Climate & Sustainability
-
Santa Cruz’s king tides: How experts and residents are taking part in research
The Santa Cruz Sentinel highlighted work by Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Alex Pang and graduate student Mona Zhao to use webcams, machine learning, and 3D modeling to track how beaches shift from day to day.
-
Scientists deploy cutting-edge tech to combat looming threat to US coastline: ‘Fundamental to motivating action’
Researchers from UC Santa Cruz have teamed up with NVIDIA to help officials better understand the risks of coastal erosion and learn how to mitigate damage.
-
Gary Griggs, Our Ocean Backyard | Trump’s climate change denial continues
Distinguished professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Gary Griggs wrote an opinion article about the impacts of Trump Administration policies related to climate change and renewable energy.
-
Tracey Weiss, Our Ocean Backyard | NEXTies: Earth & Sea celebrates Santa Cruz changemakers
Professor Andrew Fisher won the “Brainwave Award” for his groundbreaking hydrological research on urban flooding, saltwater intrusion and freshwater supply in the Pajaro River Valley. Darryl Wong and Gage Dayton of the Center for Agroecology won the “Big Idea Award” for their work on UC Santa Cruz’s recent land acquisition that strengthens conservation, sustainable agriculture…
-
‘The Blob’ marine heat wave now spans an area the size of the US
Rachel Holser, a scientist at UC Santa Cruz who studies the California Current ecosystem, explained to SFGATE what scientists call the “blob” is a phenomenon best understood as a series of “distinct” heat waves. It first appeared from 2013 to 2015, followed by a second iteration in 2019, with each defined by its own conditions.
-
California lawmaker proposes $23 billion bond measure to fund scientific research
Support for the legislation also came from John MacMillan, a professor at UC Santa Cruz. New approaches and datasets to help treat childhood cancer are made at his institution. Additionally, his university researches climate change and builds tools to combat a warming planet. Like others, his university also has faced impacts from federal cuts. “SB…
-
Los ecosistemas invisibles en la lucha contra la crisis climática
Scott Winton, ecólogo de la Universidad de California Santa Cruz, llevó a cabo tres años de extenso trabajo de campo para desarrollar el primer mapa basado en datos de turberas recientemente documentadas y previstas en los Llanos Orientales y la Amazonía colombiana.
-
Solutions for Salinas Valley groundwater contamination exist, but adoption is slow
Hannah Waterhouse is an assistant professor of agroecology at the University of California Santa Cruz. At a test field on campus, she’s researching how cover crops benefit soil moisture and water quality.
-
Birdwatchers flock to Colombia and South Africa- so why are Venezuela and DRC being left behind?
“Over the years, we’ve seen Colombia really explode as a birdwatching destination, and we often asked ourselves why more countries aren’t similarly recognized as great places for birdwatching,” said Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela, lead author of the new UC Santa Cruz study.
-
Climate change is driving fish stocks from countries’ waters to the high seas: Study
A new study found that more than half of the world’s straddling stocks will shift across the maritime borders between exclusive economic zones and the high seas by 2050. “It’s an important issue and an important paper that I think should make anyone concerned about fisheries or the seafood on their plate sit up and…
-
Fishmeal and fish oil alternatives are here but a greater scale is needed for true impact
“Eighty seven percent of fishmeal and 74 percent of fish oil are consumed by the aquaculture feed industry, and the salmon sector is the largest user of both,” Assistant Professor Pallab Sarker at UC Santa Cruz told the Advocate. “This use of wild-caught fish to raise carnivorous species is concerning because of the depletion of…
-
As farmworkers face longer, hotter harvest seasons, their risk of heat-related illness grows
Matt Sparke, co-director of the global and community health program, is creating an app that maps health risks related to climate change. The app can be used by community health workers, farmworkers, and policy makers.