Solar and wind energy preserve groundwater for drought, agriculture
November 6, 2019 ・ B. Rose KellySolar and wind farms are popping up around the country to lower carbon emissions, and these renewables also have another important effect: keeping more water in the ground. A new Princeton University-led study in Nature Communications is among the first…
At the frontline: Princeton Environmental Forum addresses environmental crises of the 21st century
October 31, 2019 ・ Denise Valenti and Tom GarlinghouseIn response to the urgent environmental challenges facing the planet, Princeton faculty and alumni who are actively working to protect the environment gathered for the Princeton Environmental Forum held on campus Oct. 24-25. They came with knowledge, questions and an…
Why are big storms bringing so much more rain? Warming, yes, but also winds
October 29, 2019 ・ Molly SharlachFor three hurricane seasons in a row, storms with record-breaking rainfall have caused catastrophic flooding in the southern United States: Harvey in 2017, Florence in 2018 and Imelda in 2019. A new analysis by Princeton researchers explains why this trend…
A world without the Amazon? Safeguarding the Earth’s largest rainforest focus of Princeton conference
October 23, 2019 ・ Pooja MakhijaniThe Amazon is the world’s largest and most diverse tropical forest and the ancestral home of over 1 million indigenous peoples. How to preserve it was the centrally urgent theme at a conference at Princeton on Oct. 17-18. “Safeguarding the…
Study helps pinpoint what makes species vulnerable to environmental change
October 16, 2019 ・ Joseph AlbaneseThe fabled use of canaries in coal mines as an early warning of carbon monoxide stemmed from the birds’ extreme sensitivity to toxic conditions compared to humans. In that vein, some avian species can indicate environmental distress brought on by…
Athlete Clare Gallagher races against climate change by running for action
September 26, 2019 ・ The Office of CommunicationsFor Clare Gallagher, Princeton Class of 2014, the urgent cry of “all hands on deck” to combat climate change brings her to her feet. Literally. An ultramarathoner and trail runner, Gallagher discusses on the latest episode of the new Princeton…
‘100-year’ floods will happen every one to 30 years, according to new coastal flood prediction maps
August 27, 2019 ・ Jen A. MillerA 100-year flood is supposed to be just that: a flood that occurs once every 100 years, or a flood that has a 1% chance of happening every year. But Princeton researchers have developed new maps that predict coastal flooding…
Fewer fish may reach breeding age as climate change skews timing of reproduction, food availability
July 24, 2019 ・ Joseph AlbaneseClimate change may be depriving juvenile fish of their most crucial early food source by throwing off the synchronization of when microscopic plants known as phytoplankton bloom and when fish hatch, according to Princeton University researchers. The long-term effect on…
Zhang receives Simons Early Career Award to study the ocean’s nitrogen producers
May 28, 2019 ・ Morgan KellyXinning Zhang, assistant professor of geosciences and the Princeton Environmental Institute, was among nine scientists nationwide to receive a three-year 2019 Simons Early Career Investigators in Marine Microbial Ecology and Evolution Award from the Simons Foundation. An environmental microbiologist, Zhang’s…
