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Environment + Sustainability

UCSB professor Deron Burkepile explores the North shore of Moorea’s fore reef.
Photo Credit
Andrew Thurber
The structural complexity of a healthy coral reef provides habitat for a diversity of lifeforms.

Dead coral skeletons hinder reef regeneration by sheltering seaweed

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Doctoral candidate Amelia Ritger receives award for women researchers
Illustration of molecular chain overlaid on image of plastic bottles
Photo Credit
Jessie Ward O'Sullivan

A game-changing method of “upcycling” plastics helps clear the path toward a circular economy
Hillside daisy blankets hills in yellow, with splashes of pink, orange and blue.
Photo Credit
Joan Dudney
California’s wildflowers have painted parts of the state in a dazzling array of colors.

Tending to our superblooms requires developing plans for people to enjoy them
aerial view of wildfire marching across a forest landscape
Where fire is a natural part of the ecosystem, it can create space and opportunities for adaptations and new species

Naturally fire-prone ecosystems tend to have more species of birds and mammals, a new study reveals
Stressed pines on a hill in southwestern Colorado.
Photo Credit
A climate-stressed forest in southwestern Colorado near Wolf Creek Pass.
A climate-stressed forest in southwestern Colorado near Wolf Creek Pass.

US forests face an unclear future with climate change
A snorkeler with camera and note pad investigates a nearly bleached coral.
Photo Credit
Jeff Liang
Professor Deron Burkepile observes coral in the process of bleaching in the reefs around Moorea.

Stripped to the Bone: Research in Moorea shows the presence of coral skeletons influences reef recovery after bleaching
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Climate Forward: UC Santa Barbara receives $1 million to develop climate action capacity
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Records from Platform Holly provide a glimpse of how petroleum production affects natural gas seeps
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Diets rich in food from the ocean and freshwater sources can help address both nutritional and environmental challenges
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Due to their feed, chicken and farmed salmon have remarkably similar environmental footprints
A fishing boat drags nets through the waters of the Wadden Sea, off the coast of the Netherlands.
Photo Credit
Vincent vita Adobe Stock
A fishing boat drags nets through the waters of the Wadden Sea, off the coast of the Netherlands.

Gathering just the right amount of information is key to proper resource management
The cover of A Forest Journey by John Perlin with a forest in the background
Photo Credit
UC Santa Barbara & Patagonia Media

UC Santa Barbara’s John Perlin will discuss the inextricable link between civilization and forests
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