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From the Beginning

Founded in 1903, Carnegie's former Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill gave birth to the fields of plant physiology and ecology.

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A Vital Role

Founded in 2002, Carnegie's Department of Global Ecology played a foundational role in establishing the new discipline in the greater scientific community.

How the World Works

Our ecologists are at the vanguard of knowledge about how human activity is impacting our planet’s dynamic systems and cycles.

With broad expertise ranging from marine and freshwater biogeochemistry to terrestrial ecosystem science to climate change adaptation and mitigation, Carnegie ecologists are addressing the most urgent questions surrounding the sustainability of the Earth system.

With a shared sense of urgency, our ecologists work collectively to gain a new perspective on how interactions between human settlements and Earth’s natural systems manifest themselves across regional to global scales.

It is only through this sort of collaborative effort that the research community will be able to tackle the greatest challenge facing humanity today—climate change—as well as safeguard energy security, food security, water sustainability, and biodiversity.

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