Department of Earth Sciences
We are living through a time of unprecedented change on Earth. Scientific understanding of geological hazards, sustainability, infrastructure, climate change, energy, and natural resources has never been so important, and Earth Sciences sit at the heart of the debate. We aspire to help shape the future by providing the highest quality education for our students and by undertaking research that is both intrinsically excellent and relevant to society.
World Rankings
Durham is one of the world’s leading universities as shown by our world top 100 position in the QS World University Rankings 2020 , where we are ranked 78th.
Seventeen Durham subjects are also in the world top 100 of the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020, including nine in the world top 50 and three in the world top ten.
"I selected Durham University because it has a high world ranking, and I enjoy the small, quiet atmosphere of the city. The staff, students, and facilities in the Earth Sciences department are of the highest quality"
Jaafar H. Jotheri - PhD in Palaeoclimate - from Babylon, Iraq
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New Earth Science Blog
How has lockdown affected our department of Earth Sciences? In this first blog post, we take a look at how staff and students have been affected by this difficult time, what challenges they face, and how they have been coping. More about
(28 May 2020)
Should we wear face masks?
Claire Horwell in our Department of Earth Sciences and Fiona McDonald in the Faculty of Law at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia, consider the mixed messages behind face mask use during the Covid-19 pandemic.
(6 May 2020) » More about Should we wear face masks?
Microplastic ‘garbage patches’ on the seafloor controlled by ocean currents
One of our researchers, Florian Pohl has helped record the highest level of microplastics ever found on the ocean floor – with up to 1.9 million pieces in an area of just one square metre.
(1 May 2020) » More about Microplastic ‘garbage patches’ on the seafloor controlled by ocean currents
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