cos-climate

Ocean ‘Greening’ at Poles Could Spell Changes for Fisheries

admin — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 18:16:41 +0000

Ocean ‘Greening’ at Poles Could Spell Changes for Fisheries admin Thu, 06/19/2025 - 14:16

Ocean waters are getting greener at the poles and bluer toward the equator, according to an analysis of satellite data published in Science on June 19. The change reflects shifting concentrations of a green pigment called chlorophyll made by phytoplankton, photosynthetic marine organisms at the base of the ocean food chain. If the trend continues, marine food webs could be affected, with potential repercussions for global fisheries.

“In the ocean, what we see based on satellite measurements is that the tropics and the subtropics are generally losing chlorophyll, whereas the polar regions — the high-latitude regions — are greening,” says first author Haipeng Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher at Georgia Tech working with Susan Lozier, dean of the College of Sciences and Betsy Middleton and John Sutherland Chair at Georgia Tech and Nicolas Cassar, the Lee Hill Snowdon Bass Chair at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

Since the 1990s, many studies have documented enhanced greening on land, where global average leaf cover is increasing due to rising temperatures and other factors. But documenting photosynthesis across the ocean has been more difficult, according to the team. Although satellite images can provide data on chlorophyll production at the ocean’s surface, the picture is incomplete.

The study analyzed satellite data collected from 2003 to 2022 by a NASA instrument that combs the entire Earth every two days, measuring light wavelength. The researchers were looking for changes in chlorophyll concentration, a proxy for phytoplankton biomass. For consistency, they focused on the open ocean and excluded data from coastal waters.

“There are more suspended sediments in coastal waters, so optical properties are different than in the open ocean,” Zhao explains.

The satellite data revealed broad trends in color, indicating that chlorophyll is decreasing in subtropical and tropical regions and increasing toward the poles. Building on that finding, the team examined how chlorophyll concentration is changing at specific latitudes. To work around background noise and gaps in data, they had to get creative.

“We borrowed concepts from economics called the Lorenz curve and the Gini index, which together show how wealth is distributed in a society. So, we thought, let’s apply these to see whether the proportion of the ocean that holds the most chlorophyll has changed over time,” Cassar says.

They found similar but opposing trends in chlorophyll concentration over the two-decade period. Green areas became greener, particularly in the northern hemisphere, while blue regions got even bluer.

“It’s like rich people getting richer and the poor getting poorer,” Zhao says.

Next, the team examined how the patterns they observed were affected by several variables, including sea surface temperature, wind speed, light availability and mixed layer depth — a measure that reflects mixing in the ocean’s top layer by wind, waves and surface currents. Warming seas correlated with changes in chlorophyll concentration, but the other variables showed no significant associations.

The authors cautioned that their findings cannot be attributed to climate change.

“The study period was too short to rule out the influence of recurring climate phenomena such as El Niño,” Lozier says. “Having measurements for the next several decades will be important for determining influences beyond climate oscillations.”

If poleward shifts in phytoplankton continue, however, they could affect the global carbon cycle. During photosynthesis, phytoplankton act like sponges, soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When these organisms die and sink to the ocean bottom, carbon goes down with them. The location and depth of that stored carbon can influence climate warming.

“If carbon sinks deeper or in places where water doesn’t resurface for a long time, it stays stored much longer. In contrast, shallow carbon can return to the atmosphere more quickly, reducing the effect of phytoplankton on carbon storage,” Cassar says.

Additionally, a persistent decline in phytoplankton in equatorial regions could alter fisheries that many low- and middle-income nations, such as those in the Pacific Islands, rely on for food and economic development — especially if that decline carries over to coastal regions, according to the authors.

“Phytoplankton are at the base of the marine food chain. If they are reduced, then the upper levels of the food chain could also be impacted, which could mean a potential redistribution of fisheries,” Cassar says.

Funding: National Science Foundation and NASA.

Citation: “Greener green and bluer blue: Ocean poleward greening over the past two decades,” Zhao H., Manizza M., Lozier S.M. and Cassar N. Science, June 19, 2025, DOI: 10.1126/science.adr9715

This story by Julie Leibach is shared with the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment newsroom.

Summary sentence

Ocean waters are getting greener at the poles and bluer toward the equator, according to an analysis of satellite data published in Science on June 19.

Summary

Ocean waters are getting greener at the poles and bluer toward the equator, according to an analysis of satellite data published in Science. The change reflects shifting concentrations of chlorophyll made by phytoplankton. If the trend continues, marine food webs could be affected, with potential impacts on fisheries near the equator and carbon sequestration near the poles.

