3^rd Global Geologists Annual Meeting

Environmental Geology

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Environmental geoscience research focuses on the physical and chemical processes occurring at or near the Earth’s surface and how they are impacted by human activities. Specifically, research in the department focuses on the fate and transport of metals and radionuclides in the environment, on the assessment of surface and ground water resources, aqueous and organic geochemistry, and coastal and riparian processes. Issues of environmental change on local to global scales can be placed into an earth systems science perspective by first examining the evolution and structure of our planet’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere, and how these systems naturally interact. Emphasis is placed on understanding biogeochemical cycles. From this perspective we can better evaluate the effects of anthropogenic perturbations on systems, such as the introduction of pollutants in groundwater or land degradation associated with agriculture. Our readings center on climate, water, carbon and energy and the choices we need to make for a sustainable future.

Environmental Earth Sciences and Geology combines tools provided by Physics, Chemistry, Biology and others to study the geologic environment and to use the accompanying principles in solving environmental problems. By studying all layers of the Earth, atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere, this discipline manages to study the interaction of the human with the environment, to identify the issues that we are confronted with and to find means and ways to solve or minimize those issues.