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The lowest layer of the atmosphere, known as the boundary layer, is critical for predicting and understanding weather events. 

Emily Shor, from Swarthmore, has been named the student marshal for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ spring 2026 commencement ceremony.

Zuleima Karpyn (left), associate dean for graduate education and research in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, presenting Shimin Liu, the George H. Jr. and Anne B. Deike Chair in Mining Engineering, with 2026 Wilson Award Excellence in Research. 

Weather phenomenon that eluded scientists for decades captured in nature as corona discharges glow on tips of leaves

Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science mourn the loss of John A. Dutton, who died on Feb. 13, at the age of 89.

An eddy-covariance flux tower near irrigated cotton fields in San Joaquin Valley was installed in August 2023 at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources experimental fields to continuously measure exchanges of heat, moisture and momentum between the land surface and atmosphere.

William Brune, distinguished professor of meteorology and atmospheric science at Penn State, was awarded the 2026 Warren Washington Research and Leadership Medal. 

ICECHIP was designed to improve hail detection, modeling and forecasting by collecting ground-truth observations of hail size, structure, and impact and addresses five research themes: hailstone growth and fall behavior, improving hail trajectory models, improving hail forecasting, how environmental factors influence hail production, and linking hailstone growth and damage to radar observations. 

Penn State researchers have found that tidal freshwater marshes along the Delaware River may act as major traps for microplastics, capturing large amounts of plastic particles before they reach the ocean. The findings challenge the traditional understanding of where plastic pollution accumulates and were recently discussed on the Institute of Energy and the Environment’s (IEE) “Growing Impact” podcast. 

Yvette Richardson, senior associate dean for undergraduate education and professor of meteorology in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, became the seventh in her field to earn the Nikolai Dotzek Award, the most prestigious prize in the severe weather research community.