Environment/Energy

Grad student sees traces of fire in ice cores

To make better predictions about future wildfires around the world, climate scientists want to know the prevalence and intensity of past outbreaks. For a study published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Melinda Nicewonger, a UCI graduate student in Earth system science, examined ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica to measure changes […]

UCI and Singapore researchers find source of 2015 Southeast Asia smoke cloud

Burning of peatlands in Borneo and Sumatra created severe air pollution in region

Huolin Xin is awarded $2.5 million grant to research next-generation lithium-ion batteries

Huolin Xin, UCI assistant professor of physics & astronomy, has been awarded $2.5 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to advance research in next-generation lithium-ion batteries. His project is one of 42 supported by an $80 million fund for promising vehicle technologies to enable more affordable mobility, strengthen domestic energy security, reduce our dependence […]

Researchers discover that climate change is improving U.S. farmers’ corn yields – for now

Corn farmers in the U.S. have seen a fivefold increase in crop yields since the 1940s. Advances in farm technology have largely been credited for the production boost, but a study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by UCI, University of Minnesota and Harvard University researchers shows that climate change […]

Global warming will have us crying in what’s left of our beer

UCI, other scientists project sharp declines in barley yields due to climate change

UCI study: Reduced Sierra Nevada snowmelt runoff to threaten California agriculture

One-degree rise in global winter temps to cause less high country snow accumulation

From ‘What?’ to ‘Wow!’

Innovative course teaches UCI grad students to better communicate their scientific research to the public

Shipping in ice-free Arctic Ocean could have cooling effect on climate, simulations show

Sea ice is melting due to global warming, enabling greater maritime access to the Arctic Ocean. Emissions from transoceanic cargo ships taking advantage of this could either warm the climate further by darkening snow and ice surfaces or cool it by enhancing cloud reflectance. In a study published recently in the American Geophysical Union journal […]

UCI joins in launch of new NSF-funded data science and climate initiative

Investigators from UCI’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering, Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Science, and School of Physical Sciences will work together in a new initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation, to perfect the use of data science in climate studies. The Transdisciplinary Research in Principles of Data Science plus Climate project […]

‘Cloud computing’ takes on new meaning for scientists

UCI, other researchers use machine learning to improve accuracy of climate prediction models