Pushing the boundaries of what we know about Earth
At Stanford Earth scientists and students push the boundaries of knowledge about Earth's evolution and how it functions: from its interior dynamics and ocean processes to characteristics of the atmosphere, and more. Their research covers a breadth of areas such as paleontology, biogeochemistry, and the structure and movement of Earth's crust. That work is essential to our understanding of both ancient and modern concerns from medieval plagues to earthquake dynamics, climate change, and the occurrence of natural resources.
Are we in a "sixth mass extinction"?
Stanford paleontologist Jonathan Payne puts modern extinction in context by comparing it with Earth's five previous mass extinctions. Watch.
Navigating the guts of an ancient submarine canyon
Geological Sciences professors Stephan Graham and Don Lowe take us into an exposed submarine canyon at Point Lobos, CA, to understand how rock sediments inform oil resource exploration. Watch.
Meet some of the faculty who discover our planet
Paula Welander
Assistant Professor of Earth System Science
Page Chamberlain
Professor of Earth System Science
Karen Casciotti
Associate Professor of Earth System Science
George Hilley
Associate Professor of Geological Sciences
Anne Dekas
Assistant Professor of Earth Systems
Elizabeth Miller
Professor of Geological Sciences
A sampling of courses related to discovering our planet
Related research groups
Related research news
Q&A: Tracking COVID infections through wastewater
Researchers have developed a system for monitoring COVID prevalence on campus and collaborated with public health officers on an epidemiology project serving a number of communities across California. (Source: Stanford News)
How to fight climate change
Environmental scientist Chris Field explains why taking on climate change will require that we continue to reduce emissions and adapt to the effects of increasing temperatures. (Source: Stanford Engineering)
Saving the Mekong River Delta from drowning
Southeast Asia’s most productive agricultural region and home to 17 million people could be mostly underwater within a lifetime. Researchers recommend policy solutions including strict regulation of sediment mining, limits on groundwater pumping, and coordination among countries, development agencies and other private and civil society stakeholders. (Source: Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment)
