News Archive 2015-2016

Jim McClain and Robert Zierenberg participated in a 3-week expedition off the coasts of Oregon and Washington to study the formation of Axial Seamount. Read MBARI's (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) Northern 2016 Expedition blog.
From Smithsonian online: "When Did Today's Whales Get So Big?" - Geerat Vermeij is co-author on recent study. Read more on the UC Davis L&S website: "Evolution of Biggest Whales Linked With Ocean Productivity"
"Nine Experts to Watch on California Water Policy" - Professor emeritus Jeff Mount is one of the featured experts.
"Geerat Vermeij on Plant Defences in Annals of Botany" - an interview with Geerat Vermeij
"Marine Life Quickly Recovered After Global Mass Extinction" - Reptiles rapidly invaded the seas soon after a global extinction wiped out most life on Earth, according to a new study led by University of California, Davis, researchers. Isabel Montañez and Ryosuke Motani are among the co-authors of this study published in Scientific Reports .
"New Type of Meteorite Linked to Ancient Asteroid Collision" - Qing-zhu Yin is a co-author on this study published in Nature Communications.
50 Moores Years - June 3-5. A Symposium and Field Trip in celebration of Eldridge Moores' 50 years at UC Davis.
"New Fossil changes Ideas About Marine Reptile Evolution" - Ryosuke Motani co-author on the Nature Scientific Reports paper: "A large aberrant stem ichthyosauriform indicating early rise and demise of ichthyosauromorphs in the wake of the end-Permian extinction"
From Science: "Preservation of Earth-forming events in the tungsten isotopic composition of modern flood basalts" - Sujoy Mukhopadhyay and Earth and Planetary Sciences undergrad Vicky Manthos are co-authors.
"High-Tech Sandbox from UC Davis to Teach Howard University Middle School Students Earth and Watershed Sciences" - the Augmented Reality Sandbox was developed by the KeckCAVES in collaboration with Tahoe Environmental Research Center.
"Picnic Day Takes Large Behind-the-Scenes Effort for Departments"
"A Grand Adventure - UC Davis Students Connect Serious Science with Serious Fun in the Grand Canyon." Ecogeomorphology is offered winter quarter by the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Center for Watershed Sciences, in partnership with Campus Recreation's Outdoor Adventures.
"Microbial Mats Offer Clues To Life on Early Earth" from Astrobiology Magazine. Graduate Student Tyler Mackey is lead author on this study.
Isabel Montañez has been named a 2016 Geochemical Fellow by the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry. The honorary title of Geochemistry Fellow is bestowed upon outstanding scientists who have, over some years, made a major contribution to the field of geochemistry.
Tessa Hill has received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. This award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their research careers. "President Obama Honors Extraordinary Early-Career Scientists" -White House Press Release
"Breaking the Strongest Link Triggered Big Baja Earthquake" from UC Davis News. Professor Mike Oskin is a co-author on the study.
"Behind the Levee: Flood Risk Can Be Higher With Levees Than Without Them" - Nicholas Pinter is lead author on a recent levee study published in the journal Environmental Science & Policy.
From the LA Times: "Are we getting closer to understanding where the moon actually came from?" Sarah Stewart comments on the latest chemical analysis of the moon and Earth.
Dawn Sumner and her team investigate O2 oases at the bottom of an Antarctic lake. From Astrobiology Magazine: "Antarctic Microbes Hold Clue to Earth's Oxygen".
Ann Russell is a panelist at the California Academy of Sciences' "Women in Science Summit". Thursday, January 28, 8:30-4:30 pm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0dXodS8Qq0
Flood expert available to discuss Midwest and West Coast flooding - Nicholas Pinter is part of a national team that has been mobilized to investigate the impacts of flooding and the performance of flood protection systems in Illinois and Missouri.
From Sacramento News & Review: "Nicholas Pinter, El Niño expert"
Sarah Stewart's iron vaporization work is #62 on Discover magazine's list of 100 top stories of 2015.
On Capital Public Radio: "Mars Orbiter Team Discovers Evidence Of Water Flow." Dawn Sumner, a member of NASA's Mars Rover team, is a guest on Insight.
Former UC Davis geology instructor Rand Schaal, whose lively teaching style inspired and entertained thousands of undergraduates, died suddenly on Sept. 11, 2015, in Needles, California. He was 64.
9 coming attractions at UC Davis: #6. Earth and Planetary Sciences Shock Compression Laboratory, spring 2016. Sarah Stewart's lab will house equipment and support infrastructure for using shockwave techniques to study planet formation and evolution, especially collisions.
Graduate student Natalia Lopez Carranza is profiled in UC Davis Today: "Top Mexican grad students at UC Davis".
From the egghead blog: "Oxygen oasis in Antarctic lake reflects distant past." At the bottom of a frigid Antarctic lake, a thin layer of green slime is generating a little oasis of oxygen, a team including UC Davis researchers has found. Article in New Scientist: "Hidden oasis of oxygen suggests life took first breath in lakes"