Climate Change

Researchers Look Ahead to Fire Season 2025

April 22, 2025

Flames, the beach and the ocean are depicted in a scene from the January 2025 Palisades fire.

Pictures accompanying Professor John Abatzoglou's presentation on the 2025 fire season were blurry. That was intentional, he said, because so much about wildfire is unpredictable. "There's a lot that we know, and a lot we don't know," he said. However, Abatzoglou said,...

Researcher Studies Cloud Formation as a Key to Climate Change Modeling

Lots of people look at clouds and think about flying, floating or the shapes they see. When atmospheric chemistry Professor Xuan Zhang looks at clouds, she thinks about tiny particles in the air....

Biochar is high in carbon and created by heating biomass at moderate temperatures in a process called pyrolysis.

Keske Publication Shows Central Valley Ripe for Biochar Studies

Central Valley natives are accustomed to seeing plumes of smoke from burning tree piles after harvest. This is the traditional way farmers dispose of crop waste, such as trees, nut shells and pruned...

Professor Rebecca Ryals, left, talks to students in her lab.

Research is Clarifying Benefits of Transforming Human Waste into Useable Resources

Human waste isn’t a topic most people want to talk about. But environmental systems Professor Rebecca Ryals embraces the subject, especially when it comes to mitigating climate change,...

State Natural Resources Secretary Visits UC Merced for Campus Research Discussion

California Natural Resources Sec. Wade Crowfoot joined UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz and local leaders today (Nov. 2) to discuss the university-led research on drought, fire and broader...

From left, professors Tom Harmon, David Strubbe, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Michael Scheibner, Sayantani Ghosh and Mehmet Baykara

NSF Grant to Help Grad Students Find Solutions to Environmental Challenges

Graduate students and a convergence of physics, engineering and environmental science could result in not only the next generation of solutions to pressing environmental challenges, but a new group...

Professor’s Side-Blotched Lizards Become Latest Campus Inhabitants

Every faculty member has to set up their lab when they join a new campus. But Professor Danielle Edwards literally built a key component of hers from the ground up. The outdoor component of El...

Professor Stephen Hart, left, Professor Martha Conklin, right, and researcher Jian Lin, seated.

Researchers Investigate Land Management Role in Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Carbon Sequestration

A group of UC Merced researchers are working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to find out how much greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced just through land-management strategies....

Professor Colleen Naughton is taking students to Morocco to study argan oil production.

Research Program Offers Students a Moroccan Summer Field Experience

Students will soon be able to apply for a unique opportunity to go to Morocco — when travel is safe again — to study the environmental and socioeconomic aspects of the production of argan...

Professor Joshua Viers stands near a canal on the UC Merced campus.

UC Merced Leads Innovative Effort to Secure Water for Agriculture and Ecosystems

UC Merced’s largest research grant in its 16-year history aims to improve agricultural and environmental water resilience. The new $10 million collaborative focuses on water banking, trading...