Research

From Earth’s Core to Outer Space

Our faculty are constantly working on a variety of ongoing and overlapping research projects that involve undergraduate and graduate students. Research topics range widely across geophysics, hydrology, climate change, geomorphology, paleontology, and more. Click on a theme below to learn more about our research and opportunities!

Professor Visscher conducting research on microbes

Research Themes

Climate

Climate

Cumulus cloud above mountain

Understanding the past is critical for informing our future. We perform chemical and biological analyses and model simulations to learn how Earth’s climate has changed on time scales of decades to millions of years. Our work puts human driven climate change in the context of Earth’s history. Projects involve hurricanes, monsoons, ocean circulation, polar climate, and much more.

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Environment

Environment

Lake ecosystem with lots of flowers

We work in the interdisciplinary field of environmental science through the lens of Earth’s history. Our research uses a combination of remote sensing, local sampling, and computer modeling to learn how our environment has and will continue to evolve. Foci include ecosystem loss and recovery, water pollution, remediation, and anthropogenic change.

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Geodynamics

Geodynamics

Simulation of Earth's magnetic field

Faculty use observations, data science, and computer models to understand the materials, structure and processes of Earth’s interior.  Surface manifestations of these processes include tectonics, seismicity, gravity, heat, magnetism, and atmospheric chemistry.

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Paleobiology

Paleobiology

Late Miocene conifer shoot from New Zealand

Our faculty explore the co-evolution of Earth and life through time from its abiotic origin to the present mass extinction. Through Earth’s history, life has shaped the environment and vice versa. Research in the lab and field, and ranges from microbes to dinosaurs, from extremophiles to critically endangered species, and from the origins of life to mass extinction.

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Surface Processes

Surface Processes

High energy river erosion in Taiwan

We investigate how Earth's lithologically heterogeneous surface is shaped by the solar-driven agents of wind, water, biology, and humanity. By collecting, measuring, and modeling sedimentary deposits and landforms, we reveal the processes that have shaped the planetary surface. Research involves all aspects of the Earth system, ranging from glacial erosion to aeolian dust, to river transport, and to human makeovers.

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Tectonics

Tectonics

Humpata Plateau Angola

Our research takes us from the highest peaks to the deepest depths. Through field and lab work, we study the geodynamic processes that shape earth's crustal plates over millions of years, creating topography at multiple scales. Topics include the formation of mountain belts, the creation and destruction of crust, and structure of Earth’s upper layers.

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