Research
How does the Earth work? Why is it habitable? How will human activities affect its future? We address these questions and many, many others in research that involves fieldwork, laboratory experiments, theory and numerical modeling.
Atmospheric Science - The Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program is a unique collaboration between a renowned academic institution, Princeton University, and a world class climate research laboratory, the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. AOS, which is an autonomous Program within the Geosciences Department, hosts graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and visiting senior researchers, as well as permanent research staff and faculty. The highly flexible graduate program offers students opportunities for research and courses in a wide variety of disciplines related to climate, atmospheric sciences and oceanography, including geophysical fluid dynamics, atmospheric physics, atmospheric chemistry, biogeochemistry of the land and ocean, atmospheric modeling, ocean modeling, climate dynamics, global climate change and paleo-climate.
Faculty: David Medvigy, Jorge Sarmiento, Michael Oppenheimer, George Philander
Also visit the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences website.
Geobiology
Faculty: Tullis Onstott
Geochemistry - The Earth's surface environment consists of a heterogeneous mixture of mineral oxides and organic macromolecules, which interact with each other and the atmosphere, water, and biota continuously. A major goal in environmental geochemistry is to gain a better understanding of interactions between these components in nature, and to apply that knowledge to predict a variety of biogeochemical processes, such as elemental cycling, biological chemistry of elements, and the fate and transport of contaminants. Our research group focuses on understanding these interactions, specifically on their fundamental aspects, such as the structure of water, and solvation / complex formation in aqueous solutions and at natural interfaces.
Faculty: Michael Bender, François Morel, Satish Myneni, Daniel Sigman
Geophysics - We conduct research on the physical properties of the Earth at all scales, from the atomic to the global scale. From the structure of minerals to the interior structure of the Earth. From the physics of earthquakes and the laws of friction to the modeling of wave propagation using vast parallel computers. From ground based observation with handheld devices to the study of satellite measurements. Seismology, geodynamics and mineral physics are among the areas of geophysics that we explore.
Faculty: Tom Duffy, Jeroen Tromp, Allan Rubin, and Frederik Simons
Oceanography
Faculty: George Philander, Jorge Sarmiento, Daniel Sigman, Bess Ward
Earth History and Paleontology - Research into the Earth's history in the area of paleoclimate/paleoceanography at Princeton focuses on geological, geochemical, and paleontological observations in marine and terrestrial environments. The results of this work aid our understanding of such diverse topics as the nature and origin of change in the vertical thermal structure of the oceans and in oceanic circulation patterns in space and time, the cause(s) and distribution patterns of hiatuses, the biotic effects of climate and circulation changes on marine planktic and benthic habitats, the effects of climate change on terrestrial mammals, the nature of evolution and extinctions, and the enigma of mass extinctions.
Faculty: Michael Bender, Gerta Keller, Adam Maloof
Orogenic Systems and Tectonics - Orogenic systems are the result of ongoing plate tectonic processes that create, deform and differentiate continental crust and lithosphere. Orogenic systems research at Princeton ranges from the growth, deformation and stabilization of Archean crust and lithosphere to quantifying the interactions of lithology, tectonics and climate on morphologies of modern mountain ranges. A major goal of our research is to quantify the pressure-temperature-time-strain history of rocks in the context of the tectonic processes. To do this we analyze rocks which deformed anywhere from the lower most crust to the surface. We document fault offsets, mineral assemblages, and mineral growth and cooling ages to determine the distribution, magnitude and rate of deformation through orogenic systems.
Faculty: Lincoln Hollister, Nadine McQuarrie, Blair Schoene, Frederik Simons