How are geologists addressing the challenges facing our society?
They are:
- Protecting populations from the threat of natural disasters
- Aiding in the transition away from fossil fuels and towards net zero
- Finding and sustainably extracting the resources that are vital to making modern technology.
How are environmental scientists addressing the challenges facing our society?
They are:
- Modelling the impact of climate change on our ecosystems, and the effect of greenhouse gasses on the rate of change in global temperatures
- Monitoring pollution in our air, soil and water to mitigate its impact on human and ecological health
- Conserving our planets unique biodiversity by protecting endangered species and restoring habitats.
How are planetary scientists addressing the challenges facing our society?
They are:
- Understanding the extreme conditions on other planets, and what they can tell us about the pressures on Earth’s climate
- Analysing samples from asteroids and meteorites to uncover the origins of the solar system
- Searching for life on other planets, and understanding in more detail the building blocks of life on our own planet
- Playing a role in plans for future space exploration.
Join us at an Open Day – Saturday 21 and 28 June 2025
We'll be inviting prospective students to our Department as part of The University of Manchester's June Open Days.
Come and talk with our academics and students, and explore the pathways we offer in our Earth and Environmental Sciences degrees.
This is your chance to explore our campus and see how we can support you to learn, have new experiences and prepare for your future at Manchester.
Sciences in action
Earth and environmental sciences reveal our past, explain the present, and shape a better tomorrow
- What can the Moon teach us about Earth?
- How do synthetic minerals address ethical challenges?
- What hidden stories do rocks reveal about our planet’s history?
Dive into these quick, fascinating insights from our researchers and students.
Why earth and environmental science? Because the world needs ...
Analysts
To understand our world’s big picture, we need people who can study it in detail, from microscopes to computer modelling.
Detectives
With minimal evidence and a strong scientific foundation, we need to learn from Earth's past to prepare for the future.
Planners
Understanding how the environment is affected by human activity is vital as we strategise to mitigate our impact.
Advocates
We need science communicators who can make the case for policies that transform energy, climate and the environment.
Explorers
From finding new resources to visiting unknown ocean environments, there’s still so much more to explore.
Leaders
With a grasp of how so many things overlap, we need leaders to take action and move our society towards climate goals.
Core topics
Core topics in Earth and environmental science
Geology
Rocks around us keep a record of the dramatic processes that shape our planet, slowly over millions of years, before erupting into explosions and earthquakes that shake it to the core.
Geologists make use of chemistry, physics and biology as well as the evidence of their own eyes in the field to bring the Earth’s 4 billion year history to life.
Discover landscapes that existed millions of years ago, the extreme conditions that created resources vital to our modern society and how life adapted, survived and thrived through it all.
Environmental science
Human activity is changing the world and environment in which we live.
Environmental scientists confront these changes by studying the Earth's systems that sustain life and the effects of pollution on water, air, and soil.
Outside the lab, the lines between physics, biology, and chemistry blur as they all contribute to understanding our environment.
Discover our world's ecology and learn how to conserve the ecosystems and biodiversity that are essential for a thriving planet.
Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Global Modeling and Assimilation Office.
Planetary science
What can the geology of the moon and other planets tell us about the Earth, and is there a possibility of life elsewhere in the solar system?
Working on a truly massive scale, planetary scientists set out to understand planets, moons and even dust, as they hurtle through the cosmos.
Whether they’ve fallen to Earth, or been brought back by us, the chance to study samples of asteroids or other bodies is out of this world!
Hold in your hands, samples that date back to the early days of the solar system, and use cutting edge techniques to bring this ancient time to life.
Next steps
Explore our subject brochure
Learn more about our courses and pathways, as well as how we teach Earth and environmental sciences at Manchester, including our common first year.
