The Earth and environmental sciences are aimed at understanding Earth's dynamic history — how Earth "works" and records its origin and age in rocks and landscapes — and how geological processes affect modern environmental and ecological systems.  Among the natural sciences, ours is the quintessential interdisciplinary science, providing vital perspective on how Earth's physical and geochemical templates simultaneously sustain and threaten life, and influence human interactions with Earth.

Congratulations to our 2009 graduates!

"Future Trends: How to Live Sustainably", a book compiled by first-year seminar students in
Professor John Ayers' Sustainability: An Environmental Science Perspective course gets attention from
The Vanderbilt Hustler in a recent article about their green effort contributions.

Ours is a vibrant, cohesive department aimed at the highest standards of scholarship.  Faculty and students at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels pursue studies that address fundamental questions in the Earth and environmental sciences, spanning deep geological timescales to human timescales.  Our research programs are well-funded.  Projects are supported by state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and instrumentation, including computational infrastructure, and they are topically and geographically diverse.  Current projects are underway in many parts of the U.S., Asia, South America and Antarctica, and include field, laboratory, analytical and modeling components.


FACULTY

John C. Ayers — Experimental Petrology, High-Temperature Geochemistry
Larisa R. G. DeSantis — Paleoecology and Paleoclimates
David Jon Furbish — Hydrology, Geomorphology, Fluid Mechanics
Jonathan M. Gilligan — Atmospheric Science, Science Policy
Steven L. Goodbred, Jr. — Sedimentology and Quaternary Environments
Guilherme Gualda — Igneous Petrology and Volcanism
Calvin F. Miller — Igneous Petrology, Continental Tectonics
Molly F. Miller — Paleoecology, Sedimentology
Kinzly Moore — Carbonate Petrology, Paleobiology
Daniel Morgan — Geomorphology and Geochronology


RESEARCH AREAS

Transport Phenomena — fluid processes and material transport
Sedimentary Systems — fluvial, lacustrine, coastal and marine transport and depositional systems
Paleoecology and Paleoenvironments — mid- and high-latitude ecosystems, trace fossils, climate change and continental margins
Magmatic Processes and Crustal Evolution — magma chamber dynamics and architecture, tectonics and geochronology
Geochemical Processes — accessory minerals, trace elements and fluid-rock interaction

NOTEWORTHY LINKS

Graduate Program Recruiting Brochure 2007 (includes descriptions of faculty research)

Related Programs at Vanderbilt

SPEAR - Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Recycling