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 about what this community is doing at 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 region—especially in the Colorado River basin—the study’s authors suggest that rotational fallowing farmland,… 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 quality.… 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
NAU scientist tracks the spread of a dangerous virus throughout Arizona
West Nile Virus—a potentially deadly infection spread by mosquito bites—is now a permanent resident of Arizona, according to a study by Northern Arizona University and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope.
Crystal Hepp, an assistant professor at NAU’s School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, is the lead author on the study, which analyzed the genetic material of West Nile Virus (WNV) directly from mosquitos collected in Arizona to build out a genomic family… Read more
Research partnership between NAU, Salt River Project provides solutions to Arizona’s problems
Aug. 12, 2019
What effect do zero-net homes have on the energy grid? What’s the dollar value of a healthy ecosystem, and what does that look like in the ever-changing Southwest? What are the best methods to protect forests from catastrophic fires? How does all of this affect the average resident of the Phoenix area?
These questions, critical in a time of warming climate and a place like Arizona, where healthy land,… Read more