Earth Systems Science

Lengthy Study Shows Value of Soil Health and Forest Restoration after Damaging Events

May 23, 2019

A nine-year experiment by a UC Merced Department of Life and Environmental Sciences professor and his colleagues is illuminating the importance of soil carbon in maintaining healthy and functioning ecosystems because of its influence on the microbial communities that live in soil. These...

Pine Bacteria Getting a Closer Look From Scientists

Professor Carolin Frank’s research into the nitrogen-fixing properties of bacteria inside the needles of some high-elevation pine trees is the topic of a new paper in the journal New Phytologist. Frank, with the School of Natural Sciences, won a $1.6...

Students Part of ‘Symbiotic’ Effort to Meld Art With Science

Graduate student Sabah Ul-Hasan translated her love of science into four separate college degrees. She holds bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry, and environmental and sustainability studies, and a master’s in biochemistry (marine science) from...

Study: Fishing Industry a Bigger Polluter than Previously Known

Many studies have shown that raising cattle and pigs for food is hard on the environment, and fish has long been considered a better alternative. But the work of UC Merced graduate student Brandi McKuin indicates that because of emissions, fishing for...

New Study Shows Early Human Impacts on Biodiversity

Even without all the industrial and technological growth that has accelerated climate change, humans can — and do — dramatically impact ecosystems. A new paper in Nature Communications, co-authored by UC Merced Professor Marilyn Fogel, indicates early...

Researcher’s Work Shows History Doesn’t Indicate the Future of Climate Change

Shakespeare might have been right when he wrote “what’s past is prologue,” but not when it comes to modeling climate change. A new study shows that rising air temperatures could have a crippling effect on the likelihood of precipitation falling as snow....

Humans Have Disrupted Ecosystems for 6,000 Years, Research Shows

The basic structure of Earth’s ecosystems lasted for 300 million years but changed about 6,000 years ago, and humans are the most likely reason. A team of about 25 researchers from around the globe, including UC Merced Professor Jessica Blois, outline...

UC Merced Shares in Three of Four UC Catalyst Grants

University of California President Janet Napolitano announced this week the 2016 recipients of the President’s Research Catalyst Awards, and professors from UC Merced are contributors to three of the four projects. Professors Asmeret Asefaw Berhe,...

Researchers Model Near Future of Coastal Redwoods’ Habitat

Many species of trees and plants have begun migrating as the climate changes, but some, like California’s giant coastal redwoods, can’t just pick up and move. The proximity of the ocean, which has unique effects on temperature and climate, makes it...

Event Connects High School Girls with Female Scientists

While many young women her age are thinking about their favorite shoes or who they’ll go with to the winter formal, Callie Nance, 15, is thinking about her favorite science organizations and her future as a physicist. That’s why the Dinner with a...

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Earth Systems Science

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