties

Volcanic eruptions contributed to the collapse of dynasties in China in the last 2,000 years by temporarily cooling the climate and affecting agriculture, according to a Rutgers coauthored study.

Volcanic eruptions contributed to the collapse of dynasties in China in the last 2,000 years by temporarily cooling the climate and affecting agriculture, according to a Rutgers co-authored study. Large eruptions create a cloud that blocks some sunlight for a year or two. That reduces warming of the land in Asia in the summer and leads to a weaker monsoon …

Rutgers Receives NOAA Funds to Collect Unique Ocean and Coastal Data as Part of MARACOOS Cooperative Agreement

Ocean temperature, currents and glider paths (black) in the coastal Mid-Atlantic on November 2, 2021. These maps are publicly available at oceansmap.maracoos.org.

Oscar Schofield, chair Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences (principal investigator) and Michael Crowley, MARACOOS technical director are working with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS) on a $1,542,076 cooperative agreement funded through NOAA to collect unique ocean and coastal data that is transformed into information products that support jobs, the economy, safety and well-being for the more than 78 …

National Science Foundation Awards Rutgers a $750,000 Convergence Accelerator Grant

wind farm construction

NSF invests $21 million to tackle two complex societal challenges: the networked blue economy, and trust and authenticity in communication systems and will fund 28 teams to fast-track solutions toward with a positive societal impact The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Rutgers a $750,000 Convergence Accelerator grant for the project, “Regional climate change projections to enable equitable ocean planning for the blue economy.” …

President Holloway Announces University Climate Action Plan

Members of the New Jersey State Police's Task Force 1 perform search and rescue operations in Somerville, NJ in the wake of Hurricane Ida's remnants causing record breaking flooding. Kopp said the hurricane reminded New Jersey how critical it is to both stabilize the global climate and adapt to the changes we’ve already locked in. Photo by Matt Drews

Rutgers will establish an Office of Climate Action and work to eliminate greenhouse gases before the university’s 275th anniversary. In his second address to the University Senate on Sept. 24, President Jonathan Holloway announced the university’s commitment to a Climate Action Plan and the formation of the Office of Climate Action that will lead the university’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. The …

Rutgers to Lead Regional Large-Scale Coastlines and People Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub with Nearly $20M from National Science Foundation

Aerial view of the Jersey Shore

The new hub will help improve the understanding and governance of co-evolving hazard developments and coastal processes. Advancing its mission and leadership role to improve climate risk management critical to societal well-being, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey will lead a multi-university Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (MACH) made possible by a grant through the National Science Foundation’s Coastlines and People (CoPe) …