Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-136). / by Catherine Blair Olkin. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 210-213). / by LuAnne Thompson. / Ph.D.

Thesis: Ph. D. in Climate Physics and Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 125-136). / The role anthropogenic aerosol particles play in the formation and persistence of ice clouds remains one of the most uncertain aspects of understanding past, present, and future climate. Studying how these particles influence ice cloud formation requires careful measurement of their ice nucleating ability as well as robust uncertainty quantification of experimental results. These measurements and their corresponding uncertainties form the basis for parameterizations used in climate models to probe how anthropogenic particle emissions affect climate through ice cloud formation. This type of investigation can help to inform policy decisions about controls on anthropogenic particle emissions. This study aims to clarify the human role in the climate system by 1) developing instrumentation to perform ice nucleation measurements, 2) quantifying the uncertainty associated with these measurements using machine learning algorithms, 3) incorporating measurements and uncertainty quantification in climate model simulations, and 4) using the modeled climate response to help inform policy decisions for anthropogenic particle emissions. / by Sarvesh Garimella. / Ph. D. in Climate Physics and Chemistry

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, 1985. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography: leaves 127-130. / by Piero Malguzzi. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 39-41). / A large population of small, icy bodies orbits the sun just beyond Neptune, known as the Kuiper Belt. These objects, thought to be the progenitors of short period comets, could provide a sample of primordial material in our solar system, constraining solar system formation models. The colors of Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) can indicate different surface compositions, environmental conditions, or formation characteristics within the Kuiper Belt. Data from the Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES, Millis et al. 2002) have been used to determine the plane of the Kuiper Belt, identifying "core" and "halo" populations with respect to this plane (Elliot et al. 2005). By comparing the colors of objects as a function of inclination, trends can be established distinguishing the core and halo populations. Sloan g', r' and i' observations were obtained from the 6.5-m Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory of 14 KBOs, which were combined with previously published data to examine the transition between these two populations as a function of color. For inclination bins containing equal numbers of KBOs, the percentage of red objects (B-R > 1.56, where B-R = 1.56 is the median of the sample) decreases with increasing inclination in a smooth, but nonlinear fashion. / (cont.) This steady decrease could imply that the objects at lower inclinations are less perturbed than those at higher inclinations, resulting in redder surfaces. Additionally, the objects at lower inclinations could represent a primordial population of objects, available to study and to constrain the formation models of the solar system. / by Julia Frances Kane. / S.M.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Michael I. Bergman. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 233-238). / by Antonietta Capotondi. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M. in Atmospheric Science)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-53). / Hurricane activity between 1979 and 2011 was studied to determine damage statistics under different environmental conditions. Hurricanes cause billions of dollars of damage every year in the United States, but damage locations and magnitudes vary from year to year. Seasonal hurricane forecasts predicting the strength of the upcoming hurricane season have the potential to be used by many industries and sectors to reduce and mitigate the effects of hurricanes. However, damage itself is not predicted by these forecasts. This work analyzed trends in hurricane damage due to atmospheric and oceanic conditions, and the results could be applied to and included in seasonal hurricane forecasts, thus increasing forecast applicability and value. This work used synthetic hurricane tracks generated from background climate conditions, a U.S. property portfolio, and a damage function based on wind speed to determine 1979-2011 hurricane damage. Damage was split into La Niña/El Niño and pre-/post- 1995 year sets to determine spatial and temporal trends in U.S. hurricane damage. This work concluded that different regions of the country experienced more or less hurricane damage under different environmental conditions. Knowledge of these trends can be applied to seasonal hurricane forecasts and can influence property owner, regulator, and insurer behavior across the nation. / by Anastasia Francis Maheras. / S.M.in Atmospheric Science

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 1993. / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Linda L. King. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-47). / Atmospheric blocking events disturb synoptic-scale features from their normal eastward progression, causing anomalous weather conditions for the duration of the blocking event. The essence of blocking can be captured by variation of potential temperature ([theta]trop) on the dynamically-defined tropopause, considered as the 2 potential vorticity unit (PVU) surface. A climatology is constructed on winter ERA-40 data (DJFM 1957/58-2001/02) of [theta]trop and wind. The climatology reveals a maximum in blocking activity over the eastern Atlantic. Long-lasting (> 10 days) Atlantic sector (0-45°W) blocks are then identified using a blocking index developed by Pelly and Hoskins (2003), which detects reversals of the usual meridional [theta]trop gradient. A composite of the 32 cases identified reveals that a blocking precursor signal, serving as an indicator of meridional flow preceding the onset of persistent Atlantic blocking episodes, can first be identified over the Pacific two weeks prior to genesis. The composite shows the precursor signal to be consistent with a transitioning positive-to-negative phase PNA, while the composite mature phase of Atlantic blocking resembles the negative phases of the NAO and AO. The results suggest that non-ephemeral blocking is a global, rather than localized, phenomenon. / by Garrett P. Marino. / S.M.