Being a geological oceanographer is a lot like being a detective, but rather than trying to figure out who killed Colonel Mustard in the parlor with the candlestick, a geological oceanographer seeks to use geologic clues to discover how the Earth and ocean came to be the way they are and how ongoing geologic processes may change them in the future.

This broad mandate means that Texas A&M geological oceanographers have diverse backgrounds, diverse research interests, and use a variety of tools in pursuing their studies. Within the oceanography department at Texas A&M we have specialists in marine geology, geophysics, ocean acoustics, coastal and shelf geology, sedimentology, micropaleontology, paleoclimatology, and hydrodynamics.

Where We Work

This diversity of interests also means that geological oceanographers can be found within a variety of campus units: the Department of Oceanography, the Department of Geology and Geophysics, the Ocean Drilling Program, and the seaside campus-Texas A&M University at Galveston. Furthermore, geological oceanography faculty have research connections and sometimes joint faculty appointments with other sections in oceanography, other departments in the college, such as geology and geophysics, geography, and meteorology, and other research units within the university, such as the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group and the Offshore Technology Research Center. This panoply of interests and interconnections provides a unique environment for the student to design a course of study fitting his or her own scientific interests.

What We Study

Geological oceanography graduate students are currently working on research projects examining the composition and dynamics of marine particles, the geotechnical and acoustic properties of seafloor sediments, the distribution of salt beneath the northern Gulf of Mexico continental slope, the distribution of climate-sensitive nannoplankton fossils, the formation of oceanic plateaus, the response of corals to climate fluctuations, the distribution of radioisotopes as markers of sedimentation processes, the acoustic signatures of near seabottom sediments, and more.

A Future in Geological Oceanography

Students interested in studying the earth beneath the sea and discovering its clues about the way the earth works, the way things were, and how things came to be are encouraged to apply for graduate study in geological oceanography. Our students have explored virtually every corner of Earth's oceans-from Arctic to Antarctic and throughout the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. Our graduates have gone on to productive careers in academics, government agencies, research laboratories, and private industry. Although the typical geological oceanography student has a background in geology, geophysics, or oceanography, we welcome applications from students with other scientific backgrounds as well.

Geological & Geosphysical Oceanography Academic Advisor: Dr. Matthew Schmidt

See also Research Topics