The Earth Systems and Climate Change group investigates the interactions within and between Earth’s lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere and biosphere. Earth’s climate systems include regularly-repeating cycles, positive and negative feedbacks, and abrupt events-processes that affect Earth’s surface temperature, the chemistry of the atmosphere and ocean, soil moisture, and the size and stability of ice sheets. These, in turn, affect society through sea level rise and fall, the frequency and intensity of storms, flooding resulting from storm surge and surface runoff, the type and extent of vegetation occupying coastal regions and continental interiors and their ability to remove and store CO2 from the atmosphere, and changes in the geographic range of flora, fauna, pathogens and invasive species. Our faculty and students advance understanding of Earth’s processes and their temporal cycles from the ground, air, ocean, and space using geologic archives, Earth orbiting satellites, and computer models.
