University of California Television (UCTV) has launched a new channel, Sustainable California, featuring UC researchers working towards creating solutions for sustainability for the challenges of the 21st Century. The videos show how research is influential in understanding California's water supply, its impacts on ecosystems and society, and how to improve management of this precious resource. More information about the researchers and work being done at the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory can be found here. 

Featured UCTV Sustainable California videos: Water in the Balance | Sierra-NET | California’s Water Tower | Sierra Nevada Research Institute Mountain Hydrology Group Project | Onward Water | Onward Climate

Water in the Balance 

Featuring Mohammad Safeeq, Martha Conklin, Joshua Viers, and staff and students, this video shows how UC Merced researchers are developing a better understanding of the three sources of water upon which California depends in order to adapt to the effects of environmental changes and make better use of this most precious of our natural resources. Researchers work with the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory, UC Water Security and Sustainability Research Initiative (UC Water), Sierra Nevada Research Institute, and the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS).

Related resources

• Blog post: California Could Have Stored Abundant Water Underground by Mohammad Safeeq

Sierra-Net

This video shows how Steven Glaser and Ziran Zhang, CITRIS researchers from UC Berkeley, have developed an innovative remote sensing network to provide real-time assessment of California snow pack in order to better manage water supplies for a variety of users. This sensor technology was emplaced at the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory, then adopted in the American River and other Sierra Nevada watersheds. UC Water is using the sensor network installed in the American River watershed as a proof-of-concept for a linked headwaters-valley-groundwater water accounting system.

Related resources

• Real-Time Data from Sierra-Net

California's Water Tower

Using satellites and sensors, we have the potential to project California's water supply. As California's water tower, the Sierra Nevada mountain range provides California with about sixty percent of its water. This episode of Onward California follows Roger Bales, director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at UC Merced and the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory, into the mountains to measure the water and geochemical balance of the landscape. The impact of climate change on California's water supply is more than an environmental concern -- it's at the forefront of economic sustainability.

Sierra Nevada Research Institute Mountain Hydrology Group Project

This video highlights the work of UC Merced's Mountain Hydrology Group, featuring Martha Conklin and graduate alumni developing new technologies to provide a better idea of the amount of snow that has fallen in the Sierra and when it will reach reservoirs and the valley below. This information also helps improve meadow management.

Onward Water

Water managers in the state are responding to climate change by working with the University of California, measuring snow melt, and the timing and availability of water in the Sierra Nevada. This information will lead to better planning downstream.

Onward Climate

Roger Bales, Director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at UC Merced and the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory, describes the effects of changing climate on the environment.

Looking for more to watch? Check out other videos featuring the Southern Sierra CZO or browse the UCTV Sustainable California channel.