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Geoscience Impacts Nearly Every Aspect of Our Lives

From sustainable energy and climate change, to earthquakes, volcanoes, rivers and glaciers, from the origin of life on Earth to the potential for life on other planets, we lead in educating and inspiring the next generation of scientists.

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Degrees and Programs

The Department of Earth and Space Sciences offers an expansive educational experience. We provide a rigorous interdisciplinary program in which students develop an understanding of the fundamentals of Earth, space, and planetary sciences, and learn relevant skills for a variety of careers.

Research in Earth and Space Sciences

The Earth and space sciences — geology, geophysics, geobiology and geochemistry — play a critical and unique role in the advancement of knowledge, improvement of the quality of life, and in understanding humanity’s place in the universe. Research in Earth and space sciences draws on methods and theory from chemistry, physics, biology and computational sciences.

Faculty in our department are concerned both with fundamental research and with the dissemination of Earth-science knowledge in the service of society.

Limited resources, geologic hazards, and related environmental change are among the most serious challenges we face.  We use our expertise to provide the training and education required to address these challenges, and we are engaged in serious efforts to include a more diverse community of scientists, students and stakeholders than in the past.

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News

| In the News

UW earthquake sensors capture World Cup excitement

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, housed within the UW Department of Earth and Space Sciences, is once again using its earthquake-sensing equipment to connect with sports fans. As Seattle hosts FIFA World Cup matches over the next few weeks, PNSN will use some of the same seismometers that provide early warning for earthquakes to track the excitement and energy of the crowds.

Read more on UW News
| In the News, Student Spotlight

ESS undergrad researcher studies some of Earth’s oldest ice

When the opportunity arose to work with 5 million-year-old ice from Antarctica, Hailey Smith jumped at the chance. Smith, a fourth-year ESS undergraduate student, had spent the past year working with ESS graduate student mentor Liam Kirkpatrick on a research project to decipher the origins of layering in ice core segments from Antarctica. These ice cores give us insights into atmospheric conditions millions of years ago.

This work builds on a method Kirkpatrick developed with advisors T.J. Fudge and Eric Steig that uses 3-D electrical conductivity mapping, along with isotope measurements, to reveal centimeter-scale changes in ice composition, giving Smith hands-on exposure to cutting-edge geoscience research.

Smith and Kirkpatrick were paired as a research team through their involvement with the UW College of the Environment’s Identity, Belonging and Inquiry in Science (IBIS) mentoring program that connects undergraduate students interested in research with graduate student mentors in the geosciences.

Read more at the College of the Environment
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