About Us
Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the benefit of humanity.
Sep 01, 2019... Among the many ongoing changes inflicted on our climate and atmosphere, the increase in CO2 level has been the most consistent, with about 1.5-2 ppm annual increase. CO2 is the substrate for plant photosynthesis, and hence the expectation that the more CO2 we emit to the air, the more CO2 is available for plant growth. Indeed, CO2 fertilization has been used successfully to increase yields in greenhouses. Yet, in the majority of scenarios outside the greenhouse, plant growth is limited by other factors, such as light, water, and nutrients. Therefore, so far, global crop yields have not benefitted from surplus CO2.
Aug 05, 2019...
JERUSALEM, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) – Researchers from Israel, China, the United States and Switzerland have found that water accumulated in an ancient aquifer in the south part of the Israel is 360,000 years old, the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS), located in central Israel, reported on Sunday.
The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), help expose global climate change processes.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/using-science-to-save-our-oceans/
Jul 18, 2019...
It’s the height of summer – time to hit the beach, whether for an afternoon or a week or two. People love the ocean and have always been drawn to it, but as much as it affects us, we affect it, too.
The ocean's health is crucial to the planet’s health – and ours. That’s why the devastating impacts from climate change are so concerning: as the temperatures warm, glaciers melt, and seawater becomes more acidic, as fish and mammals are overfished, the oceans are dying.
Sep 02, 2019...
A view of Earth from space. Two billion years ago the planet would have looked very different. Researchers have now found evidence of a massive die-off event from this time. NASA/GSFC
Scientists have discovered a mass die-off that took place two billion years ago—with up to 99.5 percent of life on Earth disappearing. The massive die-off saw more of the planet’s biosphere vanish than when the dinosaurs were wiped off the face of the planet 65 million years ago, researchers say.
Oct 31, 2019... The ocean is one of the largest and most mysterious ecosystems on Earth. In the tenth episode of Weizmann in Focus, Dave Doneson describes the fascinating research of Weizmann Profs. Ilan Koren and Assaf Vardi who set sail aboard the Tara schooner to unlock some of these mysteries. They were among a select group of scientists who traveled thousands of kilometers across all the world’s oceans to advance research and increase environmental awareness. The research conducted on board the schooner yielded hundreds of scientific papers as well as a better understanding of the ocean ecosystem and how it impacts the entire planet.
May 28, 2020...
California's giant Sequoias can live for more than 3,000 years, their trunks stretching two car lengths in diameter, their branches reaching nearly 300 feet toward the clouds. But a few years ago, amid a record drought, scientists noticed something odd. A few of these arboreal behemoths inside Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks were dying in ways no one had ever documented—from the top down.
When researchers climbed into the canopies, they discovered that cedar bark beetles had bored into a few branches. By 2019, at least 38 of the trees had died—not a large number, but “concerning because we’ve never observed this before,” says Christy Brigham, the park’s chief of resource management.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/the-magnetic-history-of-ice/
Jun 29, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 29, 2020—The history of our planet has been written, among other things, in the periodic reversal of its magnetic poles. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science propose a new means of reading this historic record: in ice. Their findings, which were recently reported in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, could lead to a refined method of probing ice cores and, in the future, might be applied to understanding the magnetic history of other bodies in our solar system, including Mars and Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Jul 01, 2020...
Israeli researchers have discovered collaboration between trees deep in the ground, Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) in central Israel said Wednesday.
In their study, WIS researchers found underground intricate networks of fungi connecting the roots of different tree species with one another.
These networks enable the trees to exchange of minerals, nutrients, water and carbon, while funneling carbon to the fungi in return.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/a-damaging-storm-s-nourishing-side/
Jul 13, 2020...
Godzilla. Biblical. Historic. Muy malo. Even “new” (although it’s not; most people just haven’t heard of it).
This is the Saharan Air Layer – often given noms de guerre such as “African dust storm” – an approximately 5,000-mile-long, 2-mile-high plume of dust. It is a “phenomenon that develops every year off the coast of Africa,” writes Slate, “where powerful winds from thunderstorms over the Sahel can push the dust many thousands of feet up into the atmosphere.”
Oct 07, 2020...
Finally, some positive news about climate change: Even small groves in your backyard or city park help fight the effects of rising temperatures, drought and greenhouse gases.
“Urban orchards and green spaces can contribute to a range of ecosystem services,” writes Weizmann Institute of Science postdoctoral researcher Rafat Qubaja in a soon-to-be-published paper.
Those “services” include storing carbon, reducing air pollution, regulating the urban microclimate, cooling and shading, retaining rainwater and soil moisture, recharging groundwater and more.
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