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Climate Change

Featuring research and hands-on efforts around climate change

Iris Holzer
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Iris Holzer's expertise in enhanced rock weathering and soil carbon storage makes her a shoe-in to help lead the IPCC methodology report.

UCSB professor to lead IPCC methodology report on carbon capture, storage and utilization

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Satellite imagery shows the difference between current and average sea surface temperatures in the Eastern Pacific Ocean as a literal heatmap.
Photo Credit
NOAA Satellites
Sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean were already far higher than average by the first week of June 2026 due to El Niño.

El Niño has become more intense over last 40 years than the previous 1,000 years
Three pumpjacks silhouetted by the setting sun.
Photo Credit
TebNad via iStock
The conflict with Iran provides the perfect circumstance to usher out the era of oil and gasoline now that renewable energy is cheap and ubiquitous.

The war in Iran is the perfect opportunity to kick fossil fuels, and we’re missing it
An aerial view of the Totten Ice Shelf during the 61st Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition in late 2019 and early 2020.
Photo Credit
Yoshihiro Nakayama
The Totten Ice Shelf contributes to ice loss in East Antarctica, but this was offset by the increased snowfall from 2021 to 2023.

Antarctica’s brief rebound was caused by climate variability, not a ‘new normal’
Female scientist with choral background
Photo Credit
Courtesy
Assistant professor of bioengineering Marley Dewey

NSF grant supports Marley Dewey’s work to restore coral reefs
a charging cable into an electric vehicle at sunset.
Photo Credit
Michael Fousert, Unsplash
Accounting for the emissions over a vehicle’s entire lifecycle overturns the sunk-cost thinking that keeps gasoline vehicles on the roads.

Thinking about trading your car in for an EV? There’s a compelling new reason to do it now
Christopher Costello
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Christopher Costello

Christopher Costello recognized for his pioneering work in environmental markets
sunset photo of Grand Canyon Lodge
The Grand Canyon Lodge before it burned down in 2025

Thousands of America's historic landmarks face significant wildfire risk
a view of the Black Sea

UCSB-led international team evaluates anoxic marine basins as potential sites for carbon sequestration
a young lady with a yellow bandana sits at a table, smiling at the camera
Photo Credit
Courtesy Image

Schmidt Family Foundation renews multi-year funding of UCSB’s Environmental Solutions Fellows Program
Whitecaps stir up on the ocean surface under dark clouds
Photo Credit
Oporkka via iStock
Climate dynamics can be quite nuanced, with far off winds influencing tropical oceans.

Distant winds can drive massive tropical warming deep below the ocean surface
Snags cover a mountainside under white puffy clouds.
Photo Credit
Cavan Images via iStock
Forests can’t offset emissions as a carbon store if trees are constantly succumbing to droughts, pests and fires.

Carbon markets underestimate the risks U.S. forests face from climate change
Concrete pours onto the ground on a construction site.
Photo Credit
Chaiyaporn1144 vis iStock
Cement production is an overlooked source of carbon emissions in public discourse.

Basalt could be the key to greener and cheaper cement
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