Dateline

Thu, 06/19/2025 - 12:00

jess@cos.gatech.edu

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Media Contacts:

Jess Hunt-Ralston
Director of Communications
College of Sciences
Georgia Tech

Julie Leibach
Senior Science Writer
Nicholas School of the Environment
Duke University

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Susan Lozier

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School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

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682820

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Thu, 06/19/2025 - 14:16

Know Your Stingers

admin — Tue, 20 May 2025 14:43:41 +0000

Know Your Stingers admin Tue, 05/20/2025 - 10:43

When you see something buzzing, how do you know if it will sting?

Bees sting occasionally, but in general they are not aggressive — they’re defensive, and tend to only sting when they feel threatened.

“It’s mostly wasps that sting — they’re predators, they’re carnivores, and they’re more aggressive,” said Jennifer Leavey, assistant dean for faculty mentoring in the College of Sciences and principal academic professional in the School of Biological Sciences.

Leavey also serves as director for Georgia Tech’s Urban Honey Bee Project. She offers a few tips on how to identify the myriad arthropoda around campus and shares knowledge about each.

Tap here for the full version of this story, where you'll learn about carpenter bees, yellow jackets, ants, and more.

Summary sentence

While Georgia Tech is of course home to yellow jackets, it’s also home to many other insects that are part of the complex ecosystem of campus.

Summary

As the spring season commences, insects have emerged from their winter homes to do their part to pollinate the environment. While Georgia Tech is of course home to yellow jackets, it’s also home to many other insects that are part of the complex ecosystem of campus.

Dateline

Wed, 03/29/2023 - 12:00

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Wed, 03/29/2023 - 14:54

The Real Mockingbirds

admin — Tue, 20 May 2025 14:43:41 +0000

The Real Mockingbirds admin Tue, 05/20/2025 - 10:43

Half a century ago, Marvel Comics introduced the superpower-wielding scientist Bobbi Morse — aka Mockingbird — one of several famous superheroes imagined to hold a degree from Georgia Tech.

Today, just over seven decades since women first enrolled at the Institute, 56% of students earning degrees in the College of Sciences are female. As we celebrate Women's History Month and look to the future of our field, meet seven real-life superheroines of life science — and science fiction — from across the Institute.

Tap here to read this story in the Georgia Tech newsroom.

Summary sentence

As we celebrate Women's History Month and look to the future of our field, meet seven of Georgia Tech's real-life superheroines of life science — and science fiction.

Summary

Half a century ago, Marvel Comics introduced the superpower-wielding scientist Bobbi Morse — aka Mockingbird — one of several famous superheroes imagined to hold a degree from Georgia Tech. Today, 56% of students earning degrees in the College of Sciences are female. As we celebrate Women's History Month and look to the future of our field, meet seven real-life superheroines of life science — and science fiction — from across the Institute.

Dateline

Wed, 03/29/2023 - 12:00

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Wed, 03/29/2023 - 15:41

Nature's Time Machine: How Long-Term Studies Unlock Evolution's Secrets

admin — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 15:24:41 +0000

Nature's Time Machine: How Long-Term Studies Unlock Evolution's Secrets admin Mon, 03/24/2025 - 11:24

Georgia Tech scientists are revealing how decades-long research programs have transformed our understanding of evolution, from laboratory petri dishes to tropical islands — along the way uncovering secrets that would remain hidden in shorter studies.

Through a new review paper published in Nature, the researchers underscore how long-term studies have captured evolution's most elusive processes, including the real-time formation of new species and the emergence of biological innovations.

"Evolution isn't just about change over millions of years in fossils — it's happening all around us, right now," says James Stroud, the paper’s lead author and an Elizabeth Smithgall Watts Early Career Assistant Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at Georgia Tech. "However, to understand evolution, we need to watch it unfold in real time, often over many generations. Long-term studies allow us to do that by giving us a front-row seat to evolution in action."

The paper, “Long-term studies provide unique insights into evolution,” is the first-ever comprehensive analysis of these types of long-term evolutionary studies, and examines some of the longest-running evolutionary experiments and field studies to date, highlighting how they provide new perspectives on evolution. For example, in the Galápagos, a 40-year field study of Darwin’s finches — songbirds named after evolutionary biology’s famous founder — documented the formation of a new species through hybridization. In the lab, a study spanning 75,000 generations of bacteria showed populations unexpectedly evolving completely new metabolic abilities.

“These remarkable evolutionary events were only caught because of the long-term nature of the research programs,” Stroud says. “Even if short-term studies captured similar events, their evolutionary significance would be hard to assess without the historical context that long-term research provides.”

“The most fascinating results from long-term evolution studies are often completely unexpected — they're serendipitous discoveries that couldn't have been predicted at the start,” explains the paper’s co-author, Will Ratcliff, Sutherland Professor in the School of Biological Sciences and co-director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Quantitative Biosciences at Georgia Tech.

“While we can accelerate many aspects of scientific research today, evolution still moves at its own pace,” Ratcliff adds. “There's no technological shortcut for watching species adapt across generations.”

