Uploaded November 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The New England Aquarium Lecture Series and the Lorenz Center of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT present the John Carlson Lecture featuring Dr. Jess Adkins.
With the burning of fossil fuels, the human race is conducting an experiment of unprecedented magnitude—carbon dioxide (CO2) is warming the planet and we are not sure how this will turn out. Even as we move to electrify the economy and leave fossil fuels behind, we must find ways to remove CO2 from the Earth’s atmosphere to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change. Reducing CO2 emissions alone is no longer enough. In this talk, Dr. Adkins—a chemical oceanographer who studies the history of the Earth’s climate—shares how a project that started with the basic science question of ‘How quickly do corals dissolve when the ocean acidifies?’ turned into a possible way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at scale.
Dr. Jess Adkins is the Smits Family Professor of Geochemistry and Global Environmental Science in the California Institute of Technology’s Department of Environmental Science and Engineering. As a chemical oceanographer, Dr. Adkins focuses on geochemical investigations of past climates using corals, sediments, and their interstitial waters; rate of deep ocean circulation and its relation to mechanisms of rapid climate changes; metals as tracers of environmental processes; and radiocarbon and U-series chronology. After completing a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Haverford College, Dr. Adkins earned his Ph.D. studying chemical oceanography, paleoclimatology, and geochemistry in the MIT – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. He joined the faculty of the California Institute of Technology in 2000.
The John Carlson Lecture Series communicates exciting new results in climate science to the general public. Free of charge and open to the general public, this lecture is made possible by a generous gift from MIT alumnus John H. Carlson to the Lorenz Center in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, MIT, and is presented in partnership with the New England Aquarium and the Lowell Institute.
The New England Aquarium Lecture Series and the Lorenz Center of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT present the John Carlson Lecture featuring Dr. Jess Adkins.
With the burning of fossil fuels, the human race is conducting an experiment of unprecedented magnitude—carbon dioxide (CO2) is warming the planet and we are not sure how this will turn out. Even as we move to electrify the economy and leave fossil fuels behind, we must find ways to remove CO2 from the Earth’s atmosphere to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change. Reducing CO2 emissions alone is no longer enough. In this talk, Dr. Adkins—a chemical oceanographer who studies the history of the Earth’s climate—shares how a project that started with the basic science question of ‘How quickly do corals dissolve when the ocean acidifies?’ turned into a possible way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at scale.
Dr. Jess Adkins is the Smits Family Professor of Geochemistry and Global Environmental Science in the California Institute of Technology’s Department of Environmental Science and Engineering. As a chemical oceanographer, Dr. Adkins focuses on geochemical investigations of past climates using corals, sediments, and their interstitial waters; rate of deep ocean circulation and its relation to mechanisms of rapid climate changes; metals as tracers of environmental processes; and radiocarbon and U-series chronology. After completing a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Haverford College, Dr. Adkins earned his Ph.D. studying chemical oceanography, paleoclimatology, and geochemistry in the MIT – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. He joined the faculty of the California Institute of Technology in 2000.
The John Carlson Lecture Series communicates exciting new results in climate science to the general public. Free of charge and open to the general public, this lecture is made possible by a generous gift from MIT alumnus John H. Carlson to the Lorenz Center in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, MIT, and is presented in partnership with the New England Aquarium and the Lowell Institute.
