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An aerial shot of a pumping plant for the California Aqueduct. The channel continues through pipes into the background toward parched hills.
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halbergman via iStock
While reducing demand is important, most successful cases of groundwater recovery also involve moving huge amounts of water to meet demand.

Why some regions are winning the fight against groundwater depletion

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white man in front of blackboard
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Joseph Polchinski at UCSB’s Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, where he advanced pivotal ideas in string theory and quantum gravity.

Polchinski archive opens digital window into renowned physicist’s work
Rare earth element names with suffix “ium.”
Photo Credit
Matt Perko

A simple filter for rare earth elements will ensure a clean domestic supply of these crucial metals
Old, abandoned barn in a large field with white wildflowers and prairie grass.
Photo Credit
Richard McMillin via iStock
While global trends dominate environmental outcomes, decisions about recultivating or rewilding abandoned fields can influence habitat health.

Protecting nature may depend on where — not just how — we farm
dead tree on salt island in the Dead Sea

Dead Sea’s salt giants offer rare glimpse into Earth’s geological past
woman working at a desktop computer with a sleeping baby on her chest
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iStock

To benefit from the internet, ‘not all screens are created equal’
digital abstraction
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iStock

NSF grant supports advances in cyberinfrastructure for multimodal imaging data
man sneezing in bed

Optogenetic platform illuminates new antiviral strategies
An Icelandic braided river, seen from above.
Photo Credit
Luca Ronchi via iStock
Multi-channel rivers predominate in Iceland’s easily eroded volcanic soil.

Rivers choose their path based on erosion — a discovery that could transform flood planning and restoration
turbulence as ink is dispersed into water

New mathematical insights into Lagrangian turbulence
Erosion has exposed the cross-section of a forest from the canopy and understory to the subsoil and parent material.
Photo Credit
tarasov_vl via iStock
A new model provides a look into the dynamic feedback between soil moisture levels and plants’ water-use strategies.

A nuanced model of soil moisture illuminates plant behavior and climate patterns
scientist at work
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
A researcher at work in materials scientist Stephen Wilson's Lab

Advancing quantum science and nurturing aspiring scientists
two orange-clad fishermen in a commercial vessel
A commercial fishing vessel near Kodiak Island, Alaska

Experts say seafood deregulation could impact sustainability and supply
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