Assistant professor Chris Doughty and Ph.D. student Andrew Abraham worked with institutions around the world to conduct research on the role megabiota play in our ecosystem, and more importantly, what their dwindling numbers mean for the planet. Read more.
SICCS
Debates series on Information Theory in Earth Science published in WRR
Water Resources Research has published a “debate” series on the role of information theory in Earth Science, led by Praveen Kumar and Hoshin Gupta. There are five papers in this collection, three of which were co-authored by SICCS’ Ben Ruddell. Serious information theory, modeling, and statistics geeks should consider diving in! Also,… Read more Fallowing cattle-feed farmland simplest way to alleviate western water shortage, FEWSION-based study finds
An important new study published this week in Nature Sustainability finds that irrigated crop production accounts for 86 percent of all water consumed in the western U.S.—and of all the water used on western farms, by far the largest portion goes to cattle-feed crops such as alfalfa and grass hay. To alleviate the severe shortage of water in the… Read more
Innovative greenhouse gas detection software to help cities improve air quality
Professor Kevin Gurney of NAU’s School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems is building a detailed three-dimensional map of the urban Washington, D.C. area that will reveal every source of greenhouse gas being emitted into the atmosphere down to individual buildings, like the Pentagon, and roads such as Pennsylvania Ave. Gurney, an atmospheric scientist, says this will be an important tool for the city to use to reduce carbon emissions, assess progress and improve air… Read more
NAU scientists help chart a path to understand how Arctic vegetation is changing
Professors Scott Goetz and Logan Berner are involved in an effort that brings together a variety of science institutions around the world to look into what the warming planet means for vegetation productivity. Read More