Energy & Environment

UC Merced Aerial Picture
AI is for the Birds in a New Computer Science Project
September 30, 2020
Bird species usually are counted twice a year by wildlife surveyors: once during the breeding season and again during the Christmas Bird Count . New technology, however, is increasing the accuracy of bird population studies. A team of UC... Read More
UC Merced Named Top 5 ‘Cool School’ by Sierra Club and Makes 'Green College Honor Roll'
September 29, 2020
UC Merced’s national reputation for sustainability continues to grow, with the Sierra Club naming the university No. 5 on its 2020 “Cool Schools” list and The Princeton Review placing it on its Green College Honor Roll. Sierra magazine,... Read More
Past Wildfires Offer Future Roadmap for Forest Management’s Effects on Water
September 15, 2020
Forest restoration is often associated with mitigating wildfire risk and improving ecosystem health throughout the Sierra Nevada. But restoration also dramatically affects water use within forests and the amount of runoff that flows... Read More
Professor Tracey Osborne Taking on Complex, Grand Challenges in Climate and Social Justice
September 9, 2020
The world is a complex place, and humanity faces major challenges. Climate change mitigation might be the most difficult, in large part because of the interdependency of living things and their ecosystems. How do people transform economic... Read More
Global Fire Outlook Not Good News, but Mitigation is Possible, Analysis Shows
September 3, 2020
Wildfire is a natural process necessary to many ecosystems. But wildfires are getting worse and more damaging, and it is our fault, according to new research. A paper by two UC Merced researchers and their colleagues, published in a new... Read More
New Project Shining a Light on Energy Storage
August 20, 2020
California’s leaders want the state to reach 100 percent clean energy in the future, including being 60 percent powered by renewable energy by 2030 and being free of fossil fuels entirely by 2045. But if the state wants power without... Read More
Precipitation and Drainage Fuel Large CO2 ‘Burps’ from Rainforest Soils, Study Finds
August 17, 2020
It is said that rainforests are the Earth’s lungs, capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, building it into lush vegetation and releasing oxygen and water back into the air. But every time there’s a big rain, the rainforest soil... Read More
Reforesting After Wildfires: Which Trees Are Most Likely to Thrive?
August 11, 2020
Wildfire seasons are intensifying because of climate change. That means reforestation efforts will increase, making it important for scientists and resource managers to understand how to make sure restorations will thrive in the future.... Read More
Ecosystem Engineers Play Crucial Role in Stabilizing Their Environments, Study Shows
August 11, 2020
When people think of engineering in nature, they tend to think of species such as beavers — the tree-felling, dam-building rodents whose machinations can shape the landscape by creating lakes and changing the path of rivers. But beavers... Read More
World’s Oldest Trees Shape the Diversity of Life in Their Soils, Study Shows
August 10, 2020
There’s a whole world of activity beneath your feet. Soil holds a large proportion of Earth's biodiversity, and is the place where organisms interact with each other and with plants, serving important functions for their ecosystems. A new... Read More