Our Doctor of Philosophy in Earth Systems Science offers several concentrations within Geosciences or Natural Resource Science and Management. Much of faculty and student research is based in South Florida, the Caribbean region and Latin America.

Concentrations

Geosciences

Atmospheric Sciences

Research focuses on hurricane dynamics, hurricane impacts, hurricane boundary layer turbulence structures, atmospheric convection, atmospheric boundary layer and clouds, and cloud-climate feedbacks.

Environmental Bio geoscience

Research in this concentration applies knowledge of geological, biological, physical, and chemical processes to current threats facing the biosphere, including deteriorating water and air quality, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem function, soil degradation, coastal erosion, and other emerging issues at local or global scales.

Geophysics/Remote Sensing

Geophysical investigative techniques use gravity, magnetism, seismic reflection and refraction, earthquake seismology, thermal properties and satellite imagery. Land-based geophysical studies may focus on the Caribbean and South American seismicity and crustal structure.

Hydrogeology/Hydrology

Research includes field and modeling approaches to groundwater flow and solute fluxes in the subsurface and near-subsurface environments. Topics include the interaction of surface water and groundwater, solute transport, chemical and isotopic tracing techniques, watershed hydrology in Florida, Central America and other locations.

Paleontology

Research topics of the faculty and students include paleoecology, facies analysis, paleobiogeography, evolutionary processes, biodiversity, biostratigraphy and the response to global climatic changes, as interpreted from microfossils, especially foraminifera and radiolarians.

Stratigraphy/Sedimentology

Research in this concentration includes sedimentary petrology, sedimentary environments, paleoenvironments, paleoceanography, sequence stratigraphy, cyclic stratigraphy, microfacies analysis and basin analysis. Field and laboratory techniques are applied to the solution of problems in these topics, especially as applied to sedimentary rock sequences of South Florida, the Caribbean and Central America.

Tectonics/Structural Geology

Field- and lab-oriented research employs methods of structural analysis. Analysis of geologic deformations is based upon the principles of mechanics and utilizes field data. Field areas include the Caribbean and South America.

Natural Resource Science and Management

Land and Aquatic System Science

Multidisciplinary scientific and research techniques are applied to managing environmental problems and sustainable use of land and aquatic resources; and quantifying and understanding physical, chemical and biological process operating on land and in water, soil and other environments.

Natural Resource Management

The interactions between natural systems and human systems are evaluated. Research and management problems are addressed in the fields of natural resource conservation, ecosystem restoration, agroecology, ecotoxicology, forestry, wildlife, fisheries, and coastal and marine resources.

Environmental Economics and Policy

The effectiveness of policies in managing environmental pollution, sustainable development, energy resources, climate change, food and agriculture, community forests, and conservation programs are analyzed. Research methods include ecosystem service valuation, economic modeling, and ethnographic and other behavioral analyses.