News Archive - Environment

UC San Diego Physicist Helps Launch National Network Examining Earth’s Planetary Limits

UC San Diego Physics Professor Tom Murphy is among five authors of an essay, appearing in the November 2021 issue of the journal Energy Research & Social Science, that cautions current levels of worldwide economic growth, energy use and resource consumption will overshoot Earth's finite limits.

Hidden Mangrove Forest in the Yucatan Peninsula Reveals Ancient Sea Levels

A new study led by researchers across the University of California system in the United States and researchers in Mexico focuses on an ancient mangrove forest that is thriving in the Yucatan Peninsula—more than 124 miles from the coast.

Chemists Develop New Technology that Detects Algae Crop Health

UC San Diego chemists have developed a technology for monitoring the health of algae crops, one of world’s most promising sources for sustainable products being developed to counter global issues stemming from fossil fuel pollutants and product waste.

Fighting Fire with Data Science

UC San Diego has announced a joint appointment with Los Alamos National Laboratory with the appointment of Senior Scientist Rodman Linn to a three-year position with the Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute (HDSI). This is the first joint appointment program between Los Alamos and a UC campus.

New Technology Designed to Genetically Control Disease-spreading Mosquitoes

Scientists have created the precision-guided sterile insect technique, a new CRISPR-based technology to control Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species responsible for spreading wide-ranging diseases including dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika.

UC San Diego Partners with County on Framework to Guide Decarbonization of Regional Economy

The UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy is lending its expertise to help San Diego County develop a science-based approach to decarbonizing the region's economy.

Growth-promoting, Anti-aging Retinal at the Root of Plant Growth Too

Publishing in the journal Science, a research team led by new UC San Diego biologist Alexandra Dickinson has identified a compound that plays a key role in triggering the development of plants’ lateral roots. Retinoids, known for medical uses, were found to be vital in plant growth.

How Earth’s Magnetic Field May Provide New Ways of Dating Ancient Archaeological Artifacts

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, archaeologists and geophysicists from UC San Diego have filled in some of the regional gaps in the record of Earth’s magnetic field using artifacts from the Neolithic period in the ancient Levant.

New Study Holds Promise for “Critically Endangered” Giant Sea Bass

A new study led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and colleagues suggests that the original assessment and current listing of the giant sea bass as a critically endangered species might be inaccurate, and recommends a reevaluation of the species’ status.

UC San Diego Receives $35 Million in State Funding for New California Coastal Research Vessel

California legislators have allocated UC San Diego $35 million to design and build a new coastal research vessel with a first-of-its-kind hydrogen-hybrid propulsion system. The new vessel will be operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography.