Research

		Geophysics
		Climate Science
		Geochemistry
		Tectonics
		Geobiology

USC geoscientists study basic questions on the operation of the Earth system, from understanding convection in the mantle to the evolution of life, and explore compelling problems at the interfaces of traditional sub-disciplines. Through this interdisciplinary approach, our research is addressing problems of increasing social relevance—such as development of bio fuel cell technology, modeling of El Nino effects, geoinformatics, and seismic hazard analysis.

Facilities

Affiliated Research Centers

Southern California Earthquake Center
Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
USC High Performance Computing Center (HPCC)

USC Earth scientists also take advantage of research collaborations with other USC schools and departments, such as Marine Environmental Biology, the Graduate Program in Ocean Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the School of Policy, Planning and Development.

Funding

As one of the world's leading private research universities, we rank amongst the top five institutions in funding received from NSF's Division of Earth Sciences (EAR). In addition, USC Department of Earth Sciences research efforts are supported by a range of agencies, foundations, and many other NSF divisions:

• NSF — Earth Sciences (EAR), Ocean Sciences (OCE), Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE), Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences (AGS), Cyberinfrastructure (OCI), Engineering (ENG), Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE)
• US Geological Survey (USGS)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• NOAA Sea Grant
• NASA
• Department of Energy
• Office of Naval Research
• Air Force Office of Sponsored Research
• Army Research Office
• Keck Foundation
• Agouron Foundation
• Taiwan Central Weather Bureau
• United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation