A new initiative created by UCLA and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County will use community science to learn more about the effects of smog and wildfire smoke on birds, with a goal of developing strategies to help birds cope with wildfires, air pollution and climate change. Project Phoenix, which takes flight this July, will bring together ecologists, atmospheric scientists and everyday people from throughout California.
The Laboratory for Environmental Strategies at UCLA, or LENS, received a $545,000 grant from Bezos Earth Fund to help local journalists from ethnic media inform their communities in diverse languages about major infrastructure projects that affect their lives.
To better inform the debate on the causes behind the worsening wildfires across California and the western United States, wildfire experts from 15 universities, research institutes and government agencies authored a paper that synthesizes the latest research on wildfires and their causes. The paper’s authors examined climate data, land cover changes, historical land management, fire suppression, and changing environments and ecosystems.
Leonardo DiCaprio and the UCLA Lab School announced the formation of the Leonardo DiCaprio Scholarship Fund and a climate education program for students in pre-K through sixth grade that will launch ahead of the 2023–24 school year.
Rising global temperatures are making it harder for birds to know when it’s spring and time to breed according to a new study collaboration between scientists at UCLA and Michigan State University. The study found that birds produce fewer young if they start breeding too early or late in the season. With climate change resulting in earlier springlike weather, the researchers report that birds have been unable to keep pace.
A UCLA-led study using environmental DNA, or eDNA, has identified 80 species of fish and rays living within southern California surf zones — the areas where ocean waves break onto the beach.
“Environmental DNA opens up a wealth of possibilities to monitor our local beach ecosystems,” said Paul Barber, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and the paper’s senior author.
In early June, UCLA School of Law hosted a four-day workshop on remote sensing technology for government representatives from around the world. The meeting was convened by the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force, which is housed at UCLA. Three dozen technical specialists from state governments in Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Mexico and Peru came together to test out new technology, build skills using hands-on exercises and engage directly with product developers.
A new technique developed by UCLA geologists that uses artificial intelligence to better predict where and why landslides may occur could bolster efforts to protect lives and property in some of the world’s most disaster-prone areas.
This spring, Morolake Omoya successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, becoming the first Black student to receive bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in civil and environmental engineering from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering.
Eduado Jacques Martinez, a former Marine reservist, and a recent UCLA graduate in geology, has relished the opportunity to include 7-year-old Bryce in his university experience. The two have even joined colleagues from the geology department to study rock formations at the Salton Sea and Joshua Tree National Park.
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