The climate has changed dramatically over the 4.5 billion years of the existence of our planet and will continue to do so in the future. From super-greenhouse intervals with crocodiles and palm trees in the Arctic to the Last Glacial Maximum that brought continental glaciers into Iowa, Earth’s climate is a dynamic system that is affected by complex interactions between the oceans, atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, and geosphere.

Understanding the causes and consequences of past climate change is critical to predicting current and future impacts of climate variability on society. It is critical to study these impacts of the climate system on a range of temporal and spatial scales. SEES researchers span the breadth of scales in climate research, ranging from millions of years of Earth history to the last few decades to the present day, and from global-scale climate patterns to the impact of variability on individual species. Flooding, drought, wildfires, sea level, and ecosystem responses to climate are all major areas of focus for faculty within SEES.