Faculty & Research Index

Collaborative Research

Cluster Groups

Marine & Coastal Geology

The marine and coastal geology cluster group comprises a diverse group of earth scientists interested in the physics, chemistry, hydrogeology and geological evolution of the ocean basins, stretching from estuaries and beaches where people most-commonly interact with the ocean, to active margins where oceanic plates are subducted, to seafloor spreading centers where new lithosphere is created.

While this research varies greatly in purpose, setting and methods, there are some common themes. Fisher, Silver, Gill, and Moore are interested in the nature and influence of fluid flow through earth's crust below the oceans, from hydrothermal circulation where the crust is young, to tectonically-induced flows where old seafloor is destroyed at oceanic trenches.

Some of this work has been based on scientific ocean drilling, including samples collected from deep boreholes, geophysical measurements, and long-term observations of pressure, temperature, and chemistry. Gill, Griggs, Silver, and Moore all study deformation of geological materials in places where the geology is dynamic, where the crust is being changed (squeezed, uplifted, subducted, or worn away) by tectonic and shoreline processes. These studies extend around the planet, from Papua New Guinea to Costa Rica to Alaska, Japan, and California.