Discovering Our Planet

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.

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

See all faculty

Life at the Extremes: Deep Sea to Deep Space

Introduction to Geology

Evolution of Marine Ecosystems

Sedimentary Geology and Depositional Systems

Coevolution of Earth and Life

Environmental and Geological Field Studies in the Rocky Mountains

Exploring the Critical Interface between the Land and Monterey Bay

Molecular Geomicrobiology Lab

Marine Chemistry

Welander Lab for Molecular Geochemistry

Historical Geobiology Group

Sedimentary Research Group

Terrestrial Paleoclimate Group

Dekas Geomicrobiology Lab

Francis Molecular Microbial Ecology Group

Environmental Geochemistry Group

Extreme Environments Lab

Geochronology Lab

Basin and Petroleum System Modeling Group

Payne Paleobiology Group

Structural Geology and Tectonics

Solid-state NMR and Silicate Materials Group

Mahood Silicic Magmatism and Volcanology Group

Crustal Deformation and Fault Mechanics Group

Crustal Geophysics Group

Related research news

Machine learning could speed the arrival of ultra-fast-charging electric cars

Using artificial intelligence, a Stanford-led research team has slashed battery testing times – a key barrier to longer-lasting, faster-charging batteries for electric vehicles – by nearly fifteenfold.

Smaller animals faced surprisingly long odds in ancient oceans, Stanford study finds

New fossil research shows extinction for smaller marine animals across most of the past 485 million years was more common than once believed. Why?

Could climate change bring more landslides to High Mountain Asia?

Researchers used satellite estimates and modeled precipitation data to show warming temperatures will cause more intense rainfall in some areas of the High Mountain Asia region, and this could lead to increased landslide activity in the border region of China and Nepal.

Rust offers a cheap way to filter arsenic-poisoned water

In regions that lack the resources to treat the contaminated water, it can lead to disease, cancer and even death.