Decades of discovery — from labs to islands

The new paper also highlights a growing challenge in modern science: the critical importance of supporting long-term research in an academic landscape that increasingly favors quick results and short-term funding. Yet, they say, some of biology's most profound insights emerge only through multi-decadal efforts.

Those challenges and rewards are familiar to Stroud and Ratcliff, who operate their own long-term evolutionary research programs at Georgia Tech.

In South Florida, Stroud’s ‘Lizard Island’ is helping document evolution in action across the football field-sized island’s 1,000-lizard population. By studying a community of five species, his research is providing unique insights into how evolution maintains species’ differences, and how species evolve when new competitors arrive. Now operating for a decade, it is one of the world’s longest-running active evolutionary studies of its kind.

In his lab at Georgia Tech, Ratcliff studies the origin of complex life — specifically, how single-celled organisms become multicellular. His Multicellularity Long Term Evolution Experiment (MuLTEE) on snowflake yeast has run for more than 9,000 generations, with aims to continue for the next 25 years. The work has shown how key steps in the evolutionary transition from single-celled organisms to multi-celled organisms occur far more easily than previously understood.

Important work in a changing world

Stroud says that the insights from these types of studies, and this review paper, are arriving at a crucial moment. “The world is rapidly changing, which poses unprecedented challenges to Earth's biodiversity,” he explains. “It has never been more important to understand how organisms adapt to changing environments over time.”

“Long-term studies provide our best window into achieving this,” he adds. “We can document, in real time, both short-term and long-term evolutionary responses of species to changes in their environment like climate change and habitat modification."

By drawing together evolution's longest-running experiments and field studies for the first time, Stroud and Ratcliff offer key insights into studying this fundamental process, suggesting that understanding life's past — and predicting its future — requires not just advanced technology or new methods, but also the simple power of time.

Funding: The US National Institutes of Health and the NSF Division of Environmental Biology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08597-9

Summary sentence

Through a new review paper published in Nature, Georgia Tech scientists are revealing how decades-long research programs have transformed our understanding of evolution, uncovering secrets that would remain hidden in shorter studies.

Summary

Through a new review paper published in Nature, Georgia Tech scientists are revealing how decades-long research programs have transformed our understanding of evolution, uncovering secrets that would remain hidden in shorter studies.

Dateline

Wed, 03/19/2025 - 12:00

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Written by Selena Langner

Contact: Jess Hunt-Ralston

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Environment

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681221

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Mon, 03/24/2025 - 11:22

At the Intersection of Climate and AI, Machine Learning is Revolutionizing Climate Science

admin — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 15:47:51 +0000

At the Intersection of Climate and AI, Machine Learning is Revolutionizing Climate Science admin Fri, 01/24/2025 - 10:47

Exponential growth in big data and computing power is transforming climate science, where machine learning is playing a critical role in mapping the physics of our changing climate.

“What is happening within the field is revolutionary,” says School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Associate Chair and Professor Annalisa Bracco, adding that because many climate-related processes — from ocean currents to melting glaciers and weather patterns — can be described with physical equations, these advancements have the potential to help us understand and predict climate in critically important ways.

Bracco is the lead author of a new review paper providing a comprehensive look at the intersection of AI and climate physics.

The result of an international collaboration between Georgia Tech’s Bracco, Julien Brajard (Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center), Henk A. Dijkstra (Utrecht University), Pedram Hassanzadeh (University of Chicago), Christian Lessig (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), and Claire Monteleoni (University of Colorado Boulder), the paper, ‘Machine learning for the physics of climate,’ was recently published in Nature Reviews Physics.

“One of our team’s goals was to help people think deeply on how climate science and AI intersect,” Bracco shares. “Machine learning is allowing us to study the physics of climate in a way that was previously impossible. Coupled with increasing amounts of data and observations, we can now investigate climate at scales and resolutions we’ve never been able to before.”

Connecting hidden dots

The team showed that ML is driving change in three key areas: accounting for missing observational data, creating more robust climate models, and enhancing predictions, especially in weather forecasting. However, the research also underscores the limits of AI — and how researchers can work to fill those gaps.

“Machine learning has been fantastic in allowing us to expand the time and the spatial scales for which we have measurements,” says Bracco, explaining that ML could help fill in missing data points — creating a more robust record for researchers to reference. However, like patching a hole in a shirt, this works best when the rest of the material is intact.

“Machine learning can extrapolate from past conditions when observations are abundant, but it can’t yet predict future trends or collect the data we need,” Bracco adds. “To keep advancing, we need scientists who can determine what data we need, collect that data, and solve problems.”

Modeling climate, predicting weather

Machine learning is often used when improving climate models that can simulate changing systems like our atmosphere, oceans, land, biochemistry, and ice. “These models are limited because of our computing power, and are run on a three-dimensional grid,” Bracco explains: below the grid resolution, researchers need to approximate complex physics with simpler equations that computers can solve quickly, a process called ‘parameterization’.

