Professor Grotzinger and students/post-docs are engaged in research that can be grouped into several areas: field-based outcrop studies of carbonate depositional systems, numerical simulation of microbial growth processes, regional mapping of outcrop and subsurface settings to evaluate biogeochemical events at the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary in Namibia and Oman, and robotic investigations of the surface geology of Mars.

Staff: Roberta Bennett-Calorio; Postdocs: Erwin Adams, Stefan Schröder; Graduate Students: David Fike, Bill Lyons, Wesley Andrés Watters, Patricia Gregg, and Matt Jackson.

Professor Mohrig and students/post-docs are engaged in research that focuses on the evolution of terrestrial and submarine landscapes over long time scales (>10,000 years) through the study of the sedimentary record. The deposits of ancient sediment-dispersal systems are sets of data embedded with time and length scales that make them particularly well-suited for studying geomorphic, hydrologic and structural processes at continental scales. Research methods used include theoretical models, field studies of modern and ancient systems, carefully designed laboratory experiments, and the remote sensing of subsurface deposits (interpretation and visualization of seismic data).

Staff: Roberta Bennett-Calorio; Postdocs: Jim Buttles, Graduate Students: Doug Jerolmack, Christina Kaba, Bill Lyons, Kyle Straub.