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Sunrise shot of the Tucson area from the roof of the Thomas W. Keating Bioresearch Building (BIO5 Institute)

Celebrated for its vast natural beauty, wild rivers, iconic landscapes, and old-growth forests, the western United States is also central to some of our nation’s most critical environmental issues, including drought, wildfire, urban sprawl, and natural and cultural resource management. Learn how our research provides solutions to environmental challenges for the Desert Southwest, and beyond.

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Will humans live forever one day?

Humanity has long dreamed of surpassing its biological limits and living longer. What if we could cheat the unalterable approach of aging and physical decline and escape death on our own?

University of Arizona's only indigenous postdoc gives voice to Native American environmental science

Groundwater — not ice sheets — is the largest source of water on land and most of it is ancient

Groundwater is used for irrigation and drinking water, but those wells are rarely more than one kilometre deep. A huge volume of salty water exists as much as 10 kilometres below the Earth’s surface.

Science Moms are on a mission to spread science-based climate optimism

When we feel overwhelmed and hopeless, many of us turn to our mothers or the mother figures we have in our lives for comfort and encouragement. As adults the challenges we face are much bigger than a scraped knee, with wider problems like climate change possibly luring us into despair.

Rivers speeding up Arctic ice melt at alarming rate, experts say

Understanding the degree of change caused by major rivers delivering freshwater and heat to the Arctic Ocean is important for regulating and managing Arctic commerce and ecosystems as the region opens up to new shipping routes.

Kara Asher sitting on a rock with no arms

"No Future Without Change:" Kara Asher On Climate Action

Thesis Thursday KXCI Podcast Features Indige-FEWSS Trainees

IndigeFEWSS Trainees attend AISES National Conference 2021

IndigeFEWSS Trainee Nikki Tulley with Secretary Haaland

Nikki Tulley Attends Landsat 9 Launch

Stella Heflin in a rock tunnel

Stella Heflin Models What Students Can Do For The Climate Crisis

Screenshot of napaccess.org front page.

Inspired by Data Science, Team Aims to Fulfill the Promise of NEPA Environmental Goals

During the 1960s, a series of environmental catastrophes and revelatory books transformed the American environmental consciousness, setting the stage for the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969. More than fifty years later, a group of researchers at the University of Arizona is helping to bring NEPA’s original vision into the 21st century through advanced data science practices, galvanizing a new generation of environmental leaders.

The oldest trees on Earth

High atop the remote, rocky slopes of California's White Mountains, the harsh conditions make it difficult for life to take root. But for a certain type of tree – and for those who have traveled here to study it – this place is paradise.