Machine learning is changing that, offering new ways to improve parameterizations, she says. “We can run a model at extremely high resolutions for a short time, so that we don’t need to parameterize as many physical processes — using machine learning to derive the equations that best approximate what is happening at small scales,” she explains. “Then we can use those equations in a coarser model that we can run for hundreds of years.”

While a full climate model based solely on machine learning may remain out of reach, the team found that ML is advancing our ability to accurately predict weather systems and some climate phenomena like El Niño.

Previously, weather prediction was based on knowing the starting conditions — like temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure — and running a model based on physics equations to predict what might happen next. Now, machine learning is giving researchers the opportunity to learn from the past. “We can use information on what has happened when there were similar starting conditions in previous situations to predict the future without solving the underlying governing equations,” Bracco says. “And all while using orders-of-magnitude less computing resources.”

The human connection

Bracco emphasizes that while AI and ML play a critical role in accelerating research, humans are at the core of progress. “I think the in-person collaboration that led to this paper is, in itself, a testament to the importance of human interaction,” she says, recalling that the research was the result of a workshop organized at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics — one of the team’s first in-person discussions after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Machine learning is a fantastic tool — but it's not the solution to everything,” she adds. “There is also a real need for human researchers collecting high-quality data, and for interdisciplinary collaboration across fields. I see this as a big challenge, but a great opportunity for computer scientists and physicists, mathematicians, biologists, and chemists to work together.”

Funding: National Science Foundation, European Research Council, Office of Naval Research, US Department of Energy, European Space Agency, Choose France Chair in AI.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-024-00776-3

Summary sentence

A Georgia Tech-led review paper recently published in Nature Reviews Physics is exploring the ways machine learning is revolutionizing the field of climate physics — and the role human scientists might play.

Summary

A Georgia Tech-led review paper recently published in Nature Reviews Physics is exploring the ways machine learning is revolutionizing the field of climate physics — and the role human scientists might play.

Dateline

Wed, 01/22/2025 - 12:00

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Written by Selena Langner

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Fri, 01/24/2025 - 10:47

When Two Lizards Meet for the First Time, Scientists Witness Evolution in Action

admin — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 15:15:41 +0000

When Two Lizards Meet for the First Time, Scientists Witness Evolution in Action admin Fri, 12/20/2024 - 10:15

In South Florida, two Caribbean lizard species met for the first time. What followed provided some of the clearest evidence to date of evolution in action.

Lead author James Stroud, an assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences, was studying Cuban brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) in South Florida when the Puerto Rican crested anole (Anolis cristatellus), suddenly appeared in the region.

Published in Nature Communications, the study documents what happens as the two Anolis lizards adapted in response to the new competitor, while helping to resolve a longstanding challenge in evolutionary biology — directly observing the role of natural selection in character displacement: how similar animals adapt in response to competition.

"Most of what we know about how animals change in response to this process comes from studying patterns that evolved long ago,” Stroud says. “This was a rare opportunity where we could watch evolution as it happened."

Competition from coexistence

While these two small, brown lizards diverged evolutionarily between 40-60 million years ago and evolved on completely separate Caribbean islands, the two species are nearly identical, and fill similar ecological niches.

So, when the Puerto Rican crested anole suddenly appeared in Cuban brown anole habitat at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in 2018, the two were competing for similar habitats and food sources.

“When two similar species compete for the same resources, like food and territory, they often evolve differences that allow them to coexist,” Stroud says. But, while scientists have found many examples of similar species developing different traits to ease this overlap, “scientists have rarely been able to observe this process as it unfolds in nature.”

Stroud’s team had already been studying Cuban brown anoles at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Miami, Florida, two years prior to when the crested anoles invaded. The team was able to quickly pivot to observe how the invasion changed both species, analyzing the lizards’ changing diets, measuring if the lizards were moving through foliage or on the forest floor, and recording the different species’ locations relative to each other. For over a thousand lizards, they also measured perch height — the distance from the ground that the lizard is perching — a primary marker of how Anolis lizards divvy up habitat.

“We not only observed how these lizards changed their habitat use and behavior when they encountered each other,” says Stroud, “but we also documented the natural selection pressures driving their physical evolution in real-time."

Human-made habitats and natural experiments

The research team found that when these lizard species occur together, they divide up their habitat in predictable ways — the Cuban brown anole shifted to spend more time on the ground, and evolved longer legs to run faster in this habitat, while the slightly larger Cuban crested anole lived in vegetation above the ground.

"We found that brown anoles with longer legs had higher survival after crested anoles showed up," says Stroud. "This matches perfectly with the physical differences we see in populations where these species have been living together for many generations."

