Earth Sciences in the News

The Department of Earth Sciences stands at the forefront of pressing global issues, such as climate change, resource management and environmental protection. Learn more about how our expert faculty and fearless students conduct research that impacts the world around us.

Iceland's Fagradalsfjall is erupting. This UB expert helps predict where lava may go
2/6/25
4/21/2021: Mattia de’ Michieli Vitturi, a geology faculty member and a mathematician, uses computational modeling to help officials in Iceland understand where lava may flow
Helheim Glacier study to focus on the power and mysteries of water
2/6/25
3/25/2021: This movement of water through and under Helheim Glacier — called hydrology — is the topic of a $2.2 million project that brings together researchers from the University at Buffalo, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and Dartmouth University. Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation, the research has implications for predicting global sea level rise.
Scientists stunned to discover fossil plants beneath mile-deep Greenland ice
2/6/25
3/23/2021:The new study shows that not all ecosystems of the past were scoured into oblivion by ages of glaciers and ice sheets bulldozing overtop. Instead, the story of these living landscapes remains captured under the relatively young ice that formed on top of the ground, frozen in place, and holds them still.
Twenty UB research stories from 2020 - Jason Briner
2/6/25
1/5/2021: Jason Briner a UB climate scientist co-authored two major studies that underscore the urgent need for societies to curb carbon emissions.
Scientist tackling crisis of coral bleaching
2/6/25
12/2/2020: An international consortium of scientists has created the first-ever common framework for increasing comparability of research findings on coral bleaching.