Dr. Lowe's research and that of his students is focused in two main areas. They use the techniques of sedimentary geology and geochemistry to explore the Earth's earliest surface environments, life, and crustal development, generally before 2.5 billion years ago. Much of this research is focused in South Africa and Western Australia. The other half of his research deals with deep-water sedimentation, especially using outcrops and cores to study the processes by which coarse sediment is transported and deposited in the deep sea.