The Department of Earth Sciences is engaged in world-class research into the processes at work on and within the Earth and planets.  We host the Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre, Europe?s hub for geohazards including destructive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as well as the new Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction.  The department undertakes cutting-edge palaeontological research such as the recent discovery of a new dinosaur species, Linheraptor exquisitus, in the Gobi desert.  We jointly run the Centre of Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM), which leads the Cryosat-2 satellite mission monitoring changes in polar ice.