Research Spotlight: Groundwater is being depleted rapidly in California's Central Valley

Predictors of Chinook salmon extirpation in Californias Central Valley

Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), populations have declined rapidly along the western coast of North America since the year 2000, possibly because of factors such as habitat loss, altered hydrology and barriers to migration. However, few analyses have rigorously examined which of these factors actually explain historical patterns of extirpation. Data were compiled on flow regi...

Effects of groundwater development on uranium: Central Valley, California, USA.

Uranium (U) concentrations in groundwater in several parts of the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California, have exceeded federal and state drinking water standards during the last 20 years. The San Joaquin Valley is located within the Central Valley of California and is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. Increased irrigation and pumping associated with agricultural and u...

Leafroll disease is spreading rapidly in a Napa Valley vineyard

Research Spotlight

Introduction Recent natural and man-made disastrous events underscore the importance of emergency evacuation planning and management for buildings and facilities (Averill et al., 2005). Although building codes include provisions for egress design, their prescriptive nature poses many limitations in terms of providing effective evacuation for specific buildings, each of which is unique. Human be...

An assessment of groundwater contamination in Central Valley aquifer, California using geodetector method

Groundwater nitrate contamination of the aquifer in the Central Valley, California is a major problem due to intense agricultural practice over the last decades. Excessive loading of fertilizer and manure in combination with hydrogeological parameters and geochemical conditions have enhanced the downward percolation of nitrate into the aquifer. A spatial variance-based geographical detector met...