Sierra Nevada Research Institute

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,...

A fluorescence microscope image of one kind of active matter being studied. Image courtesy of Amanda Tan, UC Merced

UC Awards Support Tackling Big Questions in Health, Physics, Agriculture and Climate

Faculty members at UC Merced are taking the lead on four Multicampus Research Program Initiatives (MRPI), working with colleagues around the University of California system to address challenges...

Study: Climate Change Extends Drought Recovery by at Least Three Months

A group of researchers at UC Merced has found that climate change means it takes about three months longer for California to recover from drought, and probably longer. “Climate change has...

Symposium attendees listen to Safeeq Khan, UC Merced associate adjunct professor and cooperative extension specialist in water and watershed sciences at the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, present research with coauthors Max Eriksson and Roger Bales on stakeholder perspectives of multi-benefit forest management and ecosystem-service valuation in California.

2024 Sierra Nevada Science Symposium Convenes Sierra Researchers at UC Merced

The 2024 Sierra Nevada Science Symposium, hosted March 5-6 at University of California, Merced, brought together National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Geological Survey, National Forest, state, local...

A forest fire is pictured in a photo from "California's Watershed Healing"

New Film Profiles Immediate Actions to Restore California's Wildfire-vulnerable Forests

The new film "California's Watershed Healing" documents the huge benefits that result from restoring forests to healthier densities. UC Merced's Sierra Nevada Research Institute...

As climate warms, the snowline, or rain/snow transition elevation, moves to higher elevations, placing some historically snow-dominated sites in the rain zone. Photo by Roger Bales at Crane Flat in Yosemite National Park

Warming Climate Pushes Rain to Higher Elevations, Raising Flooding Risks

A new study co-authored by UC Merced researchers assesses the effect of a warming climate in pushing the elevation of snow to rain higher during a storm, increasing runoff and the risk of flooding...

Researchers Jeanette Cobian-Iñiguez, Stephen Hart and Roger Bales.

Grant Funds Research into Wildfire Behavior and Ecological Effects of Fuel Treatments

A grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will fund a project led by a UC Merced researcher looking into predicting behavior of wildfires. Jeanette Cobian-Iñiguez is leading a team...

The annual Shakespeare in Yosemite production is just one avenue for environmental humanities students to get involved.

New Major Trains Students to Tell the Planet’s Urgent Stories

Compelling storytelling is vital to ensuring the action needed to secure a habitable planet for future generations, according to an increasing amount of research. UC Merced is recruiting students...

Founding Faculty Member Martha Conklin Bids Farewell to Campus Community

Professor Martha Conklin started her career at UC Merced at the Castle Research Facility, and it began with a frightening surprise. “I had a baby rattlesnake in my office,” she said....

Researcher Studies Effects of Dust on Climate Change

Being able to accurately predict how the climate will change in the future is one of the most important quests of our lifetimes. A key to better prediction is the fundamental understanding of how...