Environment & Ecology

August 26, 2021

With California Heating Up, UCSB Researchers Study the Future of the State’s Fires

By Sean Crommelin

In their most recent research, Tague and her collaborators focused on the Big Creek watershed in the southern Sierra Nevada, a region which is particularly sensitive to climate change.

August 10, 2021

Looking Back at the Campaign to Save the West Mesa

By Sean Crommelin

Now, as part of Phase 2, fundraising is being done to create an endowment and restore the West Mesa.

August 3, 2021

UC Researchers Dive Deeper Into the Nitrogen Cycle at Sedgwick Reserve

By Sean Crommelin

“Although it's interesting that rock is delivering nitrogen to ecosystems, at least in Sedgwick it’s not going to be a big contributor to the functioning of the system,” Chadwick said.

June 26, 2021

With Life Cycle Assessment, Researchers Peer Into the Environmental Legacy of Products

By Lizzy Mau

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a way of measuring the environmental impacts in the stages of a product's life.

June 12, 2021

Fleshing Out the Meaning of Regenerative Agriculture

By Shereen Mohammadzadeh

While regenerative agriculture is still very much a fluid concept, its momentum is steadfast.

May 20, 2021

New Evidence from Yucatán Caves Pour In, Suggesting Region Was Wetter Millennia Ago

By Sean Crommelin

The team learned this by examining the isotope composition of stalagmites, mounds of mineral deposits found on the floors of caves that grow upward as water drips from cave ceilings.

May 2, 2021

UCSB Researchers Piece Together Detailed Kelp Forest Food Web, Incorporating Parasites

By Mackenzie Miller

Morton hopes that the higher resolution of this food web will aid in efficiency and clarity for future research.

April 25, 2021

Forks in the Road Emerge in India’s Quest to Expand Renewables

By Sean Crommelin

The country hopes to install more than 400 gigawatts of wind and solar generation by the year 2030.

April 23, 2021

UCSB Lecturer Partners with CEC in Advocacy of Sustainable Living

By Sean Crommelin

The campaign, known as Earth Day Every Day, represents the culmination of five years of accumulated lifestyle changes carried out by Williams and her husband.

April 7, 2021

Following Widespread Die-offs, Researchers Investigate the Dangers Droughts Pose to Oaks

By Sean Crommelin

Anderegg and his collaborators have studied oaks across the west in North America, hoping to understand what resilience individual species of trees have to drought.

March 30, 2021

As Santa Barbara and California Pursue Decarbonization, Electrification Presents New Opportunities

By Devanshi Tomar

“It’s easy to get stuck in the mindset that Santa Barbara is so small when, actually, we can create a lasting impact on a global scale,” Parenteau said.

March 22, 2021

Following Negotiations, Environmentalists and Indigenous Activists Must Raise $20 Million in 90 Days To Protect West Mesa

By Sean Crommelin

If 90 days have elapsed and the funds have not been procured, Save the San Marcos Foothills has agreed not to further oppose the development.

March 14, 2021

UCSB Researchers Uncover a Hydrocarbon Cycle Beneath the Ocean

By Mackenzie Miller

Prior to these findings, the extent of the ocean hydrocarbon cycle was largely unknown, according to Love.

March 12, 2021

Tracing the Spread of Early Humans Across East Asia

By Devanshi Tomar

New knowledge supplied by better technology allowed Kennett and his research group to determine the timing of ancestry change and population movements.

March 3, 2021

Blum Center at UCSB Hosts Public Forum To Discuss Post-Pandemic Green New Deal

By Sean Crommelin

The forum focused on how the pandemic and recent socio-political shifts have impacted the prospects for “transformative economic and environmental change."