Stroud adds that while the research provides some of the strongest observations of evolution in action to date, it also demonstrates how human activities can create natural experiments that help us understand fundamental evolutionary processes — both species of Anolis lizard in the study were originally non-native to South Florida.

“As species increasingly come into contact due to human-mediated introductions and climate change, these studies may be important for predicting how communities will respond,” he says. "By studying these non-native lizards who are meeting each other for the first time in their existence, we had a unique opportunity to see the actual process unfold and connect it to the patterns we observe in nature."

Summary sentence

The Georgia Tech-led study captures two lizard species adapting in response to competition. The study provides some of the clearest evidence to date of evolution in action.

Summary

The Georgia Tech-led study captures two lizard species adapting in response to competition. The study provides some of the clearest evidence to date of evolution in action.

Dateline

Fri, 12/13/2024 - 12:00

Contact

Written by Selena Langner

Contact: Jess Hunt-Ralston

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Environment

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Mercury ID

678852

Source updated

Fri, 12/20/2024 - 10:15

NSF RAPID Grant to Analyze Plume Chemistry

admin — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 15:26:54 +0000

NSF RAPID Grant to Analyze Plume Chemistry admin Wed, 12/18/2024 - 10:26

On September 29, 2024, a chemical plume of chlorine- and bromine-containing compounds spread across the Atlanta area. The result of a fire at the BioLab pool chemical manufacturing facility in Conyers, Georgia, the plume impacted communities for several weeks, prompting a stay-at-home order and the temporary evacuation of approximately 17,000 people for the surrounding county.

Professor Greg Huey has been awarded an NSF RAPID grant to unravel the chemical composition of the emission plumes. The grant, "Identification and Measurement of Emissions from the Biolab Incident Impacting the Atlanta Urban Area", will support the analysis of air chemistry data collected during a three-week span that the plume impacted the Atlanta area.

During the incident, Huey’s lab collected real-time air chemistry data in two locations — at Georgia Tech in Midtown Atlanta, and near the BioLab facility, in Conyers, GA.

Huey, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, has spent the last fifteen years measuring halogens — including chlorine and bromine — in remote locations like Barrow, Alaska. “Normally, there are no halogens detectable in the Atlanta area,” he says. “But spending the last 15 years making observations in other locations means that we were well-equipped to measure the halogens from the BioLab plume, and untangle some of the plume’s chemistry.”

“Our goal is to understand and report what was in the plume, then establish a website and make the data publicly available,” Huey adds. “We aim to share valuable public knowledge about this incident.”

A rapid response

When the plume first became visible, Huey recognized the ability to collect data in real-time.

“We decided to turn our high resolution mass spectrometer on and start sampling air,” he says. This piece of scientific equipment is capable of capturing and identifying chemical signatures, and is sensitive to measuring levels of specific chemicals, such as chlorine and bromine. “We have a port measure on the roof of our building at Georgia Tech, which allowed us to start observing the first day,” he adds.

However, this kind of data collection also depends on wind direction blowing chemicals to different regions, Huey explains.

Leveraging the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences’ mobile air quality trailer, the team deployed a second mass spectrometer near the BioLab facility in Conyers, Georgia. “The City was very supportive,” Huey shares. “We set up the mobile lab in the parking lot of Conyers City Hall with the goal of seeing what we could measure — and if we were seeing high levels of chlorine.”

With both sites established, Huey says the team was able to simultaneously measure in Conyers and in Midtown Atlanta — and began to see that the plume was more chemically complex than initially thought.

A proactive approach

Collected data in tow, the NSF RAPID grant will support Huey and a graduate student in the analysis of those site readings, including calibration and publication of chemical data — to be archived to a publicly accessible site; analysis of mass spectra associated with the plumes and identification of chemical compounds; calibration of the species identified, prioritized based on toxicity; and publication of a report on all species detected in the plumes.

Data from the project will help inform communities potentially impacted by the plume — while helping predict the impacts of similar chemical incidents, enabling a better understanding of how to address accidental chemical emissions in the future.
“We want to have a better idea of what this type of incident can produce for future incidents, and we want to have a better idea of what people may have been exposed to,” Huey says. “While we can’t measure and identify everything, this project will help us become better informed for the future.”

Funding:

NSF AGS Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences #2509330

Summary sentence

Led by School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Professor Greg Huey, the NSF RAPID grant is for analyzing air chemistry data collected during a three-week span when a chemical plume impacted the Atlanta area.

Summary

Dateline

Wed, 12/11/2024 - 12:00

Contact

Written by Selena Langner

Contact: Jess Hunt-Ralston

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Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics

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678833

Source updated

Wed, 12/18/2024 - 10:26

Climate Action Plan Provides Road Map to Net-Zero Emissions

admin — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 20:37:41 +0000

Climate Action Plan Provides Road Map to Net-Zero Emissions admin Mon, 04/08/2024 - 16:37

Georgia Tech unveiled its first Climate Action Plan (CAP), an actionable road map for halving Institute emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. It provides strategies for mitigation, adaptation, climate education, and research, while finding ethical, cost-effective solutions.

