News
The following press releases were produced by UA News and delve into the interesting research and findings by UA faculty who are affiliated with ISPE.
UA researcher to address UNESCO forum on water
June 26, 2008
Juan Valdes, head of the UA civil engineering department, will address a forum in Washington on practical solutions to water issues in the world's semi-arid regions.
Overpeck to testify about U.S. water supply
May 14, 2008
ISPE Director Jonathan Overpeck will speak to the House Committee on Science and Technology today about managing water supplies.
Nobel-winning Scientist Headlines National Conference on Environmental Conflict Resolution
May 2, 2008
Jonathan Overpeck, UA geosciences professor and ISPE director, will address the conflict over climate change during the fifth national ECR2008, held in Tucson on May 20-22.
Video: Sustainability Fair at the UA
April 22, 2008
A number of University and community organizations joined forces to organize the successful and well-attended Sustainability Fair. The event featured a tap water challenge, free bicycle tune-ups, a farmers' market and other activities celebrating Earth Day.
UA professor continues gathering praise for book
April 3, 2008
Journalism professor Alan Weisman's book, “The World Without Us,” continues to earn kudos.
Water workshop to inform governors
April 1, 2008
CLIMAS is co-sponsoring a two-day workshop to produce a report on water-related climate change impact along the U.S.-Mexico border for ten governors.
Biosphere 2 opens rain forest experiment to the public
February 5, 2008
The UA's Biosphere 2 will open the Brazilian rain forest inside its 3.14-acre glass-enclosed living laboratory to the public for the first time.
UA dendrochronologist inducted as Regents' professor
January 24, 2008
Malcolm Hughes, of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, was among three UA professors to be inducted on January 24 as Regents' professors for their exceptional achievements.
"The World Without Us" is finalist for national book prize
January 17, 2008
UA journalism professor Alan Weisman's best-selling book, “The World Without Us,” has been named a finalist in the nonfiction category for the National Book Critics Circle prize. The book explores what the planet would look like without humans.
UA scientists receive $2.5 million to study Amazon Forests and climate change
November 16, 2007
An international team of scientists led by UA Professor Scott Saleska has received a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to improve society’s understanding of the future of the Amazon forests under climate change and provide an international education to science students.
Researchers to build, test Advanced Spaceborne Climate-Monitoring Instrument
November 5, 2007
ISPE faculty member and UA atmospheric scientist Robert Kursinski is leading a project to build a prototype instrument to demonstrate a revolutionary idea for a satellite-borne remote sensing system. It will measure water vapor, temperature, and ozone anywhere over the globe with unprecedented vertical resolution and accuracy.
State funds UA research to improve drought monitoring
October 26, 2007
Christopher L. Castro will help Arizona gauge drought in the context of past climate.
Nobel Peace Prize winner has UA connections
October 12, 2007
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was one of the winners of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, and Jonathan Overpeck, ISPE director and UA's professor of geosciences and atmospheric sciences, was one of only 33 lead authors on an IPCC assessment report released earlier this year.
College of Science Lecture Series moves to the Arizona Science Center
October 10, 2007
The University of Arizona is partnering with the Arizona Science Center to bring its tremendously popular climate change lecture series to downtown Phoenix.
Two UA Scientists Honored for Work in Climate Science
October 9, 2007
Connie Woodhouse and Gregg Garfin were singled out for their collaborative work with water managers and climate scientists in California.
Ancient African Megadroughts
October 9, 2007
Learning that now-lush tropical Africa was an arid scrubland during the early Late Pleistocene provides new insights into humans' migration out of Africa and the evolution of fishes in Africa's Great Lakes.
UA Community Rallying Around Sustainability
October 3, 2007
Various sustainability efforts are underway to make the UA campus greener.
UA Linked to National Ecological Research Network
July 31, 2007
The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will link a network of stationary and mobile instrument sites, including a permanent site based at the historic Santa Rita Experimental Range south of Tucson, which is administered by The University of Arizona. When completed, NEON will measure ecological change on an unprecedented continental scale. The UA News press release, includes comments from ISPE faculty member David Breshears.
Update on Biosphere 2
July 13, 2007
UA will develop Biosphere 2 into a center for research, outreach, teaching, and life-long learning about Earth, its living systems, and its place in the universe. Travis E. Huxman, UA associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and an ISPE faculty member, is the director of B2 Earthscience.
