Earth and Environmental Science

On the Galápagos, an underwater exploration of marine life

In collaboration with a local dive instructor and the students he trained, researchers from Penn and Villanova are learning how human presence affects life on the seafloor around these islands.

Progress toward a more sustainable University

Two years into the Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0, Penn is tracking significant steps toward its goals.

Taking a closer look at cryptocurrency

Experts across the University share their thoughts on how cryptocurrency has globally transformed businesses, research, and the environment.

Young person holding a cardboard sign that reads There is No Planet B #climatestrike.

Doctoral cluster between Penn, Oxford, and Toronto targets environmental injustice

Through a unique partnership between Penn, the University of Oxford, and the University of Toronto, a research group aims to train future leaders in environmental humanities.

Step Fountain and surrounding garden flowers

A fountain, its steps, and its garden—restored

In a photo essay, see the newly restored Step Fountain and surrounding garden beds at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania.

Illustration of a sphere representing earth and it’s internal layers, covered by flora and surrounded by botanical drawings.

The world at our feet: Reflections on Earth and its prospects

It’s our tiny oasis in a vast universe, and it’s feeling fragile. Five faculty from Penn Arts & Sciences who study the Earth’s geological past, its surface activity, and its soils and life forms discuss how Earth and its inhabitants can get along better.

The hills are alive with the flows of physics

In the lab of Douglas Jerolmack, researchers led by doctoral candidate Nakul Deshpande of the School of Arts & Sciences explored how landscapes gradually move over time.

a soil hillside with trees that has eroded

Shifting sands, creeping soils, and a new understanding of landscape evolution

New experiments show that, even when undisturbed, piles of sand grains are in constant motion, challenging theories of how soils and other types of disordered materials behave.

From left to right: Jaclyn Camus, Anna Shirosky, Caitlyn Tukdarian

Penn Vet dual degrees: The student experience

The expansion of the dual degree program is timely, given the recent perfect storm of a pandemic; growing awareness of social, racial and economic inequity; and increased impact of climate change .

Paleontologist in a lab with a sign saying "Dinosaurs" and fossil specimens in the background

For early amphibians, a new lifestyle meant a new spine

Moving from water to land and back again corresponded with distinct changes in animals’ spinal morphology, according to a new study led by paleontologist Aja Carter.

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