Science

Overview April 24, 2014

Science

Aquafornia news December 12, 2018 Sierra Sun

News Release: North Tahoe Middle School students design experiments to save sugar pines

North Tahoe Middle School took their science class outdoors last month to study sugar pines, the largest species of pine tree. Sugar pines, well known for their exceptionally large cones, are being decimated in the Lake Tahoe area by bark beetles and a parasitic fungus known as White Pine Blister Rust. As part of their ecology course, the seventh graders worked with Headwaters Science Institute to design and conduct original experiments to learn more about why sugar pines are dying off and in what conditions they grow best.

Aquafornia news December 12, 2018 PBS NewsHour

The Arctic is experiencing its ‘most unprecedented transition in history.’ Here’s why.

Few places will feel the plight of climate change as hard as the Arctic. Our upper pole is warming faster than any other region on Earth, a trend that may be tied to erratic weather patterns across the northern hemisphere. Those are two takeaways from the 2018 Arctic Report Card, which was released Tuesday at the American Geophysical Union conference in Washington, D.C.

Aquafornia news December 12, 2018 Los Angeles Times

Commentary: A devastating report details a ‘monumental’ assault on science at the Department of the Interior

Among the up-is-down, night-is-day practices of the Trump administration, one of the most dangerous and disturbing is its habit of turning America’s leading science agencies into hives of anti-science policymaking. A new report lays out how this has produced a “monumental disaster” for science at the Department of the Interior.

Aquafornia news December 7, 2018 KQED Science

Satellite images: Snow returns to the Sierra after slow start

The snow season got off to a slow start, with the first storms not settling in until nearly Thanksgiving. Since then, accumulations have caught up and then some.

Aquafornia news December 7, 2018 California Department of Water Resources

News Release: DWR Honors UCLA scientist for large storm forecasting efforts with NASA

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) presented Dr. Bin Guan with the 2018 Climate Science Service Award for his tool that identifies atmospheric rivers in weather models. The work supports experimental forecasts of these large storms earlier than current models. … DWR staff presented the 2018 award to Dr. Guan on December 5 at a DWR/Water Education Foundation workshop in Irvine. The topic of the workshop was improving sub-seasonal to seasonal precipitation forecasting.

Aquafornia news December 6, 2018 Associated Press

New study explains creation of deadly California ‘firenado’

A rare fire tornado that raged during this summer’s deadly Carr Fire in Northern California was created by a combination of scorching weather, erratic winds and an ice-topped cloud that towered miles into the atmosphere, according to a study announced Wednesday.

Related Articles:

The Sacramento Bee: Carr ‘firenado’ in Redding was just the second recorded event of its kind, scientists say

San Jose Mercury News: What caused California’s ‘Fire Tornado

Related Blog Post:

University of Nevada, Reno: Scientists find causes of firenado in deadly Carr Fire

Aquafornia news December 3, 2018 Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Advance in storm forecasting allows Lake Mendocino to hold more winter runoff

Dam operators are planning to store nearly 4 billion extra gallons of water this winter in Lake Mendocino, the reservoir near Ukiah that plays a critical role in providing water for residents, ranchers and fish along the upper Russian River and to communities in Sonoma and Marin counties.

Aquafornia news July 22, 2014 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

News Release: USGS Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Water Resources Research Act

From the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS):

The U.S. Geological Survey joins its many partners in other federal agencies, at universities, and in state and local governments in recognizing the importance of the Water Resources Research Act (WRRA) of 1964.

Signed into law 50 years ago by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 17, 1964, the WRRA established a Water Resources Research Institute in each state and Puerto Rico.

Aquafornia news July 16, 2014 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

News Release: New Global Geologic Map of Mars

From the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS):

A new global geologic map of Mars –the most thorough representation of the “Red Planet’s” surface – has been published by the U.S. Geological Survey. This map provides a framework for continued scientific investigation of Mars as the long-range target for human space exploration.

Aquafornia news July 14, 2014 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

News Release: ‘Dry Ice’ Cause of Gullies on Mars

From the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS):

Seasonal carbon dioxide frost, not liquid water, is the main driver in forming gullies on Mars today, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey study that relied on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s (MRO) repeated high-resolution observations.

Aquafornia news July 7, 2014 San Jose Mercury News

Fossil Treasure Trove Discovered at Silicon Valley Dam Construction Site

From the San Jose Mercury News:

[Jim] Walker and construction crews building a new 220-foot-high dam at Calaveras Reservoir in the remote canyons east of Milpitas have been digging up a prehistoric treasure trove: the teeth of an extinct hippopotamus-like creature called a Desmostylus, clams, barnacles and the giant teeth from a 40-foot-long shark — and what could turn out to be an entire whale skeleton.

Aquafornia news July 3, 2014 New York Times

Second Try Puts Carbon Observatory Into Orbit

From The New York Times:

NASA’s new spacecraft to sniff carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere reached orbit on Wednesday after launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Aquafornia news June 17, 2014 NPR

Deep Underground, Oceans of Water May Be Trapped In A Crystal ‘Sponge’

From NPR:

“Science teachers may have to add a whole new layer to the water cycle. Scientists have discovered evidence of a vast reservoir of water hiding up to 400 miles beneath the surface.”

Aquafornia news June 13, 2014 KQED Science blog

Blog: New Evidence of Earth’s Deep Water Cycle Reveals a Virtual Buried Ocean

From the KQED Science blog:

“During the last year, whole oceans worth of water have been found in the [Earth's] mantle, hundreds of kilometers below the crust. And a paper in today’s [June 12] issue of Science traces water’s influence all the way down to an important boundary inside the Earth, the top of the lower mantle.”

Aquafornia news May 22, 2014 Associated Press

Century of Help to Farmers

From the Associated Press:

“The UC Cooperative Extension, which operates in all but one California county, celebrated its centennial with special events across the state.”

News Release: Geologic Evidence of Past Tsunamis in California

From the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), California Geological Survey and Humboldt State University:

“An extensive sedimentary deposit formed by a tsunami in 1946 was recently discovered at Pillar Point Marsh near Half Moon Bay, California. …

“A new study has been completed looking for pre-historical evidence of tsunamis at more than 20 locations along the California coast. As part of the U.S.

Aquafornia news May 2, 2014 U-T San Diego

New Technological Wonders on NOAA’s Ark

From U-T San Diego:

“With a quiet hull, advanced acoustic systems and 3D sonar, the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship, the Reuben Lasker, is poised to peer into the depths of the Pacific. …

“Lasker was renowned for research on how young fish join the adult populations, a key facet of fisheries management.”

California Drought Putting Fish, Birds and Tree Species at Risk, Scientists Say

From The Sacramento Bee:

“California’s drought is imperiling tricolored blackbirds, large trees and native fish, with some of the affected species already on the state’s endangered list and others likely headed there because of rapidly declining numbers, scientists say.”

Tuesday’s Top of the Scroll: UC President Napolitano Tours Central Valley to See Drought’s Impact

From The Fresno Bee:

“On her way to visit the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier on Monday, University of California President Janet Napolitano got a bird’s eye view of California cropland and rivers dry from the drought — a sight she hopes the universities can help fix through continued research and outreach.”

Paying Farmers to Welcome Birds

From The New York Times:

“By crunching data from the Central Valley, eBird can generate maps showing where virtually every species congregates in the remaining wetlands. … The BirdReturns program, financed by the Nature Conservancy, then pays rice farmers in the birds’ flight path to keep their fields flooded with irrigation water from the Sacramento River as migrating flocks arrive.

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