“Our research is doing the preparatory work to determine what and where we can measure further magnetic evidence of the ocean beneath Europa’s surface. When the spacecraft arrives, we will find out whether our predictions are correct.”
— Professor Sven Simon

Georgia Tech Professor Sven Simon and his team are using advanced computer simulations to understand Europa’s complex plasma and electromagnetic environment. This research will help scientists interpret data collected by the Europa Clipper spacecraft.

“If there is a way to update this scale or devise a new scale that both accounts for all types of hurricane hazards and is something that is digestible to the general public, this could be helpful in the future.”
- Zachary Handlos, director of the B.S. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences program

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale does not account for other major hazards like storm surge, inland flooding, tornadoes, and storm size. That’s why experts like Georgia Tech's Zachary Handlos suggest that creating a comprehensive system could improve public understanding of hurricane risks.

"By turning complicated models and satellite data into simple predictive equations, we’re giving climate models a new lens to see the future. It’s a small piece of the puzzle, but one that helps us understand how ice sheets respond to a warming world."
- Danielle Grau, Ph.D. student and study lead

The research team, which included @iceclimate.bsky.social, leveraged physics, model simulations, and satellite imagery to develop simple mathematical equations that can easily be integrated into existing climate models.
It’s a first-of-its-kind tool that is already improving climate models.