Department of Geosciences at UMass Amherst
International Climate and Cryosphere Office coming to UMass Amherst
Professors Rob DeConto and Ray Bradley will co-chair the organization for the next 5 years to coordinate outreach on impacts of how climate change is affecting glacial ice and snow cover
Upcoming Events
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Faculty Spotlight
Is hydropower a panacea?
Dr. Eve Vogel's research investigates the human-environmental dynamics and histories of rivers. She focuses in particular on river governance institutions and policy and their interaction with wide ecological and social processes and needs. Dr. Vogel's most recent research applies this lens on the Connecticut River watershed and hydropower in the Northeastern U.S. She is guest editor of the recently published Québec Hydropower for a Green Massachusetts? Connections, contradictions and contests of electricity, a special issue of the journal The Northeastern Geographer.
Department News
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Speed kills: fast, potentially damaging earthquakes more common
The phenomena known as supershear earthquakes — those that travel super fast and can cause more shaking than slower quakes — may be much more common than previously estimated, according to a study of global earthquake data recently published in Nature Geoscience. PhD student Laura Fattaruso discusses the implications of these findings in their latest piece in Temblor... -
6 feet of snow in Buffalo: What causes lake-effect storms like this?
Dr. Michael Rawlins, Associate Director of the Climate Systems Research Center, writes about the causes of Lake Effect snowstorms in a recent piece in The Conversation... -
Paris Agreement Temperature Targets Could Worsen Climate Injustice For Island States
New research from Dr.'s Shaina Sadai, Rob DeConto, and colleagues, recently published in the journal Earth’s Future, shows that even the most optimistic Paris Agreement temperature targets can lead to catastrophic sea-level rise, which has already begun and will affect low-lying nations for generations to come... -
Midwestern US Soil is Eroding 10 to 1,000 Times Faster Than It Forms
In a discovery that has repercussions for everything from domestic agricultural policy to global food security and the plans to mitigate climate change, researchers at the University of Massachusetts recently announced that the rate of soil erosion in the Midwestern US is 10 to 1,000 times greater than pre-agricultural erosion rates... -
Department at #AGU22
U-Mass DEGCS has a strong showing at annual Fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. If you're attending #AGU22 in Chicago this year, either virtually or in person, don't miss out! Here is a schedule of who is presenting and when: -
State-of-the-art software donated to department
We are pleased to announce the donation of the MOVE software package to the Department of Geosciences by the Scotland-based Petroleum Experts Limited. This industry-standard software package is valued at $2,764,444.18 USD and provides tools for 3D analysis and geophysical and structural modeling of deformation of the Earth's crust. -
Celebrate Geography Awareness Week
We have a number of exciting events planned for Geography Awareness week, including Geography Bowl and GeoGuesser tournaments, and more! -
Dr. Christine Hatch will bring Western Mass perspective to State Water Resources Commission
Dr. Christine Hatch was recently appointed a member of the Commonwealth’s Water Resources Commission. Hatch will be the only member of the commission representing Western Massachusetts. -
Tracking Raindrops, One Molecule at a Time
New research, led by postdoctoral associate Dr. Zhengyu Xia and co-authored with Dr. Matthew Winnick, refines our understanding of the chemical traces that act as the rain’s fingerprint. The work, which appeared recently in Global Biogeochemical Cycles, is crucial for understanding the Earth’s water cycle, especially as it undergoes rapid change due to global warming, deforestation and other environmental catastrophes.
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