Welcome
Research at the Division of Geology and Planetary Science examines everything from the earth's core, mantle, and crust to the outposts of the solar system.
Division faculty are leaders in earthquake studies; have determined the first reliable values of the age of the earth, the moon, and meteorites; worked out the geological history of western North America; deciphered the record of the earth's climate from studies of tree rings and glaciers; perfected isotopic tracers and high-pressure laboratory techniques that indicate how magmas form on the earth and the moon; showed that surface waters penetrate deep into the crust and extensively interact with magma bodies; and, using theoretical studies and data from spacecraft missions, have been largely responsible for our present understanding of the origin of planetary surfaces and atmospheres, satellites, rings, comets, asteroids, and the interplanetary plasma.
Caltech established the Division of Geology and Planetary Sciences in 1926.
Last updated June 25, 2010 09:28 by Charlie Root
