Stanford University
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Stanford Earth Matters

Three researchers with prawns wade in river

Just add prawns

Giulio De Leo and his collaborators have been testing an unconventional solution to a parasitic disease. (Source: Stanford Magazine)

Researchers extract sediment cores at Searsville Lake in Jasper Ridge

This is epoch

At 12 points around the globe – including one at Stanford – scientists are working to detect when the Anthropocene began. (Source: Stanford Magazine)

Birds-eye view of a Hawaiian island

What can Pacific island cultures teach us about sustainability?

Island geography, genealogy, kinship, and other cultural and environmental factors influenced early Pacific island societies to develop sustainable practices. How can we apply these lessons to climate and sustainability issues today?

Drip irrigation and seedlings

When to water? Researchers develop new tool for optimizing irrigation

A new tool for designing and managing irrigation for farms advances the implementation of smart agriculture, an approach that leverages data and modern technologies to boost crop yields while conserving natural resources. (Source: Stanford News)

Community gardening

Earth Day and beyond

Can activities like those organized to commemorate Earth Day make a difference in long-term behaviors, attitudes, and even policy? Stanford experts discuss the experiences that tend to affect environmental attitudes and action.

Three women sit outdoors talking.

Art as a tool for environmental justice

Artists Kim Anno and Gao Ling discuss the role of the humanities in environmental justice work during an evening of conversation and community art-making.

Aerial view of Del Mar beach with buildings near coast

New approach estimates long-term coastal cliff loss

A new method for estimating cliff loss over thousands of years in Del Mar, California, may help reveal some of the long-term drivers of coastal cliff loss in the state. (Source: Stanford News)

Student in lab

Wastewater could be the key to tracking more viruses than just COVID-19

Researchers have developed methods for using wastewater to track the levels of various respiratory viruses in a population. This can provide real-time information about virus circulation in a community. (Source: Stanford News)

Peace River landscape

Oil-sand wastewater triggered large Alberta earthquake

New research reveals wastewater injected underground by fossil fuel operators caused a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in November 2022 in the Peace River area of Alberta’s oil sands region. This is the first study to link seismicity in the area to human activity. (Source: Stanford News)

A rocky headland extends into the blue waters off the California coast. A wave breaks in the foreground.

‘Two-Eyed Seeing’ off the California coast

A new research partnership will combine Indigenous and scientific knowledge to monitor marine life in a sacred tribal region that may be a bellwether of how native species will fare in the face of climate change.

hands with water

Q&A: Accelerating water solutions

Stanford water and sanitation expert Jenna Davis discusses surprising freshwater challenges and potential solutions in the U.S. and abroad. (Source: Stanford Program on Water, Health & Development)

Energy production and pipelines on Alaska's North Slope in winter at night

Q&A: Willow oil project and Arctic drilling limits

Stanford experts explain why the recently approved Willow oil drilling project in Alaska has sparked controversy, discuss the significance of new limits on oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean, and describe the complicated nature of energy transformation in the fastest-warming place on Earth.

An aerial perspective of two minke whales swimming side by side

Why whales need to be big

Scientists studied a unique group of Antarctic minke whales and found that these gigantic mammals actually represent the smallest possible body size required for their style of feeding. (Source: Stanford News)

Aerial view of meandering river

Arctic river channels changing due to climate change, scientists discover

Researchers have tracked the migration pace of large meandering rivers in permafrost regions – a natural process that impacts the amount of organic carbon released into the ocean.

Camp fire wildfire

A Burning Issue: Stanford scholar testifies on rising costs of wildfire

Stanford climate and energy policy expert Michael Wara addressed the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget about the economic risks of climate-fueled wildfire. (Source: Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment)

Wind turbines

Testing the winds

Anna-Katharina von Krauland’s research on potential wind farm development in the US and India could help ease the transition to renewable energy. (Source: Stanford King Center on Global Development)

Kim Nicholas

Q&A: How to incorporate meaningful climate actions into your life

Stanford alumna and visiting scholar Kim Nicholas discusses obstacles and strategies for what she calls “everyday climate action.” (Source: Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment)

burned forest

Zombie forests

Researchers created maps showing where warmer weather has left trees in conditions that don’t suit them, making them more prone to being replaced by other species. The findings could help inform long-term wildfire and ecosystem management in these “zombie forests.” (Source: Stanford News)

    Coastal erosion

    Climate patterns shape sand deposits in the deep sea

    New findings about how sand deposits form in the deep sea during different climate eras reveal mysterious processes miles beneath the ocean’s surface, and could help future-proof offshore operations like wind farms as the Earth warms and water rises.

    A fish stall with products in boxes and a person standing in the background

    Aquatic food benefits

    Leveraging blue foods can help policymakers address multiple global challenges, a new analysis shows. (Source: Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions)

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