GLOBAL CHANGE AND EARTH HISTORY

When viewed at every possible space and time scale, Earth is a dynamic planet. This complex system is constantly evolving and adjusting to various influences, including human activity, which is forcing Earth’s climate and biogeochemical systems into realms that have analogues only in Earth’s distant past. Faculty and students at Penn State work in collaborative groups to unravel the history of Earth’s dynamic past so that we may better predict its future. They use a variety of approaches including field work, laboratory analyses and experiments, and numerical modeling to address perplexing questions ranging from “how did life emerge on Earth?” to “how much longer will Earth remain a habitable planet?” Research activities focused on the Precambrian are described under Astrobiology. Investigations of Phanerozoic Earth-system evolution are directed toward a better understanding of the forces that drive long-term change in ocean chemistry and climate as well as the ways in which Earth’s environment and biota interact on the shorter time scales associated with mass extinction events and other episodes of rapid environmental change.