There are many factors that play a role in whether or not it rains, and research from the University of Arizona shows that human activity such as cultivating agricultural fields may be one of them.
Climate change, rapid urbanization, and changing consumption patterns for water, food and energy pose unprecedented challenges for the water sector around the globe. Internationally recognized for its expertise in water-related research, the UA is advancing new management approaches, technologies, tools, and data to build resilience, water security, and water safety for the future.
To raise awareness about UA’s water focus and to foster connections between faculty, students, businesses, and governments, the UA Water Sustainability Program developed the UA Water Network. Organized along five themes, the website highlights the many ways faculty and researchers in UA departments, programs, institutes and centers are tackling complex water issues. The site features engaging videos, an events calendar that includes seminars and colloquiums across campus, an experts directory, and numerous links for students and researchers. The Water Network complements and works in conjunction with the UA Environment site.
FIND UA EXPERTS IN THESE AREAS
VIEW ALL EXPERTS>>Related Programs
Recent News
The Water Resources Research Center of the UA recently published its newsletter "Arroyo 2018."
Since late 2016, Marana Water Department officials have known that these wells contained levels of two kinds of chemical pollutants that are higher than those recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency. Residents in affected areas are installing water-treatment systems and buying bottled water as alternatives to drinking polluted tap water. Paloma Beamer, an associate professor in the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, is interviewed.
The Sustainable Water Workgroup is hosting a public hearing to discuss the current and future state of Arizona's groundwater. Thomas Meixner, a professor and associate department head of the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences at the UA, will be in attendance to explain the current state of Arizona's environmental waters.
A new study from the U.S. Geological Survey shows water use across the country dropped between 2010 and 2015, even though the population rose by 4 percent in that time. "It"s very important to become more efficient and to become more protective of our water supply," said UA water scientist Susanna Eden, adding that small-scale efforts such as low-flow toilets, efficient washing machines and landscaping that doesn't require outside water all have an impact.
Events
Arizona Water Watch (AWW), a new citizen science program offered through the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, is designed to train volunteers to collect credible scientific data on streams and lakes in Arizona. The program uses innovative ideas like visually friendly forms, hand stitched cloth streams for teaching, micro video lessons, and crowd sourcing data techniques to reach many levels of volunteers.
Join us at Exo Roast Coffee Co, 403 N 6th Ave, Tucson, for an evening presentation on the amazing work of students in Sonora seeking to protect their unique springs ecosystems.
And stay tuned for details on a mescal tasting before the presentation!
What does water security mean in the 21st century and how do we reconfigure water policy for a more sustainable future? Although drought and water scarcity have driven conflict throughout history, there are increasing efforts across the U.S. to bring a more collaborative and systems-based approach to water governance. This talk examines the current water policy landscape and the ways in which a clash of paradigms is playing out between the legacy systems of the past and the new paradigm solutions of the future.
In his presentation, Dr. Chris Castro will describe research on the changing occurrence and intensity of monsoon rains. This research focuses on the simulation of severe weather events caused by mesoscale convective systems (MCSs), which account for much of monsoon rainfall in the central and southwestern portions of Arizona, downwind of the Mogollon Rim. Over the past 60 years, there have tended to be a fewer strong, organized MCS-type thunderstorms during the monsoon; however, when they do occur, their associated precipitation tends to be more intense.
Masaki Hayashi, Ph.D., the 2018 National Ground Water Association Darcy Lecturer, is currently a Professor in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Calgary. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Physical Hydrology. Hayashi received his B.S. and M.S. in earth sciences from Waseda University and Chiba University, respectively, in Japan, and his Ph.D. in earth sciences from the University of Waterloo in Canada.