An aerial image of a braided river flowing off of a glacier in Iceland. Photo: Adobe Stock / Marek.
Spring 2023 Issue: The Future of Water
After years of extreme drought, California’s record-setting wet winter brought atmospheric rivers that filled reservoirs and flooded roads, and storms that piled up snow in the Sierra Nevada. Rausser College experts say that “drought and deluge” will likely become our new normal as the effects of climate change intensify. Our spring magazine explores this “weather whiplash” and what it means for humans and ecosystems, as well as many of the myriad other topics relating to water and its issues, importance, and power. Read individual stories below or view the online flipbook.
How climate change is altering water as an ecological system—a system that includes us.
Can the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act ensure sufficient, safe, and equitable water for all Californians?
Two Rausser College researchers discuss the political, social, and economic factors that cause inequities in access to safe and affordable water.
Rebecca Peters, BS ’14 Society and Environment, has been a leader working to increase water access around the world since her time at Berkeley.
Rausser College researchers are advancing knowledge of California’s sensitive freshwater ecosystems.
Plant and Microbial Biology graduate student Alienor Baskevitch arranged and photographed the fungi she foraged during a field excursion last fall.
River health, renewable energy | AI and the environment | A new age of water | Climate change, urbanization, and birds | Faculty awards … and more
Dean Ackerly introduces the water-themed issue, which covers drought, floods, groundater, freshwater ecosystems, water equity, and so much more.
This UC Berkeley field station provides daily, hand-collected measurements of precipitation and regular data on snow water content, offering critical insight into California's most important water storage system.
Alum Matt Streiff channels his love of surfing and a fondness for Berkeley into support for Rausser College.
Released in March, Rausser College's strateic plan presents a vision framework, mission, and set of guiding principles that will anchor and propel the College through the next five years and beyond.
Web Extras
Maya Akkaraju (BS '22 Molecular Environmental Biology), now a wetland and water quality intern for Golden Gate National Recreation Area, recently authored an update on Muir Woods’ salmon habitat enhancement project.