Department of Earth Sciences
Understanding Planet Earth and its interrelated processes is complex. How has it evolved? Why are there earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain chains, continents and oceans? What can we learn about climate variability? And most important, what can we do with this knowledge?
The study of Earth sciences combines experiential learning, interdisciplinary study and a culture of innovation and discovery.
Coursework will provide you the basis for:
- Understanding natural hazards.
- Assessing climate variability and global change.
- Predicting the migration of man-made pollutants.
- Exploring the energy and mineral resources upon which society depends.
- The nature of our planet and insights into some of humanity’s deepest questions.
In addition to coursework, you can take advantage of extensive field and extracurricular opportunities and gain hands-on experience. Work with a faculty member on a research project, participate in an intensive field study or join the Geology Club.
Faculty have diverse interests in the nature of our planet and are heavily committed to research and education in these fields:
- Solid earth sciences
- Paleoclimatology
- Water resources
Field-based research brings faculty and students to every continent on the planet to collect observational data. State-of-the art laboratory and computing facilities allow for sophisticated analytical and numerical study of Earth systems. You’ll be broadly trained in field work, geochemical and geophysical methods, quantitative analysis and professional skills.
As a scholar-scientist, you’ll be prepared and sought-after by employers. Graduates are well placed in academic, government and private sector positions. They are prepared for careers in:
- Geology
- Hydrology
- Paleontology
- Oceanography
- Climate and environmental sciences.
Events
Events
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Upcoming Events
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Books by Earth Sciences Faculty
Recent News
Petroleum Experts to Donate MOVE Software Licenses to Syracuse
Earth sciences department will use software, valued at $2.2 million, for geological modeling, structural analysis of Earth's interior
SU Geologist is Co-Editor of New Major Book on Fission-Track Thermochronology
Blog Posts/Archived News
Scientists Link Marine Dead Zone to Carbon Cycle, Climate Change
Associate Professor Zunli Lu says tropical Pacific played major role in absorbing Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide during last ice age
SU Geologists Contribute to New Understanding of Mekong River Incision
Latest Publications
Lossada, A., L. Giambiagi, G. Hoke, P.G. Fitzgerald, J. Mescua, J. Suriano, A. Aguilar, 2020. Detrital thermochronology reveals major middle Miocene exhumation of the eastern flank of the Andes predates the Pampean flat-slab (33º-33.5ºS) Tectonics. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019TC005764
Malusà, M.G. and P.G. Fitzgerald, 2020. The geologic interpretation of the detrital thermochronology record within a stratigraphic framework, with examples from the European Alps, Taiwan and the Himalayas. Earth Science Reviews v. 201, 103074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.103074
Farrell, J. A. (2020). Mapping the four‐dimensional viscosity field of an experimental lava flow. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 125, e2019JB018815. https://doi.org/ 10.1029/2019JB018815
Trop, J., J.A. Benowitz, D. Koepp, D. Sunderlin, M. Brueseke, P. Layer, and P.G. Fitzgerald, 2020, Stitch in the Ditch: Nutzotin Mountains (Alaska) fluvial strata and a dike record ~117-114 Ma suturing of the Wrangellia terrane with western North America and initiation of the Totschunda Fault. Geosphere, v. 16, 82–110, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02127.1