In an increasingly drought prone climate, scientists study the impacts of drought on aquifer systems.
California
How to Trigger a Massive Earthquake
Humans may be to blame for California’s second-largest 20th century earthquake, and a team of seismologists has now proposed how that could have happened.
California Floods Linked to Atmospheric Water Vapor “Rivers”
Narrow atmospheric streams of water vapor that deliver heavy rains are more commonly associated with floods and debris flows in northern California than with flash floods in southern California.
Powerful Pacific Forces Disrupt the California Current
Scientists create a 66-year data record to shed light on the role of El Niño in the California Current System’s shifting temperatures.
How Will Climate Change Affect the California Current Upwelling?
The results of new simulations that account for internal climate variability contrast with previous projections of how this vital West Coast current will respond to anthropogenic warming.
Catching Glimpses of Centuries-Old Earthquakes
Researchers in the western United States survey the earthquakes that have torn up California for the past millennium.
On the Origin of Low-Angle Detachment Faults
Data from California's Whipple Mountains suggest this complex was formed by a succession of steep normal faults, challenging the paradigm that detachments are different types of faults.
Defining Snow Drought and Why It Matters
Swings from snow drought to extreme winter rainfall make managing reservoirs, like the Oroville Dam, incredibly difficult. But what exactly is "snow drought"?
Pulses of Rising Magma in Sierra Nevada's Past
A detailed study of layered igneous material at California's Fisher Lake offers a novel approach to identifying the pathways and timescales of individual magma pulses in volcanic arcs.
California’s Governor Promises to Fight for Science
Scientific efforts must ratchet up in the face of rising climate change denial, Governor Brown said to a roomful of scientists.