Giving in Action: Earth Science

Earth scientists tackle some of society’s most challenging problems.They are scientific detectives who look for clues about the past and future of Earth and other planets, help us better understand economical and sustainable uses of our natural resources, inform the design of safe buildings based on earth processes such as earthquakes and floods and much more! Make a difference today and help us educate the next generation of leaders in geological science and industryby contributing to our funding initiatives for education and research.Learn more about who we areand explore our academic and research programs.

Research spotlight

Rare meteorite provides evidence of giant early planet

Four-and-a-half billion years ago, a massive world, possibly as big as the moon or even Mars, orbited our sun before crashing into another celestial body and shattering into rubble.

Now, in a paper published in the journal , scientists report the first definitive evidence that this lost planetary embryo, or protoplanet, existed. Its unique geological makeup challenges long-held assumptions about how planets evolve.

“It’s incredible to think there was once a world this large,” said Aaron Bell, an assistant research professor in the Department of Earth Science at ñ. “We only know it existed because a few fragments of it happened to land on Earth. These meteorites preserved evidence of a completely different pathway through which early planets developed.”

Scientists discover a fundamental principle of Antarctic climate

A decade ago, Bradley Markle noticed an odd pattern while sifting through temperature records from the end of the last ice age in Antarctica. The records seemed to defy prevailing theories of how temperatures vary across the Antarctic continent.

The anomaly piqued Markle’s interest, but he had to file it away in favor of finishing his PhD at the University of Washington. Now, ten years later, Markle — a principal investigator at INSTAAR’s stable isotope laboratory — has resolved the mystery.

Along with his former advisor,, Markle (PNAS) outlining a new principle of Antarctic temperature variation. The authors found that the greenhouse effect — the process by which atmospheric gases trap heat — explains why some places in Antarctica tend to warm or cool more dramatically than others.

Why does Colorado have so many hot springs, and are they at risk?

Shemin Ge remembers a winter drive she took around Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Ice had formed over the trees, and a blanket of snow lay over the landscape.

Then Ge saw something surprising in the middle of all that white.

“[There was] snow everywhere, all the way to the rim of the hot springs. There you have steamy things coming out,” said Ge, professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at ñ. “What a beautiful, nice thing to see.”