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Disaster Management

Understanding disasters in advance so we can be prepared in the moment. Our research explores the human, environmental and economic impacts of disasters, enabling us to proactively prevent–and reactively recover–from emergencies.

a picture of smoke rising from a wildfire in the hills behind a coastal city
The Palisades Fire of January, 2025, burned watersheds in the Santa Monica Mountains, subsequently impacting water quality at several Southern California beaches

Researchers link wildfires in California’s coastal watersheds to the water quality at the beach

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A turbid river flows down from the mountains through a mixed woodland. Gravel, cobbles, and boulders line the river channel. Clouds obscure the very peaks of the mountains above the trees.
Photo Credit
Sergey Kuznetsov via iStock
Rivers wash mountains to the sea. How quickly they do this has major implications for natural hazards and fundamental Earth science.

Years after an earthquake, rivers still carry the mountains downstream
Dead corn and cracked earth under an orange sky.
Photo Credit
piyaset via iStock
Warmer air can suck more moisture in dry regions and dump more rain in wet regions. New research reveals that the atmosphere’s drying capacity is outpacing increases to rainfall.

The atmosphere’s growing thirst is making droughts worse, even where it rains
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Professors Somayeh Dodge and Alan Murray receive UCGIS awards
Stork plaza, the UCen, and music building with the ocean in the background.
Photo Credit
Matt Perko

UCSB is well positioned for fire preparedness
CERT training
Photo Credit
Sarah Kidwell

Help is on the way: UCSB staff train to pitch in during a disaster
David Valentine
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
David Valentine

Discoveries from Disasters: A conversation with oceanographer David Valentine
a barnacle in a jar
Photo Credit
Sonia Fernandez
Sessile creatures like this barnacle were the key to determining when the oil pipeline was compromised, an event that eventually led to the oil spill

How Marine Science Institute researchers helped solve the 2021 Huntington Beach oil spill
Flames from the Thomas Fire reflect in the waves at night.
Photo Credit
Ray Ford / Noozhawk
Flames from the Thomas Fire reflect in the waves just west of Ventura. Its proximity to the ocean provided researchers a unique opportunity.

Thomas Fire research reveals that ash can fertilize the oceans
Burned facade of Lahaina Store
Photo Credit
Staff Sgt. Matthew A. Foster/ Wikimedia commons

Unite to Light sends solar lamps and chargers to Lahaina
Palms blow in a storm.
Photo Credit
ChiehCheng via iStock
The El Niño Southern Oscillation influences weather patterns across the world.

El Niño and La Niña multi-year events could become more common
Burning hillside at Sedgwick Preserve
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
A flame torched hillside at Sedgwick Reserve is the site of a prescribed burn.

Taming Fire: Controlled burns can be a boon to our landscape

Shifting Winds in Fire Management
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