Climate Research

This article reviews cloud seeding—a safe, common form of weather modification that augments natural precipitation under suitable conditions by increasing the precipitation capacity of existing clouds.

This article reviews the growing wildfire risks in Utah caused by fuel buildup, invasive grasses, climate change, and expanding development, while highlighting the role of fuel treatments like thinning, prescribed burns, and grazing in reducing fire sever...

Summit County’s sagebrush ecosystems face growing wildfire risks due to climate change, invasive cheatgrass, and expanding development in the wildland-urban interface. This fact sheet highlights how homeowners associations can play a key role in mitigatio...

Utah faces increasing pressure on its limited water supply due to climate change and rapid population growth, with residential landscapes accounting for a large share of water use. This fact sheet highlights technologies and strategies—such as smart irrig...

As wildfires in Utah grow more intense, they threaten native fish populations by triggering erosion that fills streams with harmful sediment. This sediment can suffocate fish, destroy spawning grounds, and prevent recovery—especially in waterways fragment...

Wildfires in Utah are threatening the state’s vital water reservoirs by accelerating erosion and sending sediment into water storage systems, reducing capacity and harming water quality. As wildfires grow more intense and frequent due to climate change an...

A growing majority of Utahns (68% as of 2023) agree that global warming is happening, with increasing recognition of its human causes and scientific consensus, though support for related policies like renewable energy research and carbon taxes has remaine...

The Logan River runs through Idaho and northern Utah, beginning in the Bear River Mountains and flowing through Logan Canyon to Cutler Reservoir. The river is socially and ecologically significant to the Cache Valley community. Throughout its history, the...

The Great Salt Lake in Utah is experiencing significant water level declines due to irrigation for agriculture, municipal and industrial water use, and climate change impacts. Irrigation companies play a crucial role in water management, as they control a...

Water-wise landscaping is the practice of using plants in a landscape that are adapted to local conditions and only need small amounts of water. Converting yards to water-wise landscaping conserves water and is a climate adaptation action residents can ta...

Climate change is impacting Utah. Forty-five years of temperature data show that Utah is steadily warming which, in turn, is driving declines in winter snowpack, shifting the timing and amount of available water, increasing fire risk, and causing ecologic...

Burning fossil fuels emits both harmful air pollutants and carbon-based greenhouse gases, contributing to two major concerns for Utahns: poor air quality and warming due to climate change.

Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas that helps keep Earth warm and habitable. But since humans began burning large quantities of fossil fuels during the Industrial Revolution, there has been a rapid increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide from a...

Urban areas in Utah have suffered from poor air quality since Euro-American settlement in 1847. Because today’s harmful air pollutants and carbon dioxide—the most significant driver of contemporary climate change—are often emitted together, a carbon tax c...

Rock glaciers are large masses of talus and debris that “flow” downhill due to the deformation of substantial internal ice. Rock glaciers accumulate new ice in their higher elevation portions, typically when rockfall covers seasonal snowpack and insