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Washington University in St. Louis News & Information > University Groups > Arts & Sciences >
Earth and Planetary Sciences
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Cloudy with a chance of pebble showers
Simulation suggests rocky exoplanet has bizarre atmosphere
Sept. 29,
2009 --
Intrigued by the discovery last February of Corot-7b, a rocky exoplanet, Washington University in St. Louis scientists set out to investigate its atmosphere the only way so-far possible: mathematically and by simulation. Tidally locked with its star and orbiting very close to it, the planet is hot enough to melt rock on its star-facing side. Its atmosphere consists of the components of silicate rocks in gaseous form and, the simulation suggests, periodically rains pebbles or grains of sand onto the molten surface below.
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'Holy grail for icy volcanism'
Saturnian moon shows evidence of ammonia
July 24,
2009 --
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| NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Saturn's moon Enceladus, seen by the Cassini spacecraft. |
Data collected during two close flybys of Saturn's moon Enceladus by NASA's Cassini spacecraft add more fuel to the fire about the Saturnian ice world containing sub-surface liquid water, according to a report in the July 23 issue of the journal Nature that is co-authored by a planetary researcher from Washington University in St. Louis.
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'Absolutely irreplaceable'
Apollo 11 moon rocks still crucial 40 years later, say WUSTL researchers
July 17,
2009 --
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| Photo by Randy Korotev |
| Moon rocks from the Apollo 11 mission. |
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A lunar geochemist at Washington University in St. Louis says that there are still many answers to be gleaned from the moon rocks collected by the Apollo 11 astronauts on their historic moonwalk 40 years ago July 20. And he credits another WUSTL professor for the fact that the astronauts even collected the moon rocks in the first place. "Bringing samples back from the moon wasn't the point of the mission," says Randy Korotev, a research professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences. "It was really about politics. It took scientists like Bob Walker to bring these samples back — to show the value of them for research."
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Developing 'next generation of creative thinkers'
Free science camp for middle schoolers from traditionally underrepresented populations
June 12,
2009 --
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| WUSTL Photo Services |
| WUSTL's ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp |
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Washington University in St. Louis will host its third ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp June 14-26. The Danforth Campus will welcome 48 middle schoolers from traditionally underrepresented populations who are academically qualified, recommended by their teachers and genuinely interested in math and science. The free residential camp gives students a first-hand experience with experiments, role models and innovative programs to encourage their continued participation in math and science courses in school. A special "ExxonMobil Media Day" will be held from 9:30-11:30 a.m. June 17 at the Mallinckrodt Center, lower level. Campers will work side by side with scientists to complete an engineering challenge.
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'Big Ideas'
What everyone should know about Earth sciences summarized in free NSF-funded e-booklet
June 5,
2009 --
If you're clueless about petrology, paleobiology and plate tectonics, the National Science Foundation and the Earth Science Literacy Initiative (ESLI) have just released a free pamphlet offering a concise primer on what all Americans should know about the Earth sciences. "The Earth Science Literacy framework document of 'Big Ideas' and supporting concepts was a community effort representing the current state-of-the-art research in Earth sciences," said Michael E. Wysession, Ph.D., chair of ESLI and associate professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
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New spin on laser-flash analysis
Technique measures heat transport in the Earth's crust
March 30,
2009 --
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| David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Services |
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Putting a new spin on an old technique, Anne M. Hofmeister, Ph.D., research professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has revolutionized scientists' understanding of heat transport in the Earth's crust, the outermost solid shell of our planet.
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U.S.-led team confirms an Alps-like mountain range exists under east Antarctic ice sheet
Capstone of NSF-supported International Polar Year
Feb. 25,
2009 --
Flying twin-engine light aircraft the equivalent of three trips around the globe and working in temperatures that averaged minus 30 degrees Celsius, an international team of scientists, including one from Washington University in St. Louis, has not only verified the existence of a mountain range that is suspected to have caused the massive East Antarctic Ice Sheet to form, but also has created a detailed picture of the rugged landscape buried under more than four kilometers (2.5 miles) of ice. Douglas A. Wiens, Ph.D., WUSTL professor and chair of earth and planetary sciences, is part of the seismology team.
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Haskin honored with named feature on the Moon
WUSTL man on the Moon
Feb. 3,
2009 --
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| Haskin |
A crater on the moon has been named after the late Larry Haskin, Ph.D., who spent much of his career as a WUSTL researcher in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences.
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500-pound gorilla on the dais
Population growth puts dent in natural resources
Nov. 5,
2008 --
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| Criss |
It's a 500-pound gorilla that Robert Criss, Ph.D., professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, sees standing on the speaker's dais at political rallies, debates and campaigns. Its name is population growth. And sometime during President-elect Barack Obama's first several months in office, he will have to factor it into future environmental policy, says Criss."Population growth is driving all of our resource problems, including water and energy. The three are intertwined," Criss says. "The United States has over 305 million people of the 6.7 billion on the planet. We are dividing a finite resource pie among a growing number of people on Earth. We cannot expect to sustain exponential population growth matched by increased per capita use of water and energy. It's troubling. But politicians and religious leaders totally ignore the topic."
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Stephen F. & Camilla T. Brauer Hall
Groundbreaking held for new building devoted to energy and environmental engineering research, education
Oct. 29,
2008 --
A groundbreaking ceremony for a new energy, environmental engineering and biomedical engineering building on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis was held Wednesday, Oct. 29, on the parking lot adjacent to Whitaker Hall, near the corner of Skinker Boulevard and Forest Park Parkway. The building, which will be named in honor of Stephen F. and Camilla T. Brauer, will be east of and adjoining to Whitaker Hall, home of the biomedical engineering department.
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