Climate Science, Adaptation & Resilience Solutions

UArizona is an international leader in climate science, understanding climate risks, and building scalable solutions to water supply problems, wildfire risks, habitat loss, agricultural production challenges, and threats to defense installations and human health.

Our research

Long-Awaited Update Arrives for Radiocarbon Dating

More than 3,500 years ago a catastrophic volcanic eruption struck ancient Thera, known today as the Greek island of Santorini. Ash and pumice rained across the Mediterranean, and tsunami waves rolled onto faraway shores in Crete. In the 1960s archaeologists on Santorini uncovered a Minoan settlement frozen in time, with vibrant wall frescoes decorating multistory houses, all buried by volcanic debris.

Earth is setting heat records. It will be much hotter one day.

As a heat wave roasted the western United States this week, temperatures in California’s Death Valley soared to a blistering 130 degrees Fahrenheit, marking the hottest temperature measured anywhere on Earth since 1931 and the third hottest day ever recorded on our planet, period.

As California Grid Buckles, It Faces Worst Heat in 70 Years

The U.S. West Coast is set to have its hottest two weeks in 70 years, putting even more strain on power grids after California imposed rolling blackouts for the first time since 2001.

Researchers Propose Climate-Smart Desert Food Production Model for Land and Human Health

As heat waves, drought and disease challenge food security in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, scientists are setting their sights on a novel model for desert farming.

How a 30-ton robot could help crops withstand climate change


Arizona has what researchers call ‘the climate of tomorrow, today.’ Scientists are using a 30-ton robotic field scanner in the state to study plant genetics and hopefully develop stress-resilient crops. 

Solar Panels

UArizona Researchers Collaborate with TEP to Meet Reduction Goals

UArizona researchers Andrea Gerlak and Ben McMahan led a project with Tucson Electric Power (TEP) to set science-based greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets for their 2020 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

Charrovida reopens with plant-based menu, philosophy

The pandemic has given some businesses, including Carlotta Flores’s year-old Charrovida restaurant on the northwest side, time to rethink their game plan.

Warming Will Reduce Trees' Ability to Slow Climate Change

Why are so many fires ravaging the Southern Arizona wilderness?

From the Bighorn Fire continuing to burn through the beloved Catalina Mountains to the human-caused Bush Fire near Phoenix, now deemed as the largest current fire in the U.S., fires are taking a toll on the wilderness of Southern and Central Arizona.