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US wildfire costs exceed $2 billion, a record amid a year of extremes

September 15, 2017
The wildfire season that has leveled hundreds of homes, closed roads and parks, and sent hazy smoke into major cities across the West has become the most expensive in U.S. history, officials said Thursday, marking another chapter in a year of brutal extremes linked to climate change. A menacing...

Over the last 40 years, there is a surprising trend with California wildfires

September 14, 2017
In a year that is already being called one of the worst ever for wildfires in the western United States , there is another fact that some may find remarkable: For nearly 40 years, the number of wildfires in California has been declining. California wildfire data reviewed by a USGS research...

How have drought, climate change impacted beloved giant sequoias? New study finds out

September 14, 2017
The towering giant sequoias in the Sierra Nevada struggled to endure the recent drought as temperatures continued to inch higher and higher each year, a new study has found. While the historically resilient trees managed to largely withstand the die-off that was prevalant in California forests,...

Fellow to Explore Central Valley Groundwater Problems

September 12, 2017
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Josué Medellín-Azuara, a member of the PPIC Water Policy Center’s research network, as the 2017 Steyer-Taylor Fellow. This is the second year of a three-year fellowship―supported with funding from the TomKat Foundation, established by Tom Steyer and...

Water Documentary Featuring SNRI Researchers to Premiere in Merced

September 11, 2017
A full-length documentary highlighting the relationship between water, food security and, ultimately, global security, features UC Merced researchers and is scheduled to premiere Sept. 14 in downtown Merced. “Beyond the Brink,” a new film from accomplished writer, producer and director Jim Thebaut...

Relentless wildfires threaten supplies of drinking water in western U.S.

September 8, 2017
Wildfires fueled by dry weather and scorching temperatures have smothered parts of the western United States in smoky, ashy air, forcing communities to take measures to protect their drinking water supplies. Earlier this week, at least 81 large fires were raging across 1.5 million acres of the...

PG&E Funds Critical SNRI Work on Sierra Forest Resiliency

September 6, 2017
A team of UC Merced researchers was recently awarded $100,000 from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to identify ways to improve drought resilience and reduce the risk of wildfire in Sierra Nevada forests. Professor Roger Bales, who also serves as director of the Sierra Nevada Research...

Campus Voices: Partnering With Parks for Our First Research Institute

September 6, 2017
UC Merced is the only university with a research station in Yosemite National Park, and we have the Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) to thank for that. Looking back, it’s hard to believe the campus’s signature research program got its kickoff in a UC Davis parking lot. Carol Tomlinson-Keasey...

Massive Sensor Network Helps Scientists Monitor Mountain Water Resources

August 28, 2017
Scientists from the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, UC Merced, UC Berkeley and the USDA Agricultural Research Service have designed the first ever wireless sensor network (WSN) capable of accurately monitoring the hydrology of large mountain river basins. The new system is detailed in two papers...

Study: Critical Sierra Meadows Being Overtaken by Forest

July 5, 2017
Subalpine meadows are among the Sierra Nevada’s most enchantingly picturesque landscapes. These sparsely wooded, grassy expanses are home to plants and animals found nowhere else, and they play an important role in regulating the flow of water from the Sierra snowpack to the rest of the ...

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