Understanding the dynamics of elemental earth

All of life is confined to a narrow shell around the earth, where the substrates of life--soil, water, and atmosphere--interact. As the earth’s stewards, researchers in ESPM focus on local, regional and global scale environmental processes that form the basis for life. Topics include climate, energy, natural resource use, fire, and pollution.  ESPM has over 1/2 of researchers on campus who study atmospheric science and water/hydrology, and we also have expertise in climate modeling, past climate change, and the response of ecosystems to climate change.

Exmaples of our work:

  • Professor Inez Fung is the co-organizer of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment.
  • Professor Dennis Baldocchi works with the Ameriflux and FLUXNET programs, which measure and model carbon, water and energy fluxes across a spectrum of climates, ecosystems and managed crops.
  • Professor Whendee Silver collaborates with the Marin Carbon Project to enhance carbon sequestration in rangeland, agricultural, and forest soils through applied research, demonstration and implementation.