School of Earth & Sustainability
Integrating physical, biological, and social perspectives on our changing earth: At Northern Arizona University, we train undergraduate and graduate students to be leading researchers and practitioners in geology, environmental sciences, and sustainability, often collaborating across disciplinary boundaries. Our students spend time learning in the field, working on cutting-edge research, and collaborating with agencies.
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SES in the news
For more news (with photos!) about our faculty, students, and alumni, see our News page.
The latest:
SES Researcher receives $1.3 million award from DOE to study mycorrhizal associations in biofuel sorghum
The roots of most plants form symbioses with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and harnessing these symbioses could reduce irrigation and fertilizer inputs for more sustainable production of many crops, including biofuel sorghum. Regents’ Professor Nancy Johnson in the School of Earth & Sustainability was awarded $1.3 million to collaborate with researchers at the University of Georgia to study the beneficial associations between biofuel sorghum and AMF. Despite decades of efforts, successful use of AMF as biofertilizers has been elusive, largely…
Can forest management save us from global warming?
Photo credit: NAU News SES climate scientist Deborah Huntzinger recently published a paper in Science about the potential for forests to absorb our excess greenhouse gas emissions. You can learn more about challenges and solutions from her interviews with NAU News and the AZ Daily Sun.
What's happening on the Museum Fire scar north of Flagstaff these days?
NAU SES scientists are using drones, seismometers, cameras and more to study the aftermath of Museum Fire. This NSF-funded research is critical to understanding flooding potential and debris flows on a disturbed landscape. Plus major bonus, the article in the Daily Sun is written by one of our amazing local geology alums, John Noll!
SES PhD student Lexi Riche is using her NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to study the Colorado Plateau
Check it out! Lexi's award and her work on the origins of the Colorado Plateau's uplift is highlighted in NAU News today.
SES paleoclimatologists author major new study showing global warming has upended 6,500 years of cooling
Image credit: Victor O. Leshyk, Northern Arizona University Learn how School of Earth and Sustainability climate scientists determined how global warming is a major new shift in long-term climate trends. Their findings were published in a major new study out this month. Check out the VERY cool infographic and NAU news story, or go straight to the open access paper.
SES teaching in the field
Interdisciplinary SES faculty, graduate students, and alumni take to the river: Field-based learning about geology and policy on the Yampa River.
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