About

In the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, we seek to understand the Earth and the planets. Our students, researchers, and faculty tackle a wide range of problems, from the Sun to the most distant planets, and from the center of the Earth to the tenuous ionized gases of the solar wind. We probe the interior of the Earth using seismic data, laboratory measurements, and computer modeling. We study both the ancient tectonics of the Earth and its ongoing activity. We explore Earth's upper atmosphere using spacecraft to measure magnetic fields and plasmas. Moving outward from Earth, we study other planets, their interiors, surfaces, atmospheres, and particle and field environments.