Welcome to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences!
Our students and scientists study the properties of minerals, rocks, soils, sediments and water using multiple lenses: stratigraphy, paleobiology, geochemistry, and planetary sciences. Their work informs our understanding of natural hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and floods. It helps us meet natural resource challenges through environmental and geological engineering, mapping and land use planning, surface and groundwater management, and the exploration and sustainable extraction of energy and minerals. It also helps us answer fundamental questions about the origin, history, and habitability of planets as well as the history and future of life on Earth and beyond.
Meet some of our community members
A holistic approach


Earth and Planetary Sciences Events
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Earth Planetary Science Seminar - Dr. Dawnika Blatter "Geochemistry and petrology of long-lived primitive volcanism at Clear Lake volcanic field, CA, elucidate melt generation sources and conditions in the wake of a migrating slab window".
Class/Seminar-Building 320, Geology Corner, Room 220 and Zoom -
Earth Planetary Science Seminar - Mattia Pistone, University of Georgia: “Moho Mission to the Foundation of Continents: The ICDP DIVE Drilling Project”
Class/Seminar-Building 320, Geology Corner, Room 220 and Zoom
Learn more about our research groups
Earth and Planetary Sciences News
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The textbook Data Science for the Geosciences, developed by Jef Caers, David Cole, and Lijing Wang, has received the prestigious 2025 PROPS Award, honoring its impact on geoscience education and its commitment to accessible, hands-on learning.
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Sustainability Accelerator Innovations Tackle Greenhouse Gas Removal: At the start of Associate Professor Jane Willenbring’s talk, a crinkling sound filled the room: earthworms burrowing through the soil. She explained how worms sequester carbon and why she believes the project can scale, using the fishing industry’s worm production for bait as a successful model that could be emulated.
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For millions of years after the end-Permian mass extinction, the same few marine survivor species show up as fossils all over the planet. A new study reveals what drove this global biological uniformity.