Water

Ocean Chemistry Now Substantially Shaped by Humans

March 16, 2026

A sign on a southern California beach indicates it is unsafe to swim because of human-caused contamination.

Although the oceans are the least explored places on the planet, even their depths are not untouched by humans. Drawing on more than 2,300 seawater samples collected across the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, researchers found that hundreds of synthetic chemicals — many of them rarely...

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...

Participants in a Secure Water Future expedition raft on the Green River in Utah.

Water Research Goes Deep with Rafting Trip to Utah

The USDA-funded Secure Water Future (SWF) team at UC Merced believes that to fully understand water, you must do more than just study this vital resource. You must immerse yourself in it -...

The students are in New South Wales as part of a research collaborative.

Chemistry Students in Australia for Summer Research Experience

Chemistry Professor Aurora Pribram-Jones is looking for undergrads to help her get the lead out — out of drinking-water pipes. She and a colleague at Harvey Mudd College (HMC) in Claremont...

The team was EvapoInspiration won the recent Water Hack Challenge. It included five UC Merced students: Yulin Lin, Luis Fujarte, Carolyn Cui, Joshua Tapia, and Ryan Milstrey

Teams Compete in 48-Hour Water Hack Challenge

Teams of students from throughout California converged on UC Merced the weekend of April 21-23 to spend 48 hours tackling issues surrounding a precious resource: water. The Water Hack Challenge,...

UC Merced Professor Tom Harmon introduces a panel discussion of the university's Experimental Smart Farm at a symposium on the Future of Agriculture.

What's The Future of Agriculture? It's Everyone Working Together, Summit Speakers Say

While UC Merced's Experimental Smart Farm is focused on technology and automation, it's also about machine-human collaboration. That was among the messages UC Merced's...

Erin Hestir, a professor in environmental engineering, is attending a global water conference.

UC Merced Researcher Taking Part in United Nations Water Conference

A UC Merced researcher has a prominent role at a worldwide conference on water taking place at the United Nations this week. Erin Hestir, a professor in environmental engineering and associate...

Students from Universidad Autónoma Chapingo in Texcoco, Mexico, visited UC Merced in March.

Campus Visit Broadens Mexican Research Collaborations

When three buses rolled onto campus on one chilly winter morning, UC Merced gave the occupants a warm Bobcat welcome. More than 100 undergraduate students and faculty members from Universidad...

Student Researchers Working with National Lab on Mercury Remediation

At UC Merced, mercury is a regional challenge that student and faculty researchers have been tackling for several years. Mercury was used to extract gold during the Gold Rush in California, and the...