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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

| Publications, In the News

The north pole of Mars is less dusty than scientists thought

A study from the APL’s Aditya Khuller, ESS affiliate assistant professor, and former ESS undergraduate student Pari Mohan shows that the top layer of ice contains approximately 3% dust by mass, compared to previous estimates of 25%. A dusty layer of frost covers the ice in the winter but disappears in the summer, revealing cleaner, older ice. Studying the ice on Mars gives researchers more information about what the climate used to be like, and whether the planet is or was ever habitable.

Read the full story on UW News
| In the News

September research highlights: New capybara fossil changes the forecast for the ancient Atacama region

This highlight features a recent paper co-authored by ESS Adjunct Professor Caroline Strömberg, UW professor of biology. Capybaras like their habitats wet and thrive in low-elevation wetlands. Researchers were surprised to find an 8.8 million-year-old fossilized capybara tooth in northern Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the driest regions on Earth.

Read more at UW News
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