Earth & Planetary Sciences
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Year of the Slug: A look back at 2012 at UC Santa Cruz
Higgs boson, condors, pumas, the Grateful Dead Archive … 2012 was yet another year of discoveries, breakthroughs, newsmakers, and honors for UC Santa Cruz. Here’s a look back at a few highlights of the year at UCSC.
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Scientists develop new approach to support climate projections
A recalibration of climate sensitivity based on records of past climates agrees with IPCC estimates for the future.
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Giant impact scenario may explain the unusual moons of Saturn
The middle-sized moons of Saturn may have been spawned during giant impacts in which several major satellites merged to form Titan.
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White shark diets vary with age and among individuals
Many white sharks shift from fish to marine mammals as they mature, but individual sharks show surprising variability in a study by UCSC researchers.
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Moore Foundation grant funds study of Tohoku earthquake fault
New grant funds seismologist Emily Brodsky’s research on the devastating Tohoku earthquake that struck Japan in March 2011.
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Study reveals complex rupture process in surprising 2012 Sumatra quake
The April 2012 great earthquake near Sumatra involved a complicated faulting process unlike anything seen before.
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Study suggests large methane reservoirs beneath Antarctic ice sheet
The Antarctic Ice Sheet could be an overlooked but important source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
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New observatory installed beneath seafloor at site of Tohoku earthquake
UCSC seismologist Emily Brodsky was part of an international team that installed an observatory on the Tohoku earthquake fault.
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California sea level projected to rise at higher rate than global average
The sea level off most of California is expected to rise about 36 inches over the next century, an amount slightly higher than projected for global sea levels, according to a new report.
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Year of the Slug: Great UCSC moments in 2011-12
From the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame to cancer research to its ranking as one of the top “young” universities in the world, UCSC stood in the spotlight this year.
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Reign of the giant insects ended with the evolution of birds
Giant insects once ruled the prehistoric skies, but the evolution of birds ended their reign.
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Lemur extinctions and ecological retreat followed arrival of humans in Madagascar
A study of lemurs in Madagascar suggests that factors driving lemur extinctions have also sparked an ongoing “ecological retreat” by surviving species.