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Study finds ‘rock moisture’ spared California forest from drought

February 26, 2018
The recent drought left record numbers of trees dead and dying and vulnerable to fire in virtually every corner of California, but a dense tract of evergreen forest in northern Mendocino County remained wet and healthy.   The reason, say the authors of a study published Monday, is...

State Water Resources Challenge Described by Merced Expert

February 22, 2018
In a state where nature produces multi-year droughts, and at a time when global warming is reducing the traditional Sierra snow pack, California must do more to understand and protect its precious water resource, according to a nationally known expert on the subject. The expert is Roger Bales, a...

Why We Need Working Floodplains

February 22, 2018
Floodplains are hard-working landscapes when they’re allowed to “act naturally.” But their flood-taming, habitat-feeding abilities are compromised when they’re paved over or constricted by levees. We talked with Josh Viers, a watershed scientist at UC Merced and a member of...

Documentary warns water shortage in SJV a matter of national security

February 21, 2018
It's a film that explores a possible and dire future where water, food and natural resources teeter on the edge of collapse. And the San Joaquin Valley is at the center of the drama. Filmmaker Jim Thebaut's documentary "Running Dry: Beyond the Brink" premiered...

Why millions of dead trees in the Sierra may have helped save water during the drought

January 17, 2018
The millions of trees that died in the Sierra Nevada during California’s five-year drought may have actually helped the state’s water supply once the historic dry spell finally ended, according to a new study. Scientists led by UC Merced’s Sierra Nevada Research Institute...

Scientists Explain Mechanisms Affecting Runoff Levels During Drought

January 12, 2018
Scientists at UC Merced’s Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) , UC Irvine, UC Davis and the USDA Forest Service have enumerated the mechanisms that serve as master regulators of streamflow and drought intensity by studying California’s 2012-15 drought. Their findings are detailed...

Scientists Explain Mechanisms Affecting Runoff Levels During Drought

January 12, 2018
Scientists at UC Merced’s Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI), UC Irvine, UC Davis and the USDA Forest Service have enumerated the mechanisms that serve as master regulators of streamflow and drought intensity by studying California’s 2012-15 drought. Their findings are detailed in a new paper...

Web Migration Provides Crisp Look, Responsive Design and Stronger Impact

December 22, 2017
The Sierra Nevada Research Institute has a new, modern look thanks to a recent upgrade. The university’s oldest research institute is the latest to migrate to a new responsive template that allows for better interaction with audiences through mobile-friendly and accessible...

LibraryCAVE Brings Virtual Reality and Big Data Into the Classroom

December 20, 2017
Professor Nicola Lercari is leading his students on a tour of Palenque, the ancient Mesoamerican city that flourished at the peak of Maya civilization. They’re exploring the altar atop the Temple of the Cross, inspecting it from all angles and scrutinizing every detail. But they’...

California’s record-smashing fire season sparks hunt for solutions

December 9, 2017
This year’s wildfire season, still on the move in Southern California, is one for the record books. Federal firefighting costs soared to a new high. The nightmarish Wine Country blazes leveled more than 5,000 homes and killed 44 people. And two weeks before Christmas, when fire danger is...

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