by Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley An oft-neglected layer of weathered rock underlying the soil on hillslopes could be a significant reservoir for water, providing critical moisture for trees during droughts, according to a new study by scientists from UC Berkeley and the University of Texas at Austin. William Dietrich, a professor of earth and planetary […]
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Tracking data reveals common patterns in marine animal travels
by Tim Stephens, UC Santa Cruz The movements of marine mammals and other large animals that spend their lives in the ocean were largely unknown prior to the development of sophisticated tracking devices researchers could deploy on animals in the wild. Insights gained from this technology have revealed unexpected behaviors and migratory patterns in marine […]
Ancient storm flooding evidence reveals future vulnerabilities
by Julie Cohen, UC Santa Barbara Flooding isn’t new to the Santa Barbara coastline. However, the inundation doesn’t always come from the mountains as it did last month in Montecito. Back in 1861-2, a series of large storms washed beach sand more than a quarter mile inland into what is known today as Carpinteria Salt […]
Mudflows make Carpinteria Salt Marsh a study in recovery
by Shelly Leachman, UC Santa Barbara On a normal winter day, at high tide, the water in the channels that wend from the Pacific Ocean through Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve is about four to six feet deep. But after the massive Thomas Fire and subsequent mudslide, the marsh has experienced few “normal” days this season. In several […]
Where’s the bear?
Where’s The Bear? from UC Santa Barbara on Vimeo. by Shelly Leachman, UC Santa Barbara Facing a daunting, digital pile millions of photographs high, how would you find the few images you need? Could you, even? It’s a classic needle-in-a-haystack conundrum, and it’s a blaring reality for ecologists, resource managers and farmers who use camera […]
Pencils spread word about invasive pathogen
Pencils milled from a tanoak tree infected by sudden oak death were featured at the opening of a School of the Art Institute of Chicago and University of Chicago art exhibit in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 1, 2017. Attendees learned about the origin of the pencils, sudden oak death, and issues surrounding global trade, the spread of […]
Playing climate change leap-frog with trees…in very slow motion
by Brian Smithers, University of California, Davis, and Constance Millar, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station One of the predictions of current climate change is that species will generally shift their ranges up in elevation in response to warming. However, some species are likely to be better at that shift than others. Among the species […]
The Golden Forest
by Julie Cohen, UC Santa Barbara Situated between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the coastal plain to the north and the unique Northern Channel Islands archipelago to the south, the coastal zone of Southern California near Santa Barbara is especially alluring. A new children’s book, The Golden Forest (Muddy Boots, 2017), delves into […]