• The geological sciences are naturally interdisciplinary and include: the study of earth materials, earth processes, and how they have changed over Earth's 4.56 billion year history.
  • More specifically, courses and research within the department address: the chemical and physical makeup and properties of minerals, rocks, soils, sediments, and water.
  • The formation and evolution of Earth and other planets; the processes that deform Earth's crust and shape Earth's surface; the stratigraphic, paleobiological, and geochemical records of Earth history including changes in climate, oceans, and atmosphere; present-day, historical, and long-term feedbacks between the geosphere and biosphere, and the origin and occurrence of our natural resources.