The Campaign for Berkeley and the Department of Earth and Planetary Science

Introduction by the Chair

My colleagues and I are proud to have the privilege to serve our outstanding Department with a history that dates back to 1868 when Joseph Le Conte taught the first courses of Geology in the newly established University of California. In the department’s 140 years, a large number of students have graduated and gone on to distinguished careers in academia and industry.

Today our Department ranks third among earth science departments in the country and first among public universities. Eight of my colleagues are members of the National Academy and research projects span the whole range of our wide discipline including studies of the structure of the core of Jupiter; earthquake mechanisms; the exchange of carbon between Earth’s atmosphere and the oceans; the role of geological environments on microbial activity; volcanism on Mars, the composition and structure of the deep earth to evolution of landscapes, to name just a few.

Our mission remains to educate the best students and to advance our field as leaders in creative research. This comes with challenges particularly in times of severe budget cuts that limit our possibilities. Here we reach out to our friends and alumni, using the Campaign for Berkeley as a vehicle. So many have been generous to us in the past. For example, the Charles Ramsden (B.A. 1933) endowment had tremendous impact on our undergraduate program. The Esper Larsen (PhD 1933) fund enables stimulating research projects every year related to mineralogy and petrology. A gift from Ann and Gordon Getty established the Garniss Curtis Chair that provides discretionary funds to apply to urgent needs. Most recently the John Kilkenny (B.A. 1935) endowment helps us maintain a high quality seminar program. Other contributions support graduate student fellowships.

Today, with our growing department and our many areas of research and learning, we need additional resources.

Here we focus on issues of relevance to society, addressing them head on and in depth. These include climate change, surface processes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and pollution (see below and additional materials for further detail). We know that earth sciences plays a special and important role at this point in the history of our globe. Obviously there are many other exciting programs that we pursue and the list above is by no means exclusive. Our scope is large, but there is a tremendous amount more we need to do.

We invite your input and involvement with us via our website, e-mail, in visits to campus and by participating in our exciting seminars and colloquia. Please visit our website at http://eps.berkeley.edu/ for more information or contact me.

We also invite you to partner with us financially to support our very important work. Our limitations are only financial. There are many ways you can support us. To review our programs, priorities and needs, please see the following description. I would be happy to talk with you about our priorities and your interests. Or, you may donate online at http://eps.berkeley.edu/about/gift.php.

This is a particularly auspicious time to partner with us in this way as UC Berkeley launches its Campaign for Berkeley in the fall, 2008, and our Earth and Planetary Sciences funding goals are a part of this important campaign. We join the University in the Campaign for Berkeley and invite you to join us with your support.

I greatly appreciate your interest in our program and hope you will participate with us. Again, I would be happy to talk with you about our priorities and your interests so do not hesitate to contact me.

Roland Bürgmann

Chair, Earth and Planetary Sciences


Heritage and History

The Earth and Planetary Science Department and programs are among the strongest on campus. Significant resources are already in place, including greatly esteemed faculty and staff, brilliant undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, well-equipped labs and substantial building space, some fellowship funds, and a strong alumni base. These assets provide an excellent foundation on which to build the EPS program of the future. The goal: to realize the program’s promise in expanded educational opportunities, research discoveries, and intellectual contributions to global human knowledge.

The Path to Knowledge and Solutions

There is palpable excitement in the classrooms, labs, and field stations where EPS scientists and students explore fascinating questions, do superb research and create innovative solutions to some of our most pressing problems.

This is a pivotal time in our explorations and studies; only limited resources can hold us back. With financial support from others who share the thirst for knowledge and the commitment to global solutions, Earth and Planetary Science at Berkeley can move strongly forward.


The first field class at UC Berkeley in 1891, taught by Prof. Andrew Lawson

Specific funding needs are well defined:



Students from Oakland Charter School visiting the Department with undergraduate student instructor


Central Themes:

Climate Change

Climate change is urgent, as are actions to slow global warming and to adapt to or mitigate its impact. Guiding any climate solution or action must perforce be the scientific understanding of the processes that maintain or alter climate. EPS is at the forefront of climate change science, and is leading the development of the next-generation global climate prediction model that links climate physics with the biological and chemical processes that alter atmospheric composition and marine and terrestrial ecosystems. In collaboration with economists, policy experts, computer scientists and mathematicians on campus and at LBNL, EPS faculty are also leading the development of a new generation of an integrated earth system model to link global environmental predictions to regional and local decisions.


Clouds over the Pacific viewed from Space Shuttle (Courtesy of NASA)


Earthquakes

EPS faculty and students are engaged in earthquake research in order to identify the hazards we face and mitigate their impacts. This effort is focused within the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory (BSL) which remains at the forefront of earthquake research providing tools, data and insight to other seismological laboratories across the US and around the world. BSL also develops and operates geophysical networks across the state and has the unique mission to provide timely information on earthquakes to the University, the general public, local and state government and private organizations. Current research includes imaging of tectonic processes within the lithosphere, study of the earthquake rupture process, and the development of rapid post-earthquake and early warning information systems (see figure). Seed funding is needed for development of innovative new techniques and equipment, to purchase and deploy instrumentation, and support research.

AlertMap generated by the earthquake early warning system currently under developmental testing. It shows a map of the predicted distribution of ground shaking for the magnitude 5.4 earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area on October 30, 2007. This prediction of ground shaking was possible a few seconds before shaking in San Francisco. Further development of this system could provide seconds to tens of seconds warning prior to future earthquakes around the world.

Volcanoes

Volcanic eruptions provide spectacular and frequent (more than 70 volcanoes erupt every year) reminders that Earth is a dynamic and evolving planet. These events have global effects on climate and life. Despite a long history of investigation, including seminal work by Berkeley faculty over the past century, numerical models of volcanic processes and real-time monitoring of active volcanoes are only now beginning to show their promise to both predict eruptions and quantitatively interpret volcanic deposits. Volcanic systems are also directly relevant for geothermal energy. Precise and accurate geochronology is required. There is a pressing need to develop new methods of quantification and modeling to provide a detailed understanding of how volcanic systems evolve over time.

The greatest departmental need is support for field studies for faculty and students to initiate new projects. This includes travel costs, field instruments, and the analytical costs of making measurements on collected samples. With Berkeley’s long history in volcanology, current faculty interest, and geographic proximity to many recently active volcanoes, Berkeley will continue to influence volcanological research.


California volcanoes: Little Glass Mountain obsidian flow (foreground) erupted around 1000 years ago; Mount Shasta’s (background) last eruption was in 1786. The last major eruption in California was Mount Lassen in 1915.


Pollution and Environment: San Francisco Bay, Delta, and Watershed

The San Francisco Bay and Delta form the hub of California’s water supply system - providing freshwater to twenty-seven Californians. Precipitation and runoff from almost half of California drains through the estuary and out into the Pacific Ocean. San Francisco Bay, now considered one of the most “urbanized” estuaries in the world, has undergone major transformations since the Gold Rush, dramatically transforming the natural landscape, and impacting natural habitats, ecosystems, and wildlife. Research efforts in the EPS Department are focused on understanding the natural processes that shape San Francisco Bay estuary over the timescale of hours to hundreds to thousands of years, including how natural changes in climate and environment have affected ecosystems in the Bay and its surrounding salt marshes, and the role of marsh microbial communities in contaminant amelioration.


San Francisco Bay estuary and Delta. Pollution in Bay near Richmond.