-
Welcome!
We are the University of Chicago Department of the Geophysical Sciences. We study the history, interior, and exterior of Earth and other planets.
Learn about our research -
People
Our world-class scientists are fascinated with the natural processes that shape our world and cultivate the skills it takes to study them.
LEARN ABOUT OUR SCIENTISTS -
Facilities & Resources
From wave tanks to mass spectrometers, our department's laboratories allow our scientists to push the limits of their fields.
LEARN ABOUT OUR FACILITIES & RESOURCES
Research Spotlight
Professor Sue Kidwell uses the fossil record from the last thousand years to understand changes in biological baselines due to human populations.
Learn More Spotlight ArchiveStudent / Alumni Spotlight
Francois Tissot works hard to measure and understand Uranium isotopes in rocks and meteorites to learn about the early Solar System and early Earth.
Learn More Spotlight ArchiveFaculty Spotlight
Associate Professor Tiffany Shaw uses fundamental principles from fluid dynamics to understand Earth's weather and climate.
Learn more about Tiffany See all PeopleGeophysical Science News
-
Foote’s Research on Evolution of Ancient Plankton Featured in PNAS
June 07, 2018
Geophysical Sciences Professor Michael Foote and his research colleagues have shown, in a recently published article of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that there is a demonstrable relationship between instrinsic biotic interactions and extrinsic enviromnetal factors that drive changes in biodiversity. Foote and his colleagues have illuminated how changes in the axial tilt of the Earth influenced the course of evolution in ancient graptoloid plankton over the course of millions of years.
-
Shaw and Kite Receive AGU’s Outstanding Reviewers Award
June 06, 2018
Congratulations to Geophysical Sciences Associate Professor Tiffany Shaw and Assistant Professor Edwin Kite, who were recently recognized as among the American Geophysical Union's Outstanding Reviewers of 2017!
-
Boehnke, Davis, Stephan, and Trappitsch Challenge Classic Dating of Crust Formation
June 06, 2018
In a recently published article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Geophysical Sciences postdoc Patrick Boehnke, Geophysical Sciences Professor Andrew Davis, Geophysical Sciences Research Prof. Thomas Stephan and former GeoSci postdoctoral scholar Reto Trappitsch reveal that they have discovered a way to analyze bits of the earliest continental crust found in tiny flecks of apatite using CHILI: GeoSci's one of a kind instrument that analyzes isotopic and chemical composition. Their discovery provides evidence that the Earth’s continental crust could have formed hundreds of millions of years earlier than previously thought, and life along with it.
-
Nakamura and Huang Featured in Science Magazine
May 25, 2018
Geophysical Science Professor Noboru Nakamura and his former GeoSci graduate student Clare Huang have come up with an unorthodox approach to understanding a persistent meteorological phenomenon. In a recently published article in Science Nakamura and Huang argue that the best way to understand 'blocking patterns' in the jet stream is to use mathematical models that describe traffic jams. Understanding that the jet stream has a 'speed limit' that, if exceeded, can cause congestion could help forecasters understand and model blocking patterns in the future.