Water

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

October 17, 2024

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 fundamentally changed the odds of getting out of drought. It has weighted the dice,” said Emily...

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...

Mark Arax and Ellen Hank discuss water at UC Merced.

Future of Water in California - Bleak or Promising? A Discussion

Water is the most valuable resource in the world. And it's a particularly important commodity in the Central Valley, historically a desert but also home to some of the richest agricultural soil...

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...

UC Merced's Experimental Smart Farm is shown.

Grants Fund Wide Variety of Climate Change Research Projects

UC Merced researchers will tackle climate changes in multiple ways through more than $4 million in grants recently awarded from within the university. The Office of Research and Economic...

What is the Future of Water? UC Merced Hosts Vital Discussion

Water is the most precious, and most debated, resource in the Central Valley. Secure Water Future (SWF) and the UC Merced Library are co-hosting a vital discussion Sept. 28 about the future of...

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....

A rendering depicts what solar panels over canals will look like in Project Nexus.

UC Merced Researchers Describe Solar Over Canals Pilot Project

In an opinion piece published in today's Los Angeles Times, UC Merced researchers Brandi McKuin and Professor Roger Bales describe the work that led to the upcoming Project Nexus, a pilot...

Josh Viers, Rakesh Goel, Yosuke Yamashiki, Hrant Hratchian, Sarah Naumes and Chase Yamauchi at the MOU signing. Photo by Leigh Bernacchi

Collaboration Across Continents: Agreement Brings Merced, Kyoto Campuses Closer

Merced, California, and Kyoto, Japan, are nearly 5,500 miles apart, but their research universities' shared goals to improve society is bringing them together. A new agreement between...