Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyoto University

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Graduate school

To prospective students

There has been remarkable progress in the Earth and planetary sciences in recent years. Through ongoing research, we continue to learn more about the 4.6-billion-year history of the Earth, the process of its evolution, global warming and environmental change, plate tectonics, disaster science, and the search for and observation of planets. We continue to make discoveries that span the micro to the macro, and uncover new areas for investigation of interesting phenomena. But uncovering these complex phenomena and developing new fields of discovery?both within and outside of our planet?is increasingly difficult. We can no longer rely on knowledge from isolated fields of specialization, but must instead learn to share and incorporate ideas from a wide range of studies. From this perspective, the Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences works to connect and develop methodologies unique to various academic fields, thereby realizing multidisciplinary research and education. The Integrated Earth Science Hub was launched in 2008, and we are further strengthening research and education.

The Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences comprises the Department of Geophysics and the Department of Geology and Mineralogy. The Department of Geophysics undertakes research not only regarding the Earth's core, mantle, and crust, but also its oceans and atmosphere, and even interplanetary space. We analyze data from above-ground and satellite data to combine methodologies for theoretic, laboratory, and simulation experiments to learn more about the ever-changing dynamics of the geosphere, through which we hope to learn to predict such changes. In the Department of Geology and Mineralogy, we emphasize observation and analysis through both fieldwork and laboratory testing to examine phenomena related to the Earth's strata and rocks, minerals, and fossils from the context of the Earth's developmental history. Our curriculum is therefore organized to allow students to systematically learn advanced research and analysis methods from various areas of expertise.

"The farther backwards you can look,
the farther forward you are likely to see."

-Winston Churchill

Welcome to the world of the Earth and planetary sciences!

Earth and planetary sciences in the Department of Geophysics

The Department of Geophysics includes classes on geophysics in the Graduate School of Science, research facilities for geothermal studies, and the World Data Center for Geomagnetism. We have faculty from the Disaster Prevention Research Institute and the Research Institute for a Sustainable Humanosphere, who comprise three groups for the study of solid geophysics, hydrospheric and atmospheric physics, and Earth and planetary electromagnetism. The Department of Geophysics undertakes research not only regarding the Earth's core, mantle, and crust, but also its oceans and atmosphere, and even interplanetary space. We analyze ground-based and satellite data to combine methodologies for theoretical, laboratory, and simulation experiments to learn more about the ever-changing dynamics of the geosphere, through which we hope to learn to predict such changes.

Earth and planetary sciences in the Department of Geology and Mineralogy

The Department of Geology and Mineralogy comprises the Geotectonics Group, the Mineral Geoscience Group, the Biosphere Group, and the Space Geochemistry Group. The Department of Geology and Mineralogy is characterized by our emphasis on learning about the Earth's past through observation and analysis in both fieldwork and laboratory testing to examine phenomena related to the Earth's strata and rocks, minerals, and fossils from the context of the earth's developmental history. Our curriculum is therefore organized to allow students to systematically learn advanced research and analysis methods from various areas of expertise.

Integrated Earth Science Hub

There has been remarkable progress in the Earth and planetary sciences in recent years. Through ongoing research, we continue to learn more about the 4.6-billion-year history of the Earth, the process of its evolution, global warming and environmental change, plate tectonics, and disaster science. We continue to make discoveries that span the micro to the macro, and uncover new areas for investigation of interesting phenomena. But uncovering these complex phenomena and developing new fields of discovery?both within and outside of our planet?is increasingly difficult. We can no longer rely on knowledge from isolated fields of specialization, but must instead learn to share and incorporate ideas from a wide range of studies. From this perspective, the Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences works to connect and develop methodologies unique to various academic fields, thereby realizing multidisciplinary research and education. An example of this is the Integrated Earth Science Hub, which was created by the Department of Geophysics to promote academic studies coordinated among researchers from various fields of expertise.

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