Chairperson: Joe Yelderman
Graduate Program Director: Jay Pulliam

Baylor Geosciences focuses on integrative and interdisciplinary research, teaching, and service in Earth and planetary sciences.

The Department of Geosciences offers graduate work leading to the Master of Science in Geosciences and the Doctor of Philosophy in Geosciences.

Opportunities for research and specialization include theses and dissertations in: 

1. engineering geology;
2. environmental geology and urban geology;
3. geoarcheology;
4. geochemistry;
5. geochronology and paleomagnetism;
6. geodesy;
7. geodynamics;
8. hydrogeology and hydrology;
9. human-environment interactions;
10. igneous petrology and volcanology;
11. multiphase, multicomponent flow and transport modeling in the subsurface;
12. organic geochemistry and biogeochemistry;
13. paleoclimatology;
14. paleontology, paleobotany, invertebrate paleontology, and paleoecology;
15. pedology, soil genesis, and paleopedology;
16. petroleum geosciences;
17. planetary sciences;
18. quantitative geomorphology and Quaternary environments;
19. renewable energy and biofuels;
20. seismology;
21. solid earth and applied geophysics;
22. stable isotope geochemistry;
23. stratigraphy, sedimentology, sedimentary petrology, and sedimentary geochemistry;
24. structural geology; and
25. tectonics.

Facilities

The majority of offices, laboratory, and lecture facilities used by the Department of Geosciences are housed in the Baylor Sciences Building.  Additionally, many specialized laboratories are located in the Carlile Geology Research Center, which is adjacent to the Baylor Sciences Building, including laboratories for rock crushing, sawing, and thin-section preparation, as well as for environmental geology, hydrogeology, geophysics, and petrology.

The department has a variety of analytical facilities and equipment used for research and teaching.  Geophysical equipment is available for work in applied seismology, gravity, magnetic, and electrical methods. Equipment includes gravity meters, a magnetometer, a conductivity meter, a resistivity meter, a nodal seismic system equipped with 4.5 Hz geophones, and 25 broadband seismic stations, including Nanometrics Trillium Compact sensors and Reftek 130 digitizer/recorders.  The department’s Scintrex CG-6 gravity meter detects accelerations on the order of 10^-8 m/s^-2, and a mounting tripod allows for the measurement of vertical gradients in Earth’s gravity field. 

Heavy equipment available includes a trailer mounted drill rig with mud rotary, auger, and coring capabilities, a vibracoring system, and a sub-bottom acoustic profiling system. A Cesium 137 analyzer is available for age-dating sediments and soils. Students interested in the engineering/hydrogeology aspects of geology have at their disposal digital data loggers and transducers to instrument aquifers, watersheds, and slopes. These data collection systems allow for monitoring remote sites and permit downloading of information directly to laptop computers or tablets. A Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) volumetric moisture probe allows for rapid in situ characterization of volumetric soil moisture, integral to water infiltration and recharge studies. A Guelph permeameter is available for characterization of in situ permeability.  A Percival E-35VL growth chamber, a Thermoscientific RS485, and a VWR 89511-428 Forced Air Microbiological Incubator are available for algae growth experiments for biofuel research.

The department has a variety of microscopes used in advanced labs and research projects.  A Leica M-420 polarizing macroscope and universal stage microscope with digital camera are available for structural petrofabric analysis. An Olympus BX51 research microscope equipped with a high-resolution digital camera and UV fluorescence is also available for thin section work. In the paleobotany laboratory a Nikon SMZ 1500 zoom stereo microscope with a Nikon DS-Fi1 5-megapixel digital camera, a Beseler CS digital photo/video copy stand with lights, a Nikon stereoscope, and a sample preparation area with air handling system are available for sample analysis and curation.