The CAP is a deliverable of Sustainability Next, Georgia Tech’s 10-year strategic sustainability plan, and it is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Institute’s strategic plan, and the Comprehensive Campus Plan.

“As one of the world’s leading research universities, Georgia Tech has the opportunity, and the obligation, to create and share solutions that can help curb climate change and mitigate its harmful impact on our planet and our lives,” said President Ángel Cabrera. “Our Climate Action Plan is bold and ambitious, aiming for 100% clean ground transportation by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2050. These goals are not easy, but they reflect the seriousness of the challenges before us.”   

The CAP was led by Georgia Tech’s Office of Sustainability, with engagement across the campus community. The CAP Advisory Task Force, comprising experts and Institute leadership, helped guide the effort. Nine working groups in key focus areas developed climate action strategies, and additional stakeholder outreach with students, staff, faculty, and the Atlanta community took place at workshops, events, town halls, and webinars.

The plan’s nine focus areas and guiding principles are:

Community, Ethics, and Accessibility: We seek to ensure that fair and just climate policies and strategies are in place at Georgia Tech and that they prioritize affordable climate change solutions that support our internal and external community.
Building Energy: We are committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
Renewable Energy and Offsets: We prioritize clean energy technologies to eliminate emissions.
Mobility: We optimize campus mobility through a variety of transportation modes that are accessible, affordable, and low- to no-emissions, considering environmental and human health impacts when determining and implementing transit and land use actions.
Materials Management: We support a thriving circular economy that focuses on upstream systems for achieving zero waste, ensures sustainable procurement, and supports our local community.
Water Management: We adapt our water infrastructure to be resilient to the impacts of climate change.
Education: We prepare all students, regardless of discipline, to address climate-related challenges in their personal and professional lives.
Research: We expand support for faculty, staff, and students to advance innovative research and projects to address climate-related issues.
Carbon Sequestration: We leverage the natural and physical resources of our campus to sequester and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The plan has 30 strategies for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and advancing climate research and education. The most ambitious strategies include:

Transition to electrification of combustion-based heating systems.
Increase energy efficiency in building operations.
Increase on-site renewable energy production, and procure energy generated from renewable and zero-emissions sources.
Transition the campus vehicle fleet to zero-emissions vehicles and increase sustainable and affordable commuting options.
Implement blackwater reuse systems and increase water efficiency and conversation.
Become a Zero Waste campus.
Prioritize climate education across Georgia Tech’s curriculum.
Identify and shape future climate research opportunities in which Georgia Tech aspires to lead.

“Georgia Tech is committed to sustainability and the environmental stewardship of our campus community,” said Jennifer Chirico, associate vice president of Sustainability and chair of the CAP Advisory Task Force. “The CAP was developed in partnership with leadership and with our own experts from within Georgia Tech. As we move toward implementation, it will require a whole-community approach, and we will continue to work together to reach our goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.”

To read or download the full plan, visit the Office of Sustainability’s webpage here. If you are interested in participating in an implementation committee, please fill out the form on the CAP website.

Summary sentence

Georgia Tech’s Climate Action Plan outlines mitigation and adaptation strategies for reaching net-zero emissions on campus by 2050 and contributing to global solutions through education and research.

Summary

The last nine months had the hottest global temperatures on record. Georgia Tech’s Climate Action Plan outlines mitigation and adaptation strategies for reaching net-zero emissions on campus by 2050 and contributing to global solutions through education and research.

Dateline

Fri, 04/05/2024 - 12:00

Abby.bower@sustain.gatech.edu

Contact

Abby Bower

Program and Portfolio Manager

Office of Sustainability

Infrastructure and Sustainability

Keywords

Facilities Management

office of sustainability

Georgia Tech Climate Action Plan

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Earth and Environment

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Institute and Campus

Mercury ID

674033

Source updated

Mon, 04/08/2024 - 16:36

Earth Month Features Sustainability Events

admin — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 19:18:41 +0000

Earth Month Features Sustainability Events admin Thu, 04/04/2024 - 15:18

April is Earth Month at Georgia Tech. Coordinated by the Office of Sustainability and hosted by partners across campus, it extends the Institute’s observance of Earth Day (April 22) by showcasing campus sustainability efforts and providing opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to learn and take action.

This year’s Earth Month holds special significance, as Georgia Tech will soon publish its first Climate Action Plan, a road map for reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

“Earth Month presents us with a unique time to honor and safeguard our environment together,” said Vanessa Suarez, sustainability coordinator in the Office of Sustainability. “It's an opportunity for all of us to be inspired and make a positive difference, both locally and globally; a reminder that collective changes yield significant impact.”

