UMass Amherst Dept. of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences

08/25/2026

06/30/2026

06/25/2026

Massachusetts's Healey-Driscoll Administration recently announced that nearly $500,000 in grant funding has been awarded to the Massachusetts Geological Survey at UMass Amherst to develop carbon baseline data for wetland resource areas. This project will develop a Massachusetts-specific baseline to determine how much carbon wetlands absorb and release.

“This grant will give Massachusetts clear, up-to-date baseline data of how much carbon is stored in our wetlands,” said Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Commissioner Bonnie Heiple. “These data are essential for informing effective protection, restoration, and investment strategies.”

“Staff at MassGeo are thrilled to support MassDEP with information that will support sound, smart, and science-based decision-making regarding the Commonwealth’s natural resources,” says Brian Yellen, survey director, Massachusetts State Geologist, and a College of Natural Sciences at UMass Amherst faculty member.

Learn more: https://www.umass.edu/natural-sciences/news/egcs-massgeo-grant-wetlands

UMass Amherst Dept. of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences

06/22/2026

Congratulations to department head Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette on being appointed Distinguished Professor by the UMass Board of Trustees earlier this month. Distinguished Professorships are awarded by the Board of Trustees to full professors at UMass Amherst for outstanding national or international contributions in research, teaching, and/or public service

05/15/2026

Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette was recently interviewed by Channel 22 News' InFocus on the warming waters of the Atlantic Ocean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKP5Dgixxww&list=PLmfzHgbX9Y57Z1-a4rXY6KClRn4f0rFcs

InFocus featuring Julie Brigham-Grette (Warming Atlantic Ocean)

04/30/2026

Hands-on experience, outside in the field, has always been a core component of educating and training the earth science workforce. A modern fleet of vans makes field trips, outdoor labs for courses, research, and public outreach accessible for students.

Please join us in supporting high-quality student education during with a small gift to EGCS:

https://umass.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-day/111216/department/119408

04/29/2026

Real learning happens beyond the classroom. Your gift to EGCS helps us keep our fleet of vans running, enabling students to participate in experiential, field-based courses we offer.

Please join us in supporting our students during UMassGives!

https://umass.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-day/111216/department/119408

04/21/2026

It turns out that the simple depth of a boot print can say a lot about the state of the habitat, as sedimentologist Ash Oh shared this past February at this year’s Ocean Sciences Meeting, held in Glasgow in the UK. Read more about the research Ash presented at https://blogs.egu.eu/geolog/2026/04/13/footprints-reveal-climates-mark-on-mudflats/

04/21/2026

In a first-of-its-kind study, a team of researchers led by EGCS geoscientist Dr. Michael Rawlins has shown in fine-grained detail what happens when Arctic permafrost thaws: https://www.umass.edu/news/article/wisconsin-sized-chunk-alaskan-permafrost-thawing-arctic-and-global-climate-may-never

04/16/2026

Pop by the Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference this Friday afternoon to see several undergraduates in our programs present their phenomenal research. A schedule of presenters is at https://www.umass.edu/earth-geography-climate/news/egcs-massachusetts-undergraduate-research-conference