Geosciences

Department's website

Research areas in Geosciences

The Department of Geosciences does research relating to geology, geography, natural resources and environmental sciences. The program integrates topics ranging from geochemistry of the Earth's interior to environmental policy on the earth's surface.

There is a strong interest in environmental systems, surface and subsurface earth processes, the utilization of advanced techniques for measuring or mapping the earth, and applying the findings to answer policy relevant questions. The department has active research groups focusing on six broad areas:

Resource geography - the human use of earth resources

Volcanic petrology and geochemistry - the study of the processes and products of volcanic systems

Geographic information science - cartography, remote sensing, spatial analysis, visualization, and geographic information systems.

Water resource science and policy - Eco-hydrology, Fluvial Geomorphology, Hydrogeology, and Snow Hydrology

Active tectonics and earthquake geology - tectonic geomorphology, subduction zone dynamics, extensional tectonics, and orogenic belt development

Ecosystem informatics - interface between biogeography, computer sciences, mathematics and geosciences

Climatology and climate change - the spatial distribution of weather patterns and their relationship to time and natural and human factors