Category: Science News

In science news this week: DWR Lead Scientist Ted Sommer wins career achievement award:  “DWR’s Lead Scientist Ted Sommer, whose decades of research into fish and ecology has influenced scientific policy and management in California, received a career achievement award Monday at the Bay-Delta Science Conference in Sacramento.  The Brown-Nichols Science Award is a biennial honor for scientists whose research […]

In science news this week: Global warming, El Nino could cause wetter winters, drier conditions in other months:  “So here’s the good news: Despite fears to the contrary, California isn’t facing a year-round drought in our warming new world.  However, UC Riverside Earth Sciences Professor Robert Allen’s research indicates that what precipitation the state does get will be pretty much […]

In science news this week: NASA image shows how California’s wildfires are affecting the atmosphere; Drought, groundwater loss sinks California land at alarming rate; Small amounts of water enable juvenile salmon to survive; Changing genes: Studying steelhead in San Francisco streams; Managing fisheries in the face of climate change; Engineered sand zaps storm water pollutants; Connectivity explains ecosystem responses to […]

In science news this week: Final plan for recovering green sturgeon:  “One of Central California’s most ancient fish, the green sturgeon, now has a plan that will steer it toward recovery. NOAA Fisheries released a final recovery plan under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on August 21, 2018. The plan is non-regulatory and identifies steps that will guide state and federal […]

In science news this week: Sustainable water management strategies for specialty crop expansion in the Sacramento Valley:  “Sacramento Area Council of Government (SACOG)’s Sustainable Water Management Strategies for Specialty Crop Expansion in the Sacramento Valley examined scenarios to consider optimal locations for strategic flooding of cropland to maximize groundwater infiltration and improve water supply reliability for continued specialty crop production […]

In science news this week: Yolo Bypass: Restoration in the largest seasonal floodplain in the West benefits all Californians:  “There’s a buzz of activity in the Yolo Bypass surrounding crucial habitat restoration projects.  One project is essentially finished; another is under construction and four others are deep into the planning process.  There is almost too much activity in the Yolo […]

When noise becomes signal: Unusual California precipitation over last two winters could have been predicted: “Last spring, Governor Jerry Brown declared an end to California’s historic drought that caused over $5 billion in damage to agriculture as well as substantial impacts to fisheries, infrastructure, human health, and vegetation. The drought was not only severe, but it also spanned the winters […]

Nutria alert: Save a wetland, eat a rodent:  “They’ve spread across the globe wreaking havoc through the destruction of levees, drainages, and thousands of acres of marshland. It might sound like the work of aliens from a science-fiction movie, but hordes of whiskered rodents are actually to blame. Nutria, swamp rat, and coypu are all common names for these beaver-like […]

In science news this week: Delta drought review: How did we do?; New research: Financial incentives create critical waterbird habitat in extreme drought; California grasslands set to store carbon more reliably than forests; Reducing mercury loads in the Cosumnes River; From 0 to 40: Trapping diving beetles preying on pupfish larvae results in increased survival of Devils Hole species; Long-term […]