earth and environmental sciences
$1M gift to support research and immersion experiences for Vanderbilt’s Earth and Environmental Sciences
Jan. 24, 2017—Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science received a $1 million anonymous gift to bolster faculty research and student immersion experiences in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Research that ruled in 2016: Readers’ favorite stories
Dec. 16, 2016—Artificial kidneys, gay-straight alliances and junkyard batteries captured readers' attention in 2016.
Vanderbilt excavation begins to shed more light on the lives of early Peruvians
Oct. 4, 2016—Findings from archaeologist Tom Dillehay's dig at Huaca Prieta and Paredones include the world's earliest known use of indigo dye.
Cave study designed to solve puzzle of prehistoric megadroughts in the western U.S.
Aug. 26, 2016—Paleoclimatic cave study in California is designed to identify the factors that made megadroughts commonplace in the western U.S. from 5,000 to 8,000 years ago.
Newly discovered fossils strengthen proposition that world’s first mass extinction engineered by early animals
Jul. 29, 2016—New fossil evidence strengthens the proposition that the world’s first mass extinction was caused by ‘ecosystem engineers’ – newly evolved organisms that radically altered the environment.
Super-eruptions may give only a year’s warning before they blow
Jul. 20, 2016—A microscopic analysis of quartz crystals from an ancient California super-eruption indicates that the process of decompression preceding the eruption took place less than a year before.
Fossils at the Fort is March 19
Mar. 10, 2016—Fossils at the Fort is a free annual event providing young and old with an opportunity to journey into Middle Tennessee's astonishing ancient past.
Growth rings on rocks provide new insights into past climates
Jan. 15, 2016—Application of new micro-analytical techniques have transformed rocks and gravel buried in a special type of soil into a rich source of data about past climates that can help scientists understand how the climate will change in the future.
Paris Climate Agreement subject of public lecture, roundtable at Vanderbilt Wednesday, Jan. 13
Jan. 8, 2016—The Paris Climate Agreement is the subject of a lecture by a Columbia University law professor and a roundtable discussion to be introduced by Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos. Both events will be held at Vanderbilt Law School Jan. 13.
The most popular research stories of 2015
Dec. 28, 2015—With discoveries ranging from the origins of consciousness to the end of the universe, 2015 was a year of incredibly diverse research at Vanderbilt University.
Kudos: Read about faculty, staff and student awards, appointments and achievements
Nov. 23, 2015—Read about faculty, staff and student awards, appointments and achievements.
New ‘geospeedometer’ confirms super-eruptions have a short fuse
Oct. 20, 2015—A new "geospeedometer" that can measure the amount of time between the formation of an explosive magma melt and an eruption confirms that the process took less than 500 years in several ancient super-eruptions.