News

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...

Southern California fires are destructive and unprecedented — and a sign of things to come

December 8, 2017
Southern California this week looked like scenes from a disaster movie. Flames from the Thomas Fire, spread by powerful Santa Ana winds, surrounded the mountain town of Ojai, a tourist mecca with a population of 7,500. The local hospital was forced to evacuate nearly 50 people in the middle of the...

LA fires: Why 2017’s record wildfire season keeps getting worse

December 6, 2017
Even before the dramatic Southern California wildfires began their harrowing path this week, California was already experiencing its deadliest and most destructive fire season ever. And it’s only getting worse. In Ventura and Los Angeles counties, four fires driven by the Santa Ana winds...

A Look at Climate Change Effects On San Diego County

December 6, 2017
A recent presentation by Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan of UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography on climate change held locally (at the San Diego City Council Environment Committee meeting), made us wonder what climate change might look like here in San Diego County. Typically, weather...

Hellman Fellowships Give Young Professors a Leg Up on Research

December 5, 2017
Jason Sexton traveled to research sites to learn more about the evolution of monkey flowers. Teamrat Ghezzehei installed soil sensors in the Sierra. Asmeret Berhe laid the foundation for a large collaborative soil-science project. And Emily Ritter is employing a graduate student to...

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