Colorado River Streamflow History Reveals Megadrought Before 1490
May 17, 2007
An epic drought during the mid-1100s dwarfs any drought previously documented for a region that includes areas of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, according to research led by ISPE faculty member David Meko, an associate research professor at the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research (LTRR). Co-authors from The University of Arizona include ISPE faculty member Connie Woodhouse, an associate professor of geography and regional development; Christopher Baisan, a senior research specialist at the LTRR; graduate student Troy Knight; ISPE faculty member Malcolm K. Hughes, a UA Regents' Professor of dendrochronology; and Matthew W. Salzer, a research associate.
UA Has First Program on Economics, Law and the Environment in the U.S.
May 7, 2007
The Program on Economics, Law, and the Environment (ELE) is a new joint research and education initiative between UA's James E. Rogers College of Law and the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics in UA's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The program conducts research on the use and conservation of environmental and natural resources. The program's interdisciplinary approach to such issues combines the insights of economics with the theory, institutions and practice of law.
Tree Rings Show Elevated Tungsten Coincides with Nevada Leukemia Cluster
April 30, 2007
Tungsten began increasing in trees in Fallon, Nevada several years before the town's rise in childhood leukemia cases, according to a research team led by UA tree-ring scientist Paul Sheppard.
Become a Citizen Scientist as You Watch Flowers Bloom
April 27, 2007
Project BudBurst is a nation-wide project that tracks when plants leaf out and bloom. Launched in April, the project runs through June 30, 2007. The website, http://www.budburst.org, makes it easy for people to identify their plant and pinpoint the plant's location on the map of the U.S. The site also has information for teachers and for students.
New UA/Private Partnership Appraises Climate and Environmental Risks by Address
March 08, 2007
Three UA environmental scientists are collaborating with the private sector to offer low-cost, web-based assessments of climate and environmental risks and help communicate to the public about environmental science.
Archaeologists Find Earliest Evidence of Modern Humans in Eastern Europe
January 11, 2007
ISPE faculty member Vance Holliday, a UA professor of anthropology and geosciences, is a member of a team of researchers that has uncovered new evidence that modern humans moved out of Africa and occupied parts of eastern Europe as early as 45,000 years ago. Their discovery is published in the January 12 issue of the journal Science ("Early Upper Paleolithic in Eastern Europe and Implications for the Dispersal of Modern Humans").
National Phenology Network Office Coming to the UA
December 20, 2006
The National Phenology Network's (NPN) National Coordinating Office will be located at The University of Arizona. The NPN is a consortium of scientists, natural resource managers, and database and web application developers. Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events that are influenced by environmental changes. The purpose of the network is collecting and analyzing data and making it publicly available to better understand and adapt to changes in the environment.
read the article (PDF, 416 KB)
Southern Ocean Could Slow Global Warming
December 5, 2006
The Southern Ocean may slow the rate of global warming by absorbing significantly more heat and carbon dioxide than previously thought, according to new research led by Joellen L. Russell, an ISPE faculty member and geosciences assistant professor.
Studying Water Quality in Colorado River Delta’s Cienega de Santa Clara
July 24, 2006
A UA researcher is coordinating a multi-agency, bi-national project to monitor water quality in the largest wetland in the Colorado River delta, the Cienega de Santa Clara in Mexico.
More Large Forest Fires Linked to Climate Change
July 6, 2006
Large forest fires have occurred more frequently in the western United States since the mid-1980s as temperatures increased and mountain snows melted earlier, according to new research co-authored by ISPE faculty member Thomas Swetnam, director of the UA's Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research.
An analysis of data going back to 1970 indicates the fires increased dramatically in the 1980s and the wildfire season grew longer. The new finding, published in the July 6 issue of Science Express, the online version of the journal Science, links the increases in large forest fires to climate change.
Polar Melting May Raise Sea Level Sooner Than Expected
March 23, 2006
The Earth's warming temperatures could melt the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets sooner than previously thought and lead to a global sea level rise of at least 20 feet-conditions last seen 130,000 years ago, according to new research co-authored by ISPE Director Jonathan T. Overpeck. The findings will appear in the March 24 issue of the journal Science.
Amazon Rainforest Greens Up in the Dry Season
March 21, 2006
The undisturbed portion of the Amazon rainforest has its biggest growth spurt during the dry season, according to research led by Alfredo Huete, a professor of soil, water, and environmental science, and including Scott Saleska, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. Both professors are ISPE faculty members. The findings were published in the March 22 issue of Geophysical Research Letters.
Underlying Cause of Massive Pinyon Pine Die-off Revealed
October 10, 2005
The high heat that accompanied the recent drought was the underlying cause of death for millions of pinyon pines throughout the Southwest, according to new research. The resulting landscape change will affect the ecosystem for decades. Hotter temperatures coupled with drought are the type of event predicted by global climate change models. The new finding suggests big, fast changes in ecosystems may result from global climate change.