Earth Sciences

>>8677949
geology PhD/masters is actually very well compensated due to muh oil

>>8677949
>>8677983
Geophysics, Atmospheric Sciences, Atmospheric Chemistry, Oceanography etc higher degrees are cool.

However you're usually better off being a real science major, like physics and chemistry then jump onto whatever field of earth science you want rather than vice versa. A BS with earth science degree usually knows a lot about the earth but a masters of none. A true pure physics major usually knows a lot about high level math, programming language, etc required to jump ship onto the cutting edge research of earth sciences.

Everybody can learn geology 101 in a week. But not everybody have the toolkit to know finite differences, numerical methods, high level scientific programming, tensor flexor calculus, etc.

>>8678068
Not op but I'm a physics major interested in getting a minor in geophysics. It seems like it would be useful for something like planetary astronomy, but I know nobody else who has pursued it. Does that sound like a good direction?

>>8677949
It is, yes.

What are your thoughts on Magnetic Holography?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tklcucbsaXY

>>8678482
Probably. The astronomy and geology departments at my university do a lot of work together.
Check physicsforums and talk to your advisor about it. they'll be a lot more helpful than anyone here

>>8677949
Do physics, math, or computer science for undergrad and then an Earth science for grad school/phd. Earth sciences are respectable but are heavily rooted in math and physics. I added computer science because you are guaran-fucking-teed a job after school with computer science and earth science background.

>>8678656
I'm two years in and my advisor hasn't ever been much of a help. She basically looks at the physics suggested schedule and tells me to sign up for those classes. I'm in the first class she's advised for and she pretty much exclusively focuses on LIGO research so I guess I can't blame her, but it's a bit frustrating for me. Maybe I'll find some other profs to speak to.

>>8677949
>Is it a respectable field of research?

It seems to rely on science: observation, analysis and reasonable conclusions.

>>8677949
>is it a respectable field of research?

Hell yeah it is. Just peep through some of the top journals in a certain field, e.g., anything by the AGU:

http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/jgr/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2169-9011/

I work in a related field, but whenever I look at stuff outside my realm that's still in serious earth sciences (just for curiosity's sake), I'm usually blown away at what other people are doing. Shit like quantifying the interactions between the lower atmosphere and the biosphere via 'flux towers' or describing huge biogeochemical processes in the ocean. Fucking insane.

>>8678068
I'd echo this sentiment too, especially if you want to do research. I wish I had done a physics degree first to get the better tools and higher understanding of the processes.

>>8681191
lmao I remember this picture

thanks for the laughs

>>8678068
>Everybody can learn geology 101 in a week.
sadly, that's what a lot of people seems to think.
And that's how you end up with physicists who decide to do geophy because "muh earth is simple" and end up being laugh at by the whole community, as their results are fully absurd when applied to earth.

Earth is a very complex system, with a lot of interdependence and understanding it require quite a lot of knowledge. So, no, don't skip actual geology.
If you want to go for geophy, you'll need not only fluid dynamics and continuum and material mechanics, but also quite a chunck of numericals methods, and you'll definitively need to gain a global understanding of inner earth. I would highly advise doing at least an internship or a post docunder the direction of a geophysicist, (and not a physicist who does geology)

For geochemistery, "traditionnal" chemistery cursus are almost useless, as it almost only deals in isotopic chemistery. Depending on the exact field you'll be working in, I'll also reccomend taking molecular biology courses. It's worth mentionning that geochemistery is one of the most booming field of geosciences nowadays, with a lot of new applications especially in medical domain. So ifyou want to have gold-plated balls, don't go for "muh oil", go for geochemistry.

>>8677949
Don't fucking mess with me, I'm alredy set on specializing in condensed matter physics. I don't live in oil country, I ain't getting a fucking job through earth studies.

>>8681880
How is geochemistry lucrative? What applications does it have?

>>8681931
I think the most lucrtaive branch nowadays is the devellopement of medical applications.
Basically, it's adding the tools of isotopic chemistry to the diagnosis tools pool.
It's an application of geochemistery because geochemists are the only people actaully able to do isotopic chemistery nowadays.

>>8681880
>'traditional' chemistry deals in isotropic chemistry
>>8681946
>geochemists are the only people actually able to do isotropic chemistry

did you mean anisotropic chemistry the second time?

I studied chemistry as a basis for my study (environmental engineer), I didn't really consider geochemistry that much. We did have an excursion to germany, to the I think it was one of the max planck institutes and there was a phd who showed us how they have this special reaction vessel that makes conditions that are close to really deep in the soil. They said that e.g. there is more HCO3 present that they expected at those conditions.... something like that. Is that in the direction you're talking about?

I'm genuinely curious, also, what do you mean with medical diagnosis tool?

>>8677949
meteorology is nice, it's pretty much applied physics

>>8681976
isoTOpic, not isotropic, aka chemistry based on isotopes differences.

for the first one you didn't understood me, it's geochem that almost only deals in isotopic chemistery, when the traditional one doesn't.

I'm way more geophysicist than geochemist, but I know for example that someone in my lab is working on the way to use the delta 13C in the blood to detect early stage cancers. I also heard of a guy, in germany if I remember good that mamaged to double the lifespan of a bacteria through a partial deuteration of its DNA.