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Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

The Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences has a great diversity of programs and intersecting disciplines, with faculty and students studying in fields such as Tectonics, Geophysics, Atmospheric Dynamics and Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Biogeochemistry, Climate Change, Severe Weather, Planetary Sciences, Astrobiology, Data Science, and many other areas. We are committed to strategic initiatives in Diversity and Inclusion, Education, Interconnections between the Earth’s interior and surface, climate and sustainability, planetary exploration and spacecraft missions, and the development of emerging fields of study.

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News

Solving for climate: Earth’s next top (climate) model

THIRD POD FROM THE SUN (AGU) — We all know the saying “history repeats itself” but to what extent is that true when it comes to Earth’s climate? In order to understand and even predict future climates, transitions from one historical climate state to another can be mathematically modeled by atmospheric scientists like Dr. Matthew Huber, of Purdue EAPS. However, there’s something special about how anthropogenic climate change is impacting climate transitions, and it’s Dr. Huber’s job to capture this oddity with math!

Cloud computing and blue-sky thinking: An atmospheric scientist illuminates the science of clouds in Earth’s sky and beyond

Dr. Alexandria Johnson, of Purdue EAPS, does hard science on the most nebulous of subjects: clouds. As an atmospheric scientist and assistant professor of practice in Purdue University’s College of Science, she studies clouds wherever they are: in her lab, on Earth, throughout the solar system and into the galaxy.

Polar ice caps may reveal climate history of Mars

Much like the Earth, Mars’ poles are cold and icy. The Martian ice caps have neighboring craters, formed from impacts by meteors, much like the craters you might see on Earth’s Moon. Near the poles, many of these craters are also filled with ice. How did that ice get there? Was it deposited all at the same time? These questions are what a team of scientists at Purdue EAPS have set out to answer. They use radar data collected by a spacecraft orbiting Mars to unlock these icy time capsules’ hidden historic secrets.

Mike Sori receives NASA Planetary Science Early Career Award to pursue planetary geophysics

Big dreams of exploring the planets in our Solar System with spacecrafts led Dr. Mike Sori to a career in planetary geophysics. He is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). NASA has rewarded his determination to study the geophysics of our planets with a Planetary Science Early Career Award.

PERiLS at Purdue aims to save lives by studying tornadoes that form along squall lines

In light of recent extreme storms creating havoc across several states and producing multiple tornadoes, it is clear that preparedness and research for tornadoes and storms save lives. Dr. Daniel Dawson, Assistant Professor of Purdue EAPS, leads a team of researchers and students at Purdue University as part of a large field program called PERiLS and they are on a mission to study how tornadoes develop within thunderstorms that form along lines, sometimes called "squall lines” or quasi-linear convective systems (QLCSs).

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