What's Current in
Geography
Image
![Portrait of a male chef, with dark hair and a greying goatee, in an industrial kitchen](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2025-01/hayden-dozier-kitchen-hero-uc-santa-barbara.jpg?itok=25De839x)
Photo Credit
Jeff Liang
Chef Hayden Dozier in the kitchen at The Club & Guest House on campus
Image
![A line of clouts stretches from the tropical Pacific to western North America where it becomes a massive storm.](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2024-11/Atmospheric-river-flickr.jpg?itok=ZJFcGgy3)
Photo Credit
Stuart Rankin via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
The Pineapple Express — an atmospheric river originating in the tropical Pacific — walloped western North America in February 2017. These systems are becoming more frequent at higher latitudes, leaving mid latitudes drier.
Image
![A cyclist rides beneath the palm trees along UCSB’s costal bluffs.](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2024-07/bluff-bike-path-uc-santa-barbara.jpg?itok=izNOI6tw)
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Santa Barbara is among the cities in California actively working to make the state more bike friendly.
Image
![Sand dunes surround palms, trees, shrubs and a small lake in the UAE.](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2024-07/Desert-oasis-istock.jpg?itok=OTPgrX02)
Photo Credit
Jing Yang via iStock
A desert oasis is perhaps the most striking example of a groundwater-dependent ecosystem.
Image
![researchers working with Senegalese partners](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-07/David-Lopez-Carr-senegal-uc-santa-barbara-small.jpg?itok=BUIEM6ZZ)
Photo Credit
Courtesy Image
UCSB geographer David López-Carr, center left, and Stanford University health and environmental scientist Andrea Lund, center right, working with Senegalese partners
Image
![women with dark skin and hair in professional sweater](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2024-06/Shailja_Headshot-hero-opt-2.jpg?itok=RF68qYqP)
Photo Credit
Courtesy
S. Shailja PhD '24, electrical and computer engineering
Image
![Theo world map fading into blue water.](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2024-06/Ocean-globe-iStock.jpg?itok=ErLcHv47)
Photo Credit
Philip Hoeppli via iStock