UC Research and Innovation

UC researchers and administrators in research policy

Climate

A Beachy Buffet

by

By: Sonia Fernandez | UC Santa Barbara | March 7, 2022 Island foxes are masters of survival. Having lived and evolved on the windswept, rugged and relatively remote Channel Islands off the coast of California for thousands of years, the cat-sized canids have quite a few tricks up their sleeves. Their small size, for one, is an adaptation to their resource-limited ... Continue Reading »

How much wildfire smoke is infiltrating our homes?

by

By: Kara Manke | UC Berkeley | September 2, 2021 Though overall air quality in the U.S. has improved dramatically in recent decades, smoke from catastrophic wildfires is now creating spells of extremely hazardous air pollution in the Western U.S. And, while many people have learned to reduce their exposure by staying inside, keeping windows closed and running air filtration ... Continue Reading »

Fire and the foothills: reducing wildfire threats while boosting biodiversity

by

By: Kathleen Wong | | UC Natural Reserve System | September 2, 2021 The foothills of California are familiar to anyone who has ventured into county parks to hike: iconic oak savannas, chaparral-covered hillslopes, and grasslands. They encircle the Central Valley like a bathtub ring, and include much of the Coast and Transverse ranges. Ranging from a few hundred to a few ... Continue Reading »

Poor and Minority Communities Suffer More from Extreme Heat in U.S. Cities

by

Christine Clark | UC San Diego | July 13, 2021 Excess urban heat is common within cities, but not all communities burden the consequences equally, according to new UC San Diego research Low-income neighborhoods and communities with higher Black, Hispanic and Asian populations experience significantly more urban heat than wealthier and predominantly white neighborhoods ... Continue Reading »

Engineering Professor Awarded NASA Grant to Study Impacts of Wildfires on California’s Coastline

by

Elizabeth Arakelian | UC Merced | July 20, 2021 California is known for its beautiful coastline, where the Pacific Ocean meets sandy beaches and rugged cliffs. While many scientists have studied the land or the ocean independently, less is known about the nexus of the two. Now with the help of a $750,000 award from NASA, civil and environmental engineering Professor Erin ... Continue Reading »

Law students’ research helps shape California wildfires bill

by

By: Daniel Melling UC Los Angeles | June 3, 2021 ith the effects of climate change increasing across California, state legislators are exploring new policies to better protect communities – and UCLA law students in the California Environmental Legislation and Policy Clinic are helping. Last fall, six students in the clinic worked alongside legislators and their ... Continue Reading »

If Countries Implement Paris Pledges with Cuts to Aerosols, Millions of Lives can be Saved

by

By: Christine Clark, UC San Diego | June 1, 2021 Aerosol reductions that would take place as countries meet climate goals could contribute to global cooling and prevent more than one million annual premature deaths over a decade, according to a new study from the University of California San Diego. The landmark Paris Agreement of 2016 does not address emissions ... Continue Reading »