Earth Systems

Understanding Earth Systems

Understanding Earth Systems

Arizona: A Living Laboratory

From the local to the global level, we are all connected through Earth's complex processes that shape our world. 

At the University of Arizona, researchers are leading efforts to better understand how these systems function, identify areas at risk from natural hazards, and work with communities to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies to build resilience in the face of a changing world.

Bosnian pine overlooking the hills of Pollino National Park in Italy

Harvests, wildfires, epidemics: How the jet stream has shaped extreme weather in Europe for centuries

A team led by the Laboratory for Tree-Ring Research has reconstructed the jet stream over the past 700 years, identifying how these upper atmospheric winds largely determine summer climate in Europe in a seesaw-type pattern that climate researchers call a "dipole."

A drone flying over a plot of crops with the pilot standing on the ground

Hydrologists to transform climate projections with microbial data and artificial intelligence

As part of a larger initiative to support research to improve climate models, the Department of Energy is support a U of A project that seeks to revolutionize the understanding of how soil microbes influence climate change.

Sunset over frozen water

Study: Over nearly half a billion years, Earth's temperature has changed drastically, driven by carbon dioxide

A new study co-led by the University of Arizona and the Smithsonian offers the most detailed glimpse yet into how Earth's surface temperature has changed over the past 485 million years, also confirming Earth's temperature is strongly correlated to the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Connect with a Climate adaptaion Expert

University of Arizona researchers have expertise in a wide range of areas related to climate adaptation. The Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions's searchable database allows you to identify experts across campus by their areas of expertise, geographic specialties, or foreign language skills.

Connect with Climate and Adaptation researchers

Interdisciplinary programs understanding
Earth Systems

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View of the Tree Ring Laboratory in the early evening with lights shining through

Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research

Developing and advancing novel approaches to solve scientific questions of societal relevance.

The LTRR is a preeminent center of dendrochronology – using the information stored in the annual rings of trees to understand and quantify interactions among our Earth’s climate, ecosystems, and societies.

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Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center

 Building resilient ecosystems, communities and cultures as the climate changes.

SW CASC develops actionable science and implementable climate adaptation solutions in partnership with natural and cultural resource managers, policy makers, Native Nations, and researchers across the Southwest.

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Monsoon in the Sonoran Desert


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Vincente Santos, research technician in the field at the Maricopa Agricultural Center for University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS)

Improving the ability of the region’s social and ecological systems to respond to and thrive in a variable and changing climate

CLIMAS brings together experts from a variety of social, physical, and natural sciences to work with partners across the Southwest to develop sustainable answers to regional climate challenges.

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Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions

Bridging the gap between science and decision-making

The Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions (CCASS) brings together a wealth of expertise at the University of Arizona to support sound management choices in the context of climate change, linking science, information needs of managers, and decision-making.

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Stormy Desert


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Monsoon and lighting at night

Center for Applied Hydroclimate Science

Applying hydrometeorological science to provide reliable information for decision making to increase resilience to environmental stresses.

CAHS is a one-stop-shop for applied hydrometeorological sciences. Specialized in regional climate modeling at arid and semi-arid region, researchers explore weather and hydroclimate extremes, sub-seasonal to seasonal forecast, operational weather and renewable energy forecasts, and precipitation and streamflow projections under the influence of climate change.

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Earth Dynamics Observatory

Accelerating the discovery, observation, and prediction of the changing Earth system to inform decisions in support of a sustainable future

The University of Arizona's Earth Dynamics Observatory combines the university’s strengths in space exploration, instrumentation, and earth sciences to learn more about our planet. Collecting information about Earth from space provides new information about how Earth systems work, how they are changing, and how humans might anticipate and respond to changes.

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Satellite image of glacier

Study Earth Systems at the University of Arizona

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