Events will be hosted by organizations and departments across campus during the month to learn, celebrate, and share best practices.

Featured Event: Earth Day Sustainable Org Fair and Celebration

Wednesday, April 17, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design

This signature event will feature sustainability-focused departments and student organizations, Earth Month BYO T-shirt screen printing and other textiles, and free King of Pops popsicles. Sign up here to table.

Earth Month Bird Walk – Lullwater (Emory)

Friday, April 5, 10:25 a.m. – 12:35 p.m., Lullwater Preserve, 1463 Clifton Road

Hosted by Georgia Tech Birdwatchers with support from the Office of Sustainability, attendees can observe and learn about birds with club experts at the scenic Lullwater Preserve near Emory’s campus. Binoculars provided.

For registration and additional information, click here.

Tech Beautification Day

Saturday, April 6, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Tech Green

Come get your hands dirty to make our campus green and beautiful at the 25th annual Tech Beautification Day, a volunteering event hosted by the Student Government Association and Infrastructure and Sustainability. The event is capped at 300 volunteers, so sign up today!

For registration and additional information, click here.

Global Media Festival Film Screening: ‘Bigger Than Us’ Documentary + Live Q&A

Sunday, April 7, 2:30 – 5 p.m., John Lewis Student Center, Cypress Theater

Bigger Than Us follows Melati Wijsen, an 18-year-old Indonesian activist fighting plastic pollution in her country as she expands her impact by collaborating with activists across the globe. The screening will be followed by a live virtual discussion with the film’s director, Flore Vasseur.

This event is part of the Global Media Festival, taking place March 29 – April 7 and exploring themes around the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The festival is co-sponsored by the School of Modern Languages; the Atlanta Global Studies Center; the School of Literature, Media, and Communication; and the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems.

For registration and additional information, click here.

EcoCommons Tour

Wednesday, April 10, Noon – 1 p.m., The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design

The 80-acre EcoCommons is one of Georgia Tech’s most impressive sustainability features. Institute Landscape Architect Jason Gregory will lead attendees on a tour to learn about the native performance landscape adjacent to The Kendeda Building.

Carbon Reduction Challenge Info Session – Virtual

Thursday, April 11, 11 – 11:50 a.m., Online

The Carbon Reduction Challenge is a competition focused on empowering students to become part of the climate change solution. Join the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business for a virtual information session to learn more about participating in the challenge this summer.

For registration and more information, click here.

Climate FRESK Workshops

Thursday, April 11, Noon – 3:30 p.m., Kendeda Seminar Room 118
Monday, April 15, 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Kendeda Seminar Room 118
Thursday, April 19, 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., O’Keefe Building, third floor, Sunroom conference room*

Climate FRESK is an internationally recognized workshop based on scientific reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that teaches the fundamental causes and effects of climate change through a collaborative and engaging game. The Office of Sustainability will host three FRESK Workshops throughout April.

*The workshop on April 19 is co-sponsored by the Georgia Tech French Club and will be held partially in French.

For more information and registration, click here.

BBISS Seminar Series: Neha Kumar

Thursday, April 11, 3 – 4 p.m., Hybrid Event – Online and BBISS Offices, 760 Spring Street, Suite 160

Neha Kumar is an associate professor in the School of International Affairs and the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech. She will present a new paper that describes opportunities for human–computer interaction to reimagine the design of sociotechnical systems toward advancing sustainable, just, and humane futures.

For more information and the event link, click here.

Atlanta Global Studies Symposium: Languages of Sustainability and the Global South

Friday, April 12, 8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m., Main Auditorium, Technology Square Research Building

Hosted by the Atlanta Global Studies Center and with support from the Emory University Office of Global Strategy and Initiatives, the symposium will present initiatives that promote global education, language learning, sustainable development, and community engagement. Partners, faculty, students, community organizers, K-12 teachers, and the public are welcome.

For more information and registration, click here.

Frontiers in Science: Climate Action

Thursday, April 18, 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., The Dalney Building

The College of Sciences will convene 100 campus and community stakeholders to discuss groundbreaking research on climate change, challenges, and solutions. More than 25 speakers and panelists from across Georgia Tech and Atlanta will share their work and ideas to address major climate and community challenges. Frontiers will also feature leadership keynotes, a student video showcase with scholarships, networking lunch and reception, and a Strategic Energy Institute interdisciplinary seed grant challenge for assistant professors.

Attendance is by invitation, and registration is limited.
To suggest participants, please contact: events@cos.gatech.edu.

