PhD in Geochemistry - Mineralogy in Geochemistry in Pasadena United States | California Institute of Technology

Geochemistry explores Earth's chemical makeup and structural changes, along with its various components like the atmosphere, oceans, crust, mantle, and core, as well as celestial bodies such as meteorites, comets, planets, the sun, and distant stars. This field focuses on how elements move and are distributed within Earth and its atmospheric layers. Originally a descriptive discipline, geochemistry has progressed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of its findings. Modern geochemistry branches into specialized areas like aqueous geochemistry, cosmochemistry, inorganic geochemistry, isotope geochemistry, organic geochemistry, and trace-element geochemistry. Because chemical reactions drive most geological phenomena, geochemical insights help explain processes across other earth science disciplines. At Caltech GPS, geochemical research since 1952 has examined element distribution in Earth and the solar system, developed dating techniques for planetary events, analyzed terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials, and studied chemical interactions within Earth's interior, surface, and beyond. Caltech has a distinguished legacy in stable and radiogenic isotope studies, including Clair Patterson's groundbreaking calculation of Earth's age. Today, our research continues in these key areas.