College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences

About the OSU College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS): The college is renowned for research excellence and academic programs that span the earth, ocean and climate sciences, as well as the human dimensions of environmental change. CEOAS inspires scientific solutions for Oregon and the world.

Researchers find new species of electricity-conducting organism, name it after Tribe

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Scientists have identified a novel species of bacteria that acts as electrical wiring, potentially ushering in a new era of bioelectronic devices for use in medicine, industry, food safety, and environmental monitoring and cleanup.

The researchers who discovered the new cable bacteria species in a mud flat at the Oregon coast named it Ca. Electrothrix yaqonensis in honor of the Native Americans of the region where the species was found.

New Oregon climate assessment documents continued warming and signs of adaptation

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon is becoming warmer and more prone to drought and will see less snow due to climate change, but people and businesses are also adapting to the challenges of a warming planet, the latest Oregon Climate Assessment indicates.

The assessment, released today by the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University, shows that Oregon’s annual average temperature increased by 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century and is likely to become as much as 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer by 2074.

Increased wildfire activity may be a feature of past periods of abrupt climate change, study finds

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study investigating ancient methane trapped in Antarctic ice suggests that global increases in wildfire activity likely occurred during periods of abrupt climate change throughout the last Ice Age.

The study, just published in the journal Nature, reveals increased wildfire activity as a potential feature of these periods of abrupt climate change, which also saw significant shifts in tropical rainfall patterns and temperature fluctuations around the world.

New ice core data provides insight into climate ‘tipping points’ during the last Ice Age

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A changing climate triggers a sudden shift in ocean circulation, creating weather havoc and plunging Earth into an abrupt new Ice Age.

It sounds like the basis for a Hollywood blockbuster - the 2004 science fiction disaster film “The Day After Tomorrow,” has similar plot lines – but it’s actually a scenario that played out multiple times during the last Ice Age, which ended more than 11,000 years ago.

OSU researchers complete electrical mapping project critical to protecting the U.S. power grid

CORVALLIS, Ore. –  A nearly 20-year effort to map the electrical properties of Earth’s crust and mantle across the contiguous United States, viewed as critical to protecting the electrical grid during extreme solar storms and against damage from electromagnetic pulses used as weapons, is now complete.

The 3-D geoelectric map produced by researchers provides vital information to scientists, power companies and others that helps them understand how the naturally occurring geomagnetic currents under the surface interface with the power grid.

Study of urban moss raises concerns about lead levels in older Portland neighborhoods

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Lead levels in moss are as much as 600 times higher in older Portland neighborhoods where lead-sheathed telecommunications cables were once used compared to lead levels in nearby rural areas, a new study of urban moss has found.

The findings raise concerns about lead exposure in pre-1960 neighborhoods where the cables were common and in some cases are still in place even though they are no longer in use, said Alyssa Shiel, an environmental geochemist at Oregon State University, and the study’s lead author.

Researchers enhance tool to better predict where and when wildfires will occur

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A newly enhanced database is expected to help wildfire managers and scientists better predict where and when wildfires may occur by incorporating hundreds of additional factors that impact the ignition and spread of fire.

“There is a tremendous amount of interest in what enables wildfire ignitions and what can be done to prevent them,” said Erica Fleishman, an Oregon State University professor. “This database increases the ability to access relevant information and contribute to wildfire preparedness and prevention.”

Researchers identify fastest rate of natural carbon dioxide rise over the last 50,000 years

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Today’s rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase is 10 times faster than at any other point in the past 50,000 years, researchers have found through a detailed chemical analysis of ancient Antarctic ice.

The findings, just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide important new understanding of abrupt climate change periods in Earth’s past and offer new insight into the potential impacts of climate change today.

Hypoxia is widespread and increasing in the ocean off the Pacific Northwest coast

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Low oxygen conditions that pose a significant threat to marine life are widespread and increasing in coastal Pacific Northwest ocean waters as the climate warms, a new study shows.

Researchers found that in 2021, more than half the continental shelf off the Pacific Northwest coast experienced the low-oxygen condition known as hypoxia, said the study’s lead author, Jack Barth of Oregon State University.