Carbon Reduction Challenge Spring Showcase

Friday, April 19, 2 – 4 p.m., The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design

Eight teams composed of students enrolled in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 3111, “Energy, Environment, and Society,” will present their final semester-long Carbon Reduction Challenge projects. The projects show more than 9 million pounds of carbon dioxide reductions annually while generating yearly savings of over $500 million in energy bills and carbon sequestration. Attendees can enjoy snacks and drinks and vote for their favorite project.

For more information and registration, click here.

Sustain-X Hangout

Tuesday, April 23, 3 p.m. – 4 p.m., Hybrid/Scheller College of Business, Room 4426

A partnership between the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business and CREATE-X, Sustain-X is a Sustainability Next and Georgia Tech strategic plan project. With events occurring on the fourth Tuesday of every month, this session will examine social and environmental entrepreneurship and how to access resources for projects.

For more information and to register, click here.

Interdisciplinary and Critical Approaches to Sustainability

Wednesday, April 24, 2024, 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The Atlanta Global Studies Center will present a conference entitled “Sustainability in a Planet of Diverse Knowledges and Persistent Inequalities.” The event features Georgia Tech faculty panels and keynotes from Nelson Maldonado-Torres and Jessica Hernandez on “Colonial and Decolonial Sustainabilities” and “Indigenous Science: From Local to Global Context,” respectively.

For more information and registration, click here.

BBISS Seminar Series – Fani Boukouvala

Thursday, April 25, 3 – 4 p.m., Hybrid/BBISS Offices, 760 Spring Street, Suite 160

Fani Boukouvala, assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, will present a talk about a new approach for chemical conversion of waste plastics to their original raw materials, including a detailed process modeling of a chemical reactor validated by experimental data, and proceed with simulation of an entire pilot scale facility.

For the event link, click here.

Additional events, volunteer opportunities, and campaigns are posted on the Earth Month calendar. Submit your event to be featured via the Earth Month form.

Summary sentence

April is Earth Month with a full calendar of events open to the campus community.

Summary

April is Earth Month with a full calendar of events open to the campus community.

Dateline

Thu, 04/04/2024 - 12:00

Abby.bower@sustain.gatech.edu

Contact

Abby Bower

Sustainability Program Support Coordinator

Office of Sustainability | sustain.gatech.edu

Infrastructure and Sustainability

Associated importer

Keywords

Facilities Management

office of sustainability

Earth Day

Earth Day 2024

Earth Month 2024

cos-community

cos-climate

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Earth and Environment

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Institute and Campus

Mercury ID

674007

Source updated

Thu, 04/04/2024 - 15:18

‘Janitors’ of the Sea: Overharvested Sea Cucumbers Play Crucial Role in Protecting Coral

admin — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 16:43:41 +0000

‘Janitors’ of the Sea: Overharvested Sea Cucumbers Play Crucial Role in Protecting Coral admin Tue, 02/27/2024 - 11:43

Corals are foundational for ocean life. Known as the rainforests of the sea, they create habitats for 25% of all marine organisms, despite only covering less than 1% of the ocean’s area.

Coral patches the width and height of basketball arenas used to be common throughout the world’s oceans. But due to numerous human-generated stresses and coral disease, which is known to be associated with ocean sediments, most of the world’s coral is gone.

“It’s like if all the pine trees in Georgia disappeared over a period of 30 to 40 years,” said Mark Hay, Regents’ Chair and the Harry and Anna Teasley Chair in Environmental Biology in the School of Biological Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “Just imagine how that affects biodiversity and ecosystems of the ocean.”

In first-of-its-kind research, Hay, along with research scientist Cody Clements, discovered a crucial missing element that plays a profound role in keeping coral healthy — an animal of overlooked importance known as a sea cucumber.

Read about how they figured it out at Georgia Tech Research News.

Summary sentence

In a first-of-its-kind study, the researchers discovered that sea cucumbers protect coral from disease.

Summary

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology discovered that sea cucumbers — sediment-eating organisms that function like autonomous vacuum cleaners of the ocean floor — play an enormous role in protecting coral from disease.

Dateline

Tue, 02/27/2024 - 12:00

catherine.barzler@gatech.edu

Contact

Catherine Barzler, Senior Research Writer/Editor

catherine.barzler@gatech.edu

Associated importer

Keywords

cos-research

cos-climate

cos-microbial

News room topics

Earth and Environment

Mercury ID

673216

Source updated

Tue, 02/27/2024 - 11:43

cos-climate

Ocean ‘Greening’ at Poles Could Spell Changes for Fisheries

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Know Your Stingers

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The Real Mockingbirds

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Nature's Time Machine: How Long-Term Studies Unlock Evolution's Secrets

Decades of discovery — from labs to islands

Important work in a changing world

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Connecting hidden dots

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Earth Month Features Sustainability Events

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‘Janitors’ of the Sea: Overharvested Sea Cucumbers Play Crucial Role in Protecting Coral

Read about how they figured it out at Georgia Tech Research News.

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