articles

UC interdisciplinary researchers and global collaborators dig into the past to inspire modern water management strategies that can save time and money and may avoid negative effects on our climate.

You’ve heard the last of Matthew and Otto – at least as Atlantic storm names.

These two storms ravaged the Caribbean so much last year their names have been retired by the World Meteorological Organization’s Region IV Hurricane Committee, of which NOAA's National Hurricane Center is a member.

It makes sense that a 1,200 pound Angus cow would place quite a lot of pressure on the ground on which it walks. But a new study shows that even these heavy beasts can’t do much to compact common soils—if they’re grazed responsibly.

New research from the University of HawaiÊ»i at Mānoa reveals a large part of the the heavily urbanized area of Honolulu and WaikÄ«kÄ« is at risk of groundwater inundation—flooding that occurs as groundwater is lifted above the ground surface due to sea level rise. Shellie Habel, lead author of the study and doctoral student in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), and colleagues developed a computer model that combines ground elevation, groundwater location, monitoring data, estimates of tidal influence and numerical groundwater-flow modeling to simulate future flood scenarios in the urban core as sea level rises three feet, as is projected for this century under certain climate change scenarios.

As climate change and population pressure both intensify in suburban areas northwest of Boston in th­e coming decades, a new study bywatershed scientist Timothy Randhir of the University of Massachusetts Amherstsuggests that threats to the area’s watershed such as water shortages and poor quality can be met if managers begin to act now.