About Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (formerly Geology and Geophysics) explores the way the Earth works and the processes that shape our evolving planet. Our department is small and friendly, with a faculty that integrates a strong commitment to quality teaching with an active research program that spans a broad array of topics in the Earth and Environmental Sciences. Our undergraduate major programs and our graduate program prepare students for careers in the geosciences and related fields. Research opportunities are available for students to work with our faculty studying the Earth’s complex systems and the interrelations among the solid earth, the hydrosphere, the biosphere, and the atmosphere. Our students learn to be scientifically literate citizens of planet Earth, well prepared to address the challenges and opportunities of maintaining a habitable planet for future generations.

Research Concentrations

• Coastal and Estuarine Processes
• Earthquake and Exploration Seismology
• Environmental Geology and Geophysics
• Earth Surface Processes
• Groundwater Hydrology
• Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
• Geochemistry
• Dynamics and Processes of Sedimentary Systems
• Plate Tectonics
• Structural Geology
• Biochemical Evolution and Astrobiology

in the news

On May 24 Weston Observatory recorded the following three earthquakes.

Sea of Okhotsk, magnitude 8.3 (strong shaking near bottom of seismogram, blue arrow)
Northern California, magnitude 5.7 (smaller signal just above Sea of Okhotsk signal, green arrow) USA Today
Tonga, magnitude 7.4 (smaller signal near top of seismogram, red arrow)

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