For more than a century, a patch of cold water south of Greenland has resisted the Atlantic Ocean’s overall warming, fueling debate amongst scientists. A new study identifies the cause as the long-term weakening of a major ocean circulation system. Researchers from the University of California, Riverside show that only one explanation fits both observed...

In a study that closes a long-standing knowledge gap in fundamental science, researchers Boerge Hemmerling and Stephen Kane at the University of California, Riverside, have successfully measured the electric dipole moment of aluminum monochloride (AlCl), a simple yet scientifically crucial diatomic molecule. Their results, published in Physical Review A, have implications for quantum technologies, astrophysics...

Replanting forests can help cool the planet even more than some scientists once believed, especially in the tropics. But even if every tree lost since the mid-19 th century is replanted, the total effect won’t cancel out human-generated warming. Cutting emissions remains essential. In a new modeling study published in Communications Earth & Environment, researchers...

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is the highest-profile scientific organization in the country, and membership in it is a career-defining honor newly bestowed on two UC Riverside professors: Mary Droser, distinguished professor of earth and planetary sciences, and Hailing Jin, Cy Mouradick Endowed Chair of microbiology and plant pathology. Though outstanding contributions to science...

Scientists have identified a promising new way to detect life on faraway planets, hinging on worlds that look nothing like Earth and gases rarely considered in the search for extraterrestrials. In a new Astrophysical Journal Letters paper, researchers from the University of California, Riverside, describe these gases, which could be detected in the atmospheres of...

Scientists have a new method for studying faults that could improve earthquake forecasts, shedding light on where quakes start, how they spread, and where the biggest impacts might be. A paper in the journal Geology describes the method, which helps determine the origins and directions of past earthquake ruptures — information valuable to modeling future...

Everyone has a past. That includes the millions of species of insects, arachnids, and nematode worms that make up a major animal group called the Ecdysozoa. Until recently, details about this group’s most distant past have been elusive. But a UC Riverside-led team has now identified the oldest known ecdysozoan in the fossil record and...

The Arctic is warming at three to four times the global average. However, new research suggests the slowing of a key ocean current could reduce projected Arctic warming by up to 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. For years, scientists have warned that unchecked Arctic warming could lead to devastating consequences, threatening...

Several Southern California communities, including Riverside, are being hit with smoke from the huge Line Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains, creating what the Environmental Protection Agency classifies as “very unhealthy” air quality. UC Riverside experts on environmental pollution describe what we’re breathing, how long the airborne particles are likely to stick around, and what...

Despite decades of research, there’s still much scholars don’t understand about life’s beginnings and early evolution. A UC Riverside paper has opened the door to understanding more and to framing future studies that could help predict climate change and the search for life beyond Earth. “This paper strives to inform the Earth sciences community where...

A study led by a UC Riverside atmospheric scientist predicts that unchecked carbon emissions will force tropical rains to shift northward in the coming decades, which would profoundly impact agriculture and economies near the Earth's equator. The northward rain shift would be caused by complex changes in the atmosphere spurred by carbon emissions that influence...

If aliens modified a planet in their solar system to make it warmer, we’d be able to tell. A new UC Riverside study identifies the artificial greenhouse gases that would be giveaways of a terraformed planet. A terraformed planet has been artificially made hospitable for life. The gases described in the study would be detectable...

Anew UC Riverside study shows soot from large wildfires in California traps sunlight, making days warmer and drier than they ought to be. Many studies look at the effect of climate change on wildfires. However, this study sought to understand the reverse — whether large fires are also changing the climate. Read more.

When it comes to the ocean’s response to global warming, we’re not in entirely uncharted waters. A UC Riverside study shows that episodes of extreme heat in Earth’s past caused the exchange of waters from the surface to the deep ocean to decline. This system has been described as the "global conveyer belt," because it...

If we want cleaner air, fewer forest fires, and less severe climate change, a new UC Riverside study shows we must reduce aerosol pollution and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide at the same time. The study found that boreal forests in the northern hemisphere are particularly vulnerable to negative effects of cleaning up aerosol pollution...

While thousands of planets have been discovered around other stars, relatively little is known about them. A NASA catalog featuring 126 exotic, newly discovered worlds includes detailed measurements that allow for comparisons with our own solar system. The catalog details a fascinating mix of planet types beyond our solar system, from rare worlds with extreme...

UC Riverside astrophysicist Stephen Kane had to double check his calculations. He wasn’t sure the planet he was studying could be as extreme as it seemed. Kane never expected to learn that a planet in this faraway star system is covered with so many active volcanoes that seen from a distance it would take on...

Recent reports of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope finding signs of life on a distant planet understandably sparked excitement. A new study challenges this finding, but also outlines how the telescope might verify the presence of the life-produced gas. The UC Riverside study , published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, may be a disappointment to...

Despite surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead, lava-spewing volcanoes, and puffy clouds of sulfuric acid, uninhabitable Venus offers vital lessons about the potential for life on other planets, a new paper argues. “We often assume that Earth is the model of habitability, but if you consider this planet in isolation, we don’t know where...

By fueling the growth of plants that become kindling, carbon dioxide is driving an increase in the severity and frequency of wildfires, according to a UC Riverside study. The worldwide surge in wildfires over the past decade is often attributed to the hotter, drier conditions of climate change. However, the study found that the effect...