EARTH SCIENCES - The Oregon Hazards Lab is a research lab within the UO’s Department of Earth Sciences, which is part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Its mission is to detect, monitor and mitigate natural and human-caused hazards, such as earthquakes and wildfires.

EARTH SCIENCES - Research led by Rebecca Dorsey, an Earth sciences professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, led research that reveals the dynamics of seismically active faults on either side of the Strait of Messina and how they interact to create a narrow marine passage filled with geologic hazards.

EARTH SCIENCES - The Greek island Santorini is known for its scenic beauty and the filming location for the hit ABBA-fueled musical Mamma Mia. However, geophysicist Emilie Hooft is interested in the underwater volcanoes that created the island about 3,600 years ago. For the past 10 years, Hooft has been studying those underwater volcanoes using state-of-the-art imaging.

The UO’s Environment Initiative has awarded seed funding to five new teaching projects to support faculty members who have proposed innovative courses and dynamic classroom experiences. The funding supports both research and curricular projects and focuses the intellectual energy and work of faculty, students and community partners on a just and livable future through transdisciplinary research, teaching and experiential learning.

EARTH SCIENCES - A team of University of Oregon students and faculty worked with the Museum of Natural and Cultural History to tag, identify and catalog a massive fossil collection in Newport. 

EARTH SCIENCES - Earthquakes. Wildfires. Landslides. Floods. Natural hazards like these are an inevitable part of life in Oregon. But with better data and more forewarning, emergency responders could quickly and effectively address imminent threats. At the University of Oregon, the Oregon Hazards Lab, known by its acronym OHAZ, is working towards that mission.

EARTH SCIENCES - Oregon’s U.S Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have secured $800,000 in funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to launch the Center for Wildfire Smoke Research and Practice at the University of Oregon.

EARTH SCIENCES - A better way to predict explosive volcanoes that would produce an ash cloud, also known as a volcanic plume, is the focus of an a UO researcher who recently won a National Science Foundation award.