Dr. Chamberlain utilizes stable and radiogenic isotopes to understand Earth system history. These studies examine the link between climate, tectonics, biological, and surface processes. Projects include:

1. examining the terrestrial climate history of the Earth focusing on periods of time in the past that had CO²-levels similar to the present and to future projections;
2. addressing how the chemical weathering of the Earth's crust affects both the long- and short-term carbon cycle.

Field areas for these studies are in the Cascades, Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, the European Alps, Tibet and the Himalaya and the Southern Alps of New Zealand.