MA/MS in Earth Structure and Dynamics

The programme examines how the Earth's crust, mantle and core are composed and structured and how they have evolved, combining geological, geochemical, geophysical and geodetic measurements taken at the surface with the physical processes occurring deep inside the planet. It draws on physics, chemistry, mathematics, geology and fieldwork, and allows specialisation across solid-earth science, from theoretical geophysics to geology or geochemistry, with many students combining geology and geophysics as a focus. Core subject areas include basin evolution, magmatic processes, metamorphism, structural geology, mantle dynamics, tectonophysics and seismology, together with deposits of hydrocarbons and minerals. Students study processes ranging from slow geodynamic phenomena such as plate tectonics, mantle convection and mountain building, to faster ones observable within a human lifetime, including crustal deformation, volcanism, and subsidence or uplift linked to hydrocarbon extraction and underground storage of carbon dioxide.