- Faculty Research Areas
- Laboratories, Facilities, and Research Groups
- Climate & Paleoclimate
- Environmental Sciences
- Geobiology
- Geochronology & Thermochronology
- Geophysics
- Hydrology & Surface Processes
- Low-Temperature Geochemistry
- Oceanography
- Paleontology
- Petrology & High Temperature Geochemistry
- Sedimentology & Stratigraphy
- Structural Geology & Tectonics
- Laboratory Tour Videos
The research mission of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan is to understand the origin, evolution, and future of the Earth. This includes how it formed as a planet, how it progressed to its present state, how life originated and evolved on Earth, how the solid earth, oceans, atmosphere, and biosphere interact, and how the Earth’s climate and environment have changed in the past and will continue to change as a result of human activities.
Research focused on the Earth sciences is important and urgent. The Earth is our only home and is under stress with a growing population and industrialized development across the globe. Areas of expertise within the geosciences directly contribute to the effective management of the Earth’s environment and resources to maintain and improve standards of living for all populations.
The Department has a multidisciplinary world-class research program that includes the application of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics to the Earth and its environment. Projects are ongoing on all seven continents and the world’s oceans.
Learn more about our areas of research by clicking on the tiles below.
