Nature & Environment

Soon after the COVID lockdowns, news stories emerged about wild animals roaming city streets. This period came to be known as the “anthropause”. Five years later, this period of reduced human activity provides scientists with useful data about animal behavior, but it may have even more to say about how and why humans connect to nature.

Snow4Flow is a new University of Arizona-led NASA mission to study arctic glaciers using advanced radar mounted on low-flying aircraft. Captained by Jack Holt, a professor at the University of Arizona’s Lunar & Planetary Lab, the mission’s goal is to improve climate modeling and to better understand glacial loss and its impact on sea level rise.

The Campus Agricultural Center is a 160 acre farm right in the middle of Tucson that operates as a research and teaching facility for the University of Arizona’s College of Veterinary Medicine. It includes extensive pasture land for its horses, cows, and sheep, which are affectionately cared for by a team of veterinarians and staff. The animals, often referred to as “pasture professors,” are able to give veterinary students invaluable hands-on experience working with large agricultural animals, something not many other programs are able to offer.

Professor Jeffrey Pyun and his team in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Arizona have developed an advanced plastic made out of sulfur – a remarkable invention that makes use of a notoriously useless byproduct from the fossil fuel industry. Deemed the “Devil’s rock,” due to its association as brimstone, sulfur makes up 70 million tons of waste annually. Together with Robert Norwood, Professor of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona, these new plastics have been developed into a variety of uses that include state-of-the-art infrared and night vision glasses, longer-lasting batteries for electric vehicles, and tires – among many more applications (including vinyl records!). In many cases, these sulfur-based plastics now rival traditional plastics in their application and use.

Back in 2009, the National Science Foundation funded the development of a network of so-called “critical zone observatories” around the U.S. intended to be environmental laboratories focused on the Earth’s outer skin - where water, atmosphere, soil, rock and ecosystems interact. The idea was to better understand the critical zones where life happens, from the top of the canopy down to the bedrock. The Catalina Mountains in Arizona were chosen as one of these key research locations, where University of Arizona scientists from different disciplines could bring their expertise together to better understand the complexity and dynamism of ecological systems.

The University of Arizona Sky School is an innovative educational program for students of all ages that integrates a wide variety of science and engineering disciples while fostering a deep connection to nature and a sense of place. Students travel up to the summit of Mt. Lemmon in the majestic Catalina Mountains and spend 1-3 nights doing field work around Steward Observatory’s Sky Center. While there, they can peer through telescopes, take tree core samples, and learn all about the ecosystems that surround them.

Ever notice that many of your garden plants grow better in the shade than in the direct sun? It’s true, they often do – especially in hot places like the desert of Arizona. Researchers at the University of Arizona have noticed it too, and they’re busy developing the technology to harness it. It’s called “agrivoltaics” (derived from the words ‘agriculture’ and ‘photovoltaics’), and involves growing food in the shade of solar panels. Not only does this simple concept increase crop yield while using less water, but it also improves solar panel efficiency. It sounds like magic, but it’s ecology! Agrivoltaics is now being tested throughout the region, including at Biosphere 2 and at Manzo Elementary School in Tucson, where it’s also being used as an educational tool for kids.

When thinking of premiere wine grape-growing regions around the world, Arizona rarely comes to mind. That’s because grape farming in Arizona sits right on the edge of what’s possible with viticulture. There are heat waves, vine-cracking winter frosts, and most extreme of all: monsoons during the harvest season that can transform the chemistry of wine grapes overnight. But Arizona winemakers are resilient, and the state’s wine industry is booming. There’s a unique terroir you can taste, with a palate unlike any other.

Climate change is personal to Arizona residents, and few know this better than University of Arizona climate scientist, Jessica Tierney. She is a lead author on the most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, a United Nations body that is the world authority on our changing climate. This latest report is perhaps the starkest yet - laying out unequivocal evidence of the role that human activity plays in warming the planet. Tierney and her team examine what this might mean for Arizona, our life-giving monsoon season, and the ongoing drought.

The University of Arizona’s Community & School Garden program is an innovative educational platform that transforms gardens into STEM learning labs, connecting students and citizen scientists with Tucson’s 4,000-year agricultural legacy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the program has become a leader in how to adapt to distant learning models, focusing on outdoor engagement and even producing YouTube field trips with charismatic hosts. The program is a sterling example of how gardens do more than just grow food; they can grow brains too.

In the aftermath of the Bighorn Fire in the Catalinas, researchers see a unique opportunity to better understand how fire impacts the delicate sky island ecosystems here in Arizona. How was this fire different from historical blazes? And what can we learn about nature's resiliency in the face of such cataclysmic events? We follow a research expedition led by fire and forest ecologist Don Falk and tree ring expert Laura Marshall to the high elevation forests atop Mt. Lemmon, to learn how this sensitive region has fared immediately following the blaze.

A towering canopy of evergreen trees and a lush forest floor dripping with an almost continuous rainfall…just north of Tucson. Come visit the iconic Biosphere 2 and take a closer look at its rainforest biome and the research being performed there.

University of Arizona’s Center for Innovation, located at the UA Tech Park, has been chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy to be one of just six “Power Connectors”: sites ideally suited to serve as arenas for the American-Made Solar Prize, a national competition designed to energize U.S. solar manufacturing. It’s a grand opportunity for our region to attract innovators and cement itself as a worldwide economic hub for the development of solar technology - and to bring new forms of clean, renewable energy to our local electric grid.

A women-only oyster farming cooperative along Mexico's Gulf of California demonstrates the importance of community if we want to protect our natural resources. Produced in collaboration with Hakai Magazine.

Naturalists Erv Nichols and Sandra Noll discover love, adventure, and a new life while following the epic migration of the sandhill cranes, from the Southwest U.S. to north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska.

Kyle Bert finds serenity and self-acceptance while crafting unique didgeridoos out of agave flowers that he harvests in southern Arizona.