Environmental and Geological Sciences
The specialization in Environmental and Geological Sciences offers research opportunities in a broad spectrum of Earth-focused science reflecting the research interests of the faculty – including topics of classical Geology; studies of Earth's fluid envelopes; and applying combinations of geology, biology, chemistry, and physics to studying Earth's diverse environments and their ecosystems. These are grouped into four mutually supportive core areas within which faculty expertise and state-of-the-art instrumentation support exciting scientific investigations.
Modern research in Environmental and Geological Sciences commonly crosses the boundaries between these areas, e.g. isotope geochemists and biostratigraphers work with sedimentologists and climatologists to analyze paleoclimates over tens of millions of years; bedrock geologists work with geochemists and hydrogeologists to understand arsenic concentration in groundwater drinking supplies. Our program is designed to emphasize such linkages.
A full range of research facilities is available within CUNY, and, in addition, students may work at organizations and institutions with which our faculty are affiliated, such as Brookhaven National Laboratory, the American Museum of Natural History, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.