Recent Earth and Planetary Sciences News
- February 28, 2013
UCSC alumna Kathy Sullivan named acting administrator for NOAA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has appointed UCSC alumna Kathryn Sullivan to serve as acting administrator for NOAA.
- October 25, 2012
Switzer Environmental Fellowship awarded to UCSC grad student
Priya Ganguli, a Ph.D. candidate in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department, has received a Switzer Environmental Fellowship.
- October 23, 2012
ARCS Foundation scholarships support UCSC graduate students
Eight UC Santa Cruz graduate students have received scholarships worth a total of $80,000 from the ARCS Foundation this year.
- October 17, 2012
Giant impact scenario may explain the unusual moons of Saturn
The middle-sized moons of Saturn may have been spawned during giant impacts in which several major satellites merged to form Titan.
- September 28, 2012
White shark diets vary with age and among individuals
Many white sharks shift from fish to marine mammals as they mature, but individual sharks show surprising variability in a study by UCSC researchers.
- September 27, 2012
Moore Foundation grant funds study of Tohoku earthquake fault
New grant funds seismologist Emily Brodsky's research on the devastating Tohoku earthquake that struck Japan in March 2011.
- September 26, 2012
Study reveals complex rupture process in surprising 2012 Sumatra quake
The April 2012 great earthquake near Sumatra involved a complicated faulting process unlike anything seen before.
- August 29, 2012
Study suggests large methane reservoirs beneath Antarctic ice sheet
The Antarctic Ice Sheet could be an overlooked but important source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
- August 13, 2012
Report studies how groundwater is affected by extreme drought
Prof. Andy Fisher and grad students Andrew Racz, Bruce Daniels contribute to state report on groundwater responses to extreme drought.
- July 24, 2012
New observatory installed beneath seafloor at site of Tohoku earthquake
UCSC seismologist Emily Brodsky was part of an international team that installed an observatory on the Tohoku earthquake fault.
- June 22, 2012
California sea level projected to rise at higher rate than global average
The sea level off most of California is expected to rise about 36 inches over the next century, an amount slightly higher than projected for global sea levels, according to a new report.
- June 04, 2012
Reign of the giant insects ended with the evolution of birds
Giant insects once ruled the prehistoric skies, but the evolution of birds ended their reign.
- May 23, 2012
Lemur extinctions and ecological retreat followed arrival of humans in Madagascar
A study of lemurs in Madagascar suggests that factors driving lemur extinctions have also sparked an ongoing "ecological retreat" by surviving species.
- May 22, 2012
Ancient extinctions provide parallels to modern ocean acidification
UCSC paleontologist Matthew Clapham discusses the Permian mass extinction, which killed 95% of marine species, with the NY Times. The extinction, and others like it, may be analogues for ongoing global warming and ocean acidification.
- May 16, 2012
Group taps technology to solve P.V. groundwater deficit
UC Santa Cruz hydrogeology professor Andy Fisher and collaborators help farmers to recharge more groundwater in the Pajaro Valley.
- April 09, 2012
UCSC scientist reports stormy start to JFAST expedition
Typhoon-strength winds and 30-foot waves greeted the JFAST expedition off the coast of Japan on April 4.
- March 28, 2012
Gary Griggs discusses California coastal erosion with the NY Times
With California officials expecting climate change to raise sea levels here by 14 inches by 2050, should herculean efforts be made to preserve the beach, the pipe and the plant, or should the community simply bow to nature?
- March 26, 2012
International drilling expedition to probe Japanese fault zone
UC Santa Cruz scientists are involved in an ambitious drilling project to measure properties of the fault that caused the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
- March 08, 2012
Seismologist Thorne Lay reflects on anniversary of Tohoku earthquake
A spate of huge earthquakes in the past seven years has provided humbling lessons for seismologists, according to UCSC prof Thorne Lay.
- February 23, 2012
Professor Paul Koch discusses ancient little horses with NY Times
Paul L. Koch, head of the department of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a specialist in reconstructing ecosystems and climates from many millions of years ago, said, “The paper lets us see the effect of warming on mammals where the climate change is really large.”