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Date: February 23, 2021
Carbon and oxygen isotopes in cave formations as a climatic archive
Read More about Carbon and oxygen isotopes in cave formations as a climatic archiveCave formations, known as speleothems, grow slowly, layer by layer in karstic caves made of limestone for thousands of years, during which carbonate minerals precipitate from groundwater that drips and flows over the speleothem surface. In new research conducted by Dr. Ziv Sade and Prof. Itay Halevy from the department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the Weizmann Institute, together with colleagues from the University of Mainz, they investigated the potential effect of speleothem geometry on its isotopic composition.
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Date: January 28, 2021
In honor of Tu Bishvat, the holiday of trees – where to plant a forest?
Read More about In honor of Tu Bishvat, the holiday of trees – where to plant a forest?In the year 2000, Prof. Dan Yakir, the 2019 Israel prize recipient for Earth sciences, established the research station in the Yatir forest in order to explore the interplay between vegetation, the atmosphere, and the climate system. Recent findings from data analysis of the measurements conducted at the station indicate a considerable carbon sink potential in semiarid soils and forest plantations, and imply that afforestation of even 10% of semiarid land area under conditions similar to that of the study site, could sequester ~400 billion kg of carbon per year over several decades.
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Date: January 18, 2021
Introducing Rei Chemke, the newest faculty member at the EPS
Read More about Introducing Rei Chemke, the newest faculty member at the EPS2020 wasn’t the easiest year, one might say it was somewhat apocalyptic. Still, it also had some bright moments. One of them, for the department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, was the addition of Rei Chemke as a principal investigator. Rei’s research focuses on climate dynamics. He’s interested in large scale processes, particularly in the atmospheric and oceanic flows, temperature and sea ice due to both natural and anthropogenic processes.
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Date: January 13, 2021
The most accurate clock of its kind to be sent to Jupiter
Read More about The most accurate clock of its kind to be sent to JupiterIsraelis are not usually known for their exceptional punctuality, but Prof. Yohai Kaspi and Dr. Eli Galanti of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Earth and Planetary Sciences designed a clock so accurate, it will lose less than a second in ten million years. Kaspi is the PI of the atmospheric science experiment of the European Space Agency’s JUICE mission to Jupiter. The clock will be used to perform atmospheric radio-occultations of Jupiter in order to study the properties of its atmosphere.
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Date: December 22, 2020
Plastic is Blowing in the Wind
Read More about Plastic is Blowing in the WindAs the plastic in our oceans breaks up into smaller and smaller bits without breaking down chemically, the resulting microplastics are becoming a serious ecological problem. A new study at the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals a troubling aspect of microplastics – defined as particles smaller than 5 mm across. They are swept up into the atmosphere and carried on the wind to far-flung parts of the ocean, including those that appear to be clear.
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Date: November 25, 2020
Entering the Cloud “Twilight Zone”
Read More about Entering the Cloud “Twilight Zone”Clouds: We see them as objects with clear-cut shapes and outlines. The satellites that collect cloud data and the climate models built on this data work on this supposition as well. But the line between “cloudy” and “clear” is much hazier than we think.
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Date: October 27, 2020
Cool in the Shade: How Ice Could Exist Near the Lunar Surface
Read More about Cool in the Shade: How Ice Could Exist Near the Lunar SurfaceIf humans are to establish any sort of settlement on the Moon, they might do so near one of its poles, where its meager supply of water is stored in the form of ice. That ice has been detected in difficult-to-reach spots: at the bottoms of large, deep craters, down where sunshine cannot reach and temperatures remain below -160o Centigrade.
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Date: October 25, 2020
Congratulations to Prof. Brian Berkowitz
Awarded the 2021 John Dalton Medal by the European Geosciences Union -
Date: July 29, 2020
Congratulations to Prof. Yinon Rudich
Elected as a Member of the Academia Europaea -
Date: June 27, 2020
The Magnetic History of Ice
Read More about The Magnetic History of IceThe history of our planet has been written, among other things, in the periodic reversal of its magnetic poles. Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science propose a new means of reading this historic record: in ice.
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Date: June 16, 2020
Congratulations to Prof. Itay Halevy
Elected as a Member of the Israel Young Academy -
Date: May 25, 2020
Congratulations to Dr. Eli Galanti
Maxine Singer Prize for Outstanding Staff Scientists -
Date: May 13, 2020
NASA’s Next Destination? Israelis Hopeful as Trident Team in the Finals
Read More about NASA’s Next Destination? Israelis Hopeful as Trident Team in the FinalsIf life does exist outside of Earth in our Solar System, it could be hiding in subterranean oceans flowing under the surface of icy moons. One of the most promising candidates for such an underground liquid body is Triton – aptly named for the son of the sea god Neptune – the planet around which it orbits.
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Date: October 28, 2019
Congratulations to Prof. Brian Berkowitz
Elected as a member in the Academia Scientiarium et Artium Europaea -
Date: August 18, 2019
How Hot Was the Ocean?
Read More about How Hot Was the Ocean?Geoscientists studying the conditions prevailing in Earth’s earliest oceans have been in disagreement for the past half century. Some, working backwards, think the first ocean was extremely hot – at least 70˚ Celsius – while others believe it was closer to the 15˚C we enjoy today.
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Date: May 9, 2019
Israel Prize for Earth Sciences to Prof. Dan Yakir
Read More about Israel Prize for Earth Sciences to Prof. Dan YakirThe 2019 Israel Prize for Earth Sciences will go to Prof. Dan Yakir of the Weizmann Institute of Science. The Prize committee chose Prof.
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Date: March 16, 2019
Beresheet Lunar Landing Site Revealed
Read More about Beresheet Lunar Landing Site RevealedThe main scientific instrument on board the Israeli Beresheet spacecraft, the SpaceIL Magnetometer (SILMAG), has now been successfully turned on in space and data returned to Earth. After its successful launch, Beresheet is circling Earth on its journey to the Moon. Prof.
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Date: March 13, 2019
Can an Antifreeze Protein also Promote Ice Formation?
Read More about Can an Antifreeze Protein also Promote Ice Formation?Antifreeze is life’s means of surviving in cold winters: Natural antifreeze proteins help fish, insects, plants and even bacteria live through low temperatures that should turn their liquid parts to deadly shards of ice. Strangely enough, in very cold conditions, the same proteins can also promote the growth of ice crystals. This was the finding of experiments carried out in Israel and Germany using proteins taken from fish and beetles.
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Date: January 16, 2019
Saturn’s Atmosphere Proves Deep, Its Rings Young
Read More about Saturn’s Atmosphere Proves Deep, Its Rings YoungCassini was one of the more successful planetary missions, orbiting and returning information on Saturn and its moons for the last 20 years. But as the mission was approaching its end, it was decided to end its life with a non-circular orbit swinging in very close to the planet, followed by a final plunge into the gaseous mass. Kaspi and Galanti joined the Cassini team following their work as part of NASA’s Juno science team, which had employed a similar orbit to produce the most reliable measurements yet of Jupiter’s atmospheric depth.
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Date: January 8, 2019
Congratulations to Prof. Yinon Rudich
The Henri Gutwirth Research Award