Geochemistry and petrology laboratories include a capillary electrophoresis unit for quantifying the concentration of common solutes in water, an automated Rigaku X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer for major and trace element analysis of soils, sediments and rocks, a Siemens D5000 X-ray diffractometer (XRD) instrument for mineral identification, an automated New Wave micro-sampling device, a CHNS Elemental Analyzer with a liquid and solid autosampler, a Malvern laser particle size analyzer, and two Thermo-Electron Delta V Advantage isotope ratio mass spectrometers, one with a gas chromatograph/combustion interface for compound-specific isotope analysis and the other with the following peripherals: Gas Bench II, combustion EA, TCEA, and a dual inlet.  The Organic Geochemistry Laboratory has an Agilent 6890 gas chromatograph with 5973 Quadrupole mass spectrometer and equipment available for organic matter and “biomarker” extractions and/or petroleum sample preparation including soxhlet 132 extractors, Dionex 200 accelerated solvent extractor ASE), rotary evaporator, turbo evaporator, and a freeze dryer (lyophilizer).  The Microbial Biogeochemistry Laboratory is equipped with incubators and associated equipment for cell cultures and chemical extractions as well as a Thermo Scientific LTQ XL Linear Ion Trap mass spectrometer/Dionex Ultimate 3000 HPLC system with diode array and fluorescence detectors for analyzing pigments, polar lipids, and metabolites.  The Paul Marchand nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) facility includes a solid-state 300 MHz Bruker standard-bore spectrometer equipped with two (4mm and 7mm) broad-band double resonance sample probes for multidimensional and cross polarization experiments.  The High Temperature Petrology lab houses a Nicolet iN10 Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectrometer and a DXR Raman microscope with a 532 nm laser. The FTIR and Raman spectrometers are used to identify minerals and measure volatile contents in minerals and glasses.

The Geoluminescence Dating Research Laboratory utilizes a variety of luminescence technology including three automated Risø Reader systems for age-dating Quaternary deposits using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL).  The readers have capabilities for thermoluminescence, infrared, blue, and UV stimulation, as well as linear modulation applications. The two automated Risø TL/OSL readers (Bøtter-Jensen 1997) are used for the single aliquot measurements. One Risø TL/OSL reader is dedicated to single grain analysis. Blue light excitation (470 ± 30 nm) is from an array of 30 light-emitting diodes that delivers approximately 25 mW/cm² to the sample position at 90% power. A Thorn EMI 9235 QA photomultiplier tube coupled with three 3-mm-thick Hoya U-340 detection filters that transmit between 290 and 370 nm will be used to measure photon emissions. Laboratory irradiations used a calibrated ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y beta source coupled with the Risø reader and the experimental sequences were executed using Risø TL/OSL software for MS-Windows. In addition to mounted and calibrated beta source (⁹⁰Sr) on Risø Reader, the laboratory maintains four independent calibrated, automated alpha and beta irradiators that provide beta or alpha radiation exposure, for up to 20 samples sequentially, at individually prescribed periods ranging from seconds to hours. The laboratory is illuminated by the indirect and diffuse light from sodium-vapor bulbs (590 nm). This facility is equipped with ultrasonic baths; digital scales and precision preheat plates, IEC 2000 centrifuge, and automated grinders for the preparation of a variety of geological materials for luminescence analysis. A portable Na-I gamma spectrometer is also available for field measurements. Support labs include a soil-testing lab, microscope, and sample preparation facilities.

The Thomas T. Goforth Paleomagnetism Laboratory includes instruments useful for rock magnetism, paleomagnetism, and environmental magnetism studies. The laboratory includes a 2G cryogenic DC-SQuID magnetometer with an automated sample-changing device capable of performing three-axis measurements on a series of samples successively between computer inputs, a static alternating-field (AF) device, inline rock-magnetic devices including an ASC IM-10 impulse magnetizer for measuring isothermal remanence magnetization (IRM) and a Bartington MS2B susceptibility sensor and MS2 susceptibility meter, and an ASC controlled atmosphere thermal demagnetizer. All of the instruments are housed within a 14’ by 10’ two-layer magnetostatic shielded room.  Outside of the shielded room, the laboratory also has a Bartington MS3 susceptibility meter, a Bartington MS2 temperature-susceptibility temperature system, a MS2C core logging sensor with a manual core track, and a Princeton Measurements Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) available for rock and environmental magnetism studies.

The Department of Geosciences maintains state-of-the-art computational facilities in the Baylor Science Building and has access to massively-parallel computing platforms that reside in the Information Technology Services server facility. The Remote Sensing and GIS laboratory contains Windows workstations, associated servers and peripheral devices. The Beaver-Brown Applied Petroleum Studies laboratory maintains high-performance Windows workstations with dual screens and industry-grade software for analyzing subsurface well log and seismic data. The Geophysics Research Laboratory maintains a cluster of high-performance Linux and Mac workstations for geophysical data processing and analysis.  Additionally, four computer laboratories are available for student use. One contains dual-boot Windows and Linux workstations with software for special applications. An extensive geology research library is housed in the Moody and Jones Libraries with a smaller reference collection located in the Baylor Sciences Building.

Geosciences (GEO)