Our research addresses such fundamental questions. Work within the Geology Department spans a diverse range of topical issues and tackles challenges from understanding the physical and biological genesis of our planet, to ensuring energy and resource security, to climate change mitigation.

This work has an emphasis on understanding the fundamental principles of geological processes, which occur on a vast range of spatial and temporal scales, from picoseconds for chemical reactions on mineral surfaces to billions of years for biological evolution and plate tectonic processes. We combine fieldwork, laboratory analyses, theory and numerical modelling to reveal and quantify such earth system processes.

The Geology Department’s research falls into three core themes: Geochemistry, Earth Resources and Evolution & Environment.