大气和海洋科学以及气候研究都建立在物理学，数学，生物学和化学的基本原理之上。“大气，海洋和气候计划”（简称“ PAOC”）涉及许多科学学科，包括动力学和化学海洋学，生物地球化学，大气动力学和化学以及地球化学。在所有领域，PAOC都强调理论，观察和建模方法的综合。大气科学计划强调一种涉及理论，建模，实验和数据分析的综合方法。研究领域包括大气动力学，天气气象学，大气对流，中层大气动力学，热带气象学，大气化学和大气辐射。由于其跨学科的性质，该计划通常包括数学和/或化学研究。最近的研究领域包括臭氧洞，飓风的动力学
Atmospheric and oceanic sciences and the study of climate are founded on the basic principles of physics, mathematics, biology, and chemistry. The Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate [referred to as PAOC] involves many scientific disciplines, including dynamical and chemical oceanography, biogeochemistry, atmospheric dynamics and chemistry, and geochemistry. In all areas, PAOC emphasizes the synthesis of theoretical, observational, and modeling approaches. The Atmospheric Science Program emphasizes an integrated approach involving theory, modeling, experiments, and data analysis. Study areas include atmospheric dynamics, synoptic meteorology, atmospheric convection, dynamics of the middle atmosphere, tropical meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, and atmospheric radiation. Because of its cross-disciplinary nature, the program often includes study in mathematics and/or chemistry. Recent areas of research have included the ozone hole, the dynamics of hurricanes, adaptive sampling, and air-sea interaction. The Climate Science Program capitalizes on the overlapping nature of the atmospheric, oceanic, and geological sciences as they relate to climate and climate change. Students have access to unique expertise in all aspects of climate including paleoclimatology and the geological record, all of atmospheric and oceanic physics and chemistry, fluid dynamical modeling of the climate system, hydrology, and geophysics. Ongoing research activities include the study of high latitude North Atlantic deep-sea cores as records of the climate of the past 200,000 years, coupled models of air-sea interaction developed in MIT's Climate Modeling Initiative, studies of possible mechanisms of the Permo-Triassic Mass extinction, Atlantic Climate Variability, and global biogeochemical cycles.