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

Building windows with air conditioning units

How can we harness wind and improve airflow to benefit society?

A scholar looks at how wind affects the sustainability and resiliency of buildings and cities, and how we can improve ventilation in homes and other structures. (Source: Stanford Engineering)

Young students sit at a table with a teacher in a classroom near sunlit windows

Wildfire smoke exposure hurts learning outcomes

Pollution from wildfires is linked to lower test scores and possibly lower future earnings for kids growing up with more smoke days at school, a new study finds. Impacts of smoke exposure on earnings are disproportionately borne by economically disadvantaged communities of color.

A fire crew conducts a prescribed burn in California’s Lassen National Forest.

Empowering private landowners to prevent wildfires

Controlled burning has proven effective at reducing wildfire risks, but a lack of insurance has dissuaded private landowners from implementing the practice. Policy expert Michael Wara discusses soon-to-be-enacted legislation that would pay for fire damages to neighboring properties in California. (Source: Stanford News)

A barefoot man in shorts and a T-shirt holds the charger for a black electric vehicle parked in a driveway

Charging cars at home at night is not the way to go, Stanford study finds

The move to electric vehicles will result in large costs for generating, transmitting, and storing more power. Shifting current EV charging from home to work and night to day could cut costs and help the grid, according to a new Stanford study. (Source: Stanford News)