Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
boston college
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
Virginia Earthquake
Weston Observatory recorded the August 23, 2011 magnitude 5.8 earthquake centered in Virginia and felt up and down the east coast. Observatory seismologists, John Ebel (Director), Michael Hagerty (Seismic Network Operations Manager), and Alan Kafka (Associate Director) were interviewed by dozens of media outlets about the earthquake. Media sampling: WCVB-TV | WBZ-TV | NECN | Boston Globe | Boston Herald | Forbes | International Business Times | WBUR.
Young Graphite in Old Rocks Challenges
Earliest Signs of Life
Earth and Environmental Sciences Assistant Professor Dominic Papineau and colleagues report in the journal Nature Geoscience that high-tech testing reveals tell-tale carbon deposits laced throughout ancient rock may actually be millions of years younger than the rock itself, raising questions about the timing of life's early emergence.