News – Page 28

Toxic tides

Written on June 1, 2010.

Sunny Jiang, a UC Irvine researcher studying pollution in Orange County’s coastal waters, recently got a graphic look at how swimming and surfing in the ocean can make people sick. She and a team of graduate students charted incidents of poor water quality at Southern California beaches over a 10-year period and the number of ocean-related illnesses reported at the Surfrider Foundation website during the same timeframe. Each graph looked like a series of waves, and when the two were...

Trashing the ocean

Written on June 1, 2010.

Kathryn Bold, University Communications On a clear spring day at Crystal Cove State Park, UC Irvine professor William Cooper and undergraduate Tova Handelman sift though a mound of seaweed and sand, oblivious to the curious stares of beachgoers. They’re too busy studying trash. “Look at all this plastic!” says Cooper, picking out a pellet no bigger than a grain of rice from his growing pile. “This is a ‘nurdle.’ They’re used to make plastic products. They shouldn’t be on the beach, but...

How big is your carbon footprint?

Written on May 24, 2010.

UCI research group uses collaborative filtering to build a better online carbon footprint calculator. Netflix, the popular movie-delivery site, “predicts” films its users may enjoy. The process doesn’t involve mind reading; it’s simply computer science. A collaborative filtering system allows Netflix to group users with similar viewing and rating histories and, consequently, anticipate which movies might appeal to which customers. Bill Tomlinson, UC Irvine associate professor of informatics,...

Climate change: smart strategies

Written on May 11, 2010.

Inundated with conflicting advice on how to reduce your carbon footprint? Diane Pataki, associate professor of Earth system science, will clear up the confusion. Jennifer Fitzenberger, University Communications People are inundated with advice on how to reduce their carbon footprints. With many ideas, some of them contradictory, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Which measures are scientifically sound and most effective? How much leverage do people really have to reduce global warming...

Keeping the Mexican coast clear

Written on April 20, 2010.

UCI’s Sharon Stern and colleagues are helping a Mexican coastal village preserve a coral reef by better managing its wastewater. Tom Vasich, University Communications The fishing village of Akumal sits on the Caribbean coast of Mexico an hour’s drive south of Cancun. Once considered a sleepy, out-of-the-way destination, Akumal — which means “place of the turtles” in Mayan — has become a scuba-diving mecca because of its clear ocean water and abundant coral reef. Sharon Stern, UC Irvine...

Documenting California’s water woes

Written on April 7, 2010.

UCI hydrologist Jay Famiglietti calls much-needed attention to California’s dwindling groundwater supply. It may have been a rainy winter, but there’s still cause for concern about California’s water supply. Just ask Jay Famiglietti, UC Irvine Earth system science professor and founding director of the new UC Center for Hydrologic Modeling, which aims to help the state tackle its drought-induced water crisis. Famiglietti recently made headlines when he and NASA scientists discovered...

Preserving wetlands for science

Written on March 15, 2010.

San Joaquin wetlands manager William Bretz helps preserve the fragile ecosystem for UCI researchers and students, as well as the creatures that depend on the marsh for survival. Kathryn Bold, University Communications For William Bretz, there’s no such thing as just another day at the office. Instead of working behind a desk, he’s usually behind the wheel of a mud-splattered SUV, making the rounds at the San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve. On this bright December morning, rolling along...

Warmer ocean speeding Greenland glacier melt

Written on February 17, 2010.

Glaciers in West Greenland are melting 100 times more rapidly at their end points beneath the ocean than they are at their surfaces, according to a UC Irvine/NASA study. Alan Buis, NASA\’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Glaciers in West Greenland are melting 100 times more rapidly at their end points beneath the ocean than they are at their surfaces, according to a UC Irvine/NASA study published online this week in Nature Geoscience. The study results suggest this undersea melting caused...

‘Green’ spaces may worsen global warming

Written on January 19, 2010.

Turfgrass management can create more greenhouse gas than plants remove from atmosphere, study finds. Jennifer Fitzenberger, University Communications NOTE TO EDITORS: The original version of this story, posted Jan. 19, has been updated here to reflect the correction of a spreadsheet error in the scientific paper regarding carbon dioxide emissions during lawn maintenance. Dispelling the notion that urban “green” spaces help counteract greenhouse gas emissions, new research has found –...

Oceans losing ability to absorb greenhouse gas

Written on January 11, 2010.

Like a dirty filter, the Earth’s oceans are growing less efficient at absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas produced by fossil-fuel burning, reports a study co-authored by Francois Primeau, UC Irvine Earth system science associate professor. Jennifer Fitzenberger, University Communications Like a dirty filter, the Earth’s oceans are growing less efficient at absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas produced by fossil-fuel burning,...