School of Earth Sciences
New dating techniques reveal Australia’s oldest known, intact, Aboriginal rock paintings - dating back 600 generations
Earth scientists in action
We teach and research in the areas of climate science, meteorology and geoscience – including geology, geochemistry and geophysics. With a particular emphasis on sustainability and the environment, our research is interdisciplinary and diverse.
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Deploying a marine monitoring buoy
Deploying a marine monitoring buoy -
Studying and exploring ore deposits
Studying and exploring ore deposits -
Cape Grim Air Pollution Baseline Station
Cape Grim Air Pollution Baseline Station -
Sampling rock art to determine its age
Sampling rock art to determine its age -
Research on geological CO2 storage
Research on geological CO2 storage -
Earthquake response in Nepal
Earthquake response in Nepal -
Launching an air quality balloon
Launching an air quality balloon -
Sampling bacteria at hot springs
Sampling bacteria at hot springs
News from Earth Sciences
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New dating techniques reveal Australia’s oldest known, intact, Aboriginal rock paintings - dating back 600 generations
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Research finds the first Australian-based record of a major global event where the Earth’s magnetic field ‘switched’ – and north became south.
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The 2020 AMOS Science Outreach Award has been awarded to Dr Linden Ashcroft of Melbourne University. She has used her expertise in historical and future climate change to educate the broader public, through dozens of TV, radio and newspaper interviews. This includes her extensive radio work with the Einstein A-go-go program on 3RRR where she has a semi-regular slot explaining and discussing recent STEM stories to the broader public.
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Amid the gloom, the COVID-19 crisis has created opportunities to accelerate existing and emerging technologies to make Australia a renewable energy superpower
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The 2016 magnitude 6.0 earthquake in the Petermann Ranges gives researchers key insights into how some faults may break in Australia to produce larger earthquakes
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Mark Quigley, Associate Professor in Earth Sciences discusses how the impacts of the 2010-2012 Canterbury earthquakes have many parallels to the current COVID-19 crisis – both inspired innovative responses
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Research using the age of caves shows the Eastern Highlands of Victoria have been steadily growing at a rate of 76 metres every million years, and are still going
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New research near Uluru in Australia’s arid centre shows that rock structures formed deep within the ancient Gondwana supercontinent controlled the rupture pathways of one of Australia’s largest modern earthquakes.
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How would people and systems cope if a major earthquake or cyclone occurs while the COVID-19 pandemic continues? The answer is – preparation is key
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Dr David Wark, a former research assistant and PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences, has had a newly discovered meteoritic mineral named after him.
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Dr Rachel Popelka-Filcoff will lead the University of Melbourne’s Archaeological Science Group as the Kimberley Foundation Minderoo Chair in Archaeological Science.
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Software with a commercial value of more than £1.525m (AUD$3.1m) has been given to the University of Melbourne, School of Earth Sciences, by engineering firm Petroleum Experts.
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New techniques for dating volcanic eruptions, a lone axe and Indigenous oral traditions give us a new minimum age for human occupation in Victoria
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For drought-busting rains, Australia might just have to wait for the tropical oceans to serve up some moisture, finds new research
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An analysis of the words and actions of past and present US Presidents confirms Donald Trump’s hostility to science, and suggests it may hurt him politically
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A rapid rise in global temperatures would lead to more extremes, whereas a more gradual and stabilised rate of climate change would decrease the temperatures we would experience.
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Iron-rich rocks deposited by ancient glaciers tell a tale of evolving complex life forms, taking refuge in an oasis of oxygenated seawater
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Melbourne’s weather is renowned for its variability, but it is still predictable, explained partly by its position on a large hot continent close to the cold Southern Ocean
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A giant, continent-sized cloud that dumps rain from Broome to Hobart has increased in frequency over the past 33 years, but its impact may not be what you expect.
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A rock that is the source of most of the world’s diamond deposits is giving us insights into the Earth’s formation
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Allowing degraded natural forests to re-grow is a more effective, immediate and low-cost method for removing and storing atmospheric carbon than planting new trees
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The speed of global warming has never been as fast as it is today, and is affecting the whole planet at the same time, for the first time in at least two millennia
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The mysterious Plain of Jars in Laos, which is giving archaeologists clues to an ancient civilisation, has just joined the list of UNESCO World Heritage protected sites
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The results of an international research project including researchers from the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University and ANSTO in Australia, and international collaborators in Canada and France, is published this month in Quaternary International. The team innovated by applying marine geology methods for the first time at a port archaeological site in Italy. McKenzie Fellow Agathe Lisé-Pronovost from the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne led this project with geoarchaeologist Jean-Philippe Goiran from CNRS (France).
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For several millennia during the Last Interglacial period, temperatures were higher than pre-industrial levels and that had an impact on our climate system. But with recent dire forecasts of global warming, what can the past tell us about the future of our climate?
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Professors Kerry Landman, David Balding and David Karoly are among six new fellows elected from the University of Melbourne
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Jin-Sol Lee is a University of Melbourne student who ventured on the CAPSTAN Voyage. Read his blog about conducting soil samples and the daily life of a sedimentologist.
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Kimberley is a PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences. Read about her research in atmospheric rivers and her goals for future study.
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After studying the physics of fluid flow in his honours year, Ewan resolved to study atmospheric science at a graduate level. Read about his research and experiences as a graduate student.
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Maddie Brown in a University of Melbourne student currently on the RV Investigator for the CAPSTAN Voyage 2. Read her blog about the experience.
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Software with a commercial value of more than £1.308m (AUD$2.4m) has been given to the University of Melbourne, School of Earth Sciences, by engineering firm Petroleum Experts.
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Fieldwork was completed on April 16-25 th 2018 at Darwin Crater, a 1.2 km diameter and 800,000-year-old meteorite impact crater in western Tasmania. The drilling team included two drillers, two PhD students, and two scientists from the University of Melbourne (Dr Michael Fletcher and Dr Agathe Lisé-Pronovost).
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On 14 February 2018 Professor David Karoly gave a talk to friends and colleagues about his ten year tenure as Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Melbourne.
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McCoy Building celebrates 40 years
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Banner photo: Earth scientists exploring and sampling in a cave to unravel paleoenvironmental change.
In Earth Sciences our teaching is focused on the geosciences (geology, geochemistry, geophysics), meteorology, and climate science.
Learn more about our courses:
- Bachelor of Science (Geology)
- Bachelor of Science (Climate and Weather)
- Master of Science (Earth Sciences)
- Master of Geoscience
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Our courses
Explore our programs and become a leader at the forefront of studying the Earth and its changing climate.
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Careers in earth science
Get ideas about your future career and possible employers, read in-depth careers snapshots, and hear from our alumni.
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Awards, prizes & scholarships
Scholarships on offer are some of the most generous and comprehensive in Australia.
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Field trips
Field trips are an important part of undergraduate and graduate study within Earth Sciences courses.
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Master of Science (Earth Sciences)
For students commencing the Master of Science (Earth Sciences) in 2021, the list of potential research projects is now available.
Student societies: Engage with us
Join the Earth Science Students Society (ESSS), and Earth Science Postgraduate Group (ESPG) - new students welcome!
The School of Earth Sciences conducts high-quality multidisciplinary research in the scientific areas of climate science, meteorology and geoscience, with particular emphasis on sustainability and the environment.
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Research themes
Read about the broad range of research conducted in the School of Earth Science.
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Research centres
The School participates in several research institutes, centres and organisations, which facilitate inter-disciplinary research and education.
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Industry collaboration
We work with a large number of companies in support of collaborative research, student projects and community engagement.
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Find profiles and contact details for staff in the School of Earth Sciences.
The School of Earth Sciences is committed to community engagement and education within our discipline areas of Climate, Weather and Geological Sciences.
Our academic staff and students regularly take part in community and media forums and we have an active program of engagement with high schools in the Melbourne region. In particular, we provide information and presentations to high schools on a range of topics including studying Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne and more topical scientific issues such as climate change science, volcanoes in Victoria, and rocks and minerals of Victoria.
Our researchers lead a citizen science volunteer program known as SEARCH - South Eastern Australian Recent Climate History - if you are keen to help, please visit the SEARCH website.
For more information or to arrange presentations to your high school or community organisation, please contact:
Katrina Sewell
Phone: +61 3 8344 9866
Email: katrina.sewell@unimelb.edu.au
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Alumni
Keep in touch with the School of Earth Sciences and fellow alumni.
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Dynamic Earth Updates
View live weather and seismic updates from instruments located in the School of Earth Sciences.
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Facilities and equipment
The School uses a range of resources – from chemistry labs to cyclone trackers.
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Image gallery
The study of Earth Sciences takes researchers to beautiful places in the world.
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Theses
The School maintains a collection of theses (Honours, Masters, PhD) completed before 2010. Contact the Assistant to the Head of Department for loans.
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Support Earth Sciences
We gratefully acknowledge and thank the benefactors partnering with us to advance research and scholarship of the highest level.
Earth Science Seminar Series mailing list
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Email sympa@lists.unimelb.edu.au with the subject: subscribe earth_sciences_seminars YourFirstname YourSurname. You will then receive an automatically generated response from sympa, to which you need to reply to confirm your addition to the mailing list (leave message body blank).
To unsubscribe
From the address with which you subscribed to the list, send a message to sympa@lists.unimelb.edu.au, with the subject: unsubscribe earth_sciences_seminars (leave message body blank).
The School of Earth Sciences is dedicated to high quality research and teaching in the disciplines of Climate, Weather and Geological Sciences.
The School of Earth Sciences was formally established in 1990, following the amalgamation of the Department of Geology (1900) and the Department of Meteorology (1937). Since its inception, the School has gained a national and international reputation for innovative research and teaching in the inter-disciplinary fields of Geological Sciences and the Climate and Weather Sciences. The School offers a wide range of undergraduate Science and Breadth subjects across these discipline areas, as well as several postgraduate degrees.
The School is one of seven within the Faculty of Science and comprises approximately 11 teaching & research staff, 33 research-only staff, 40 postgraduate students and 20 associates supported by 10 professional staff. Among the research-only staff the School hosts 2 ARC Australian Professorial Fellows, 1 ARC QEII Fellow, 2 ARC Research Fellows, 1 ARC Future Fellow, 3 Australian Postdoctoral Fellows, 3 ARC Discovery Early Career Researchers and 1 McKenzie Fellow.
Located just north of the Melbourne downtown central business district, the School forms part of the vibrant Parkville campus environment and represents an exciting learning environment, as is evident from our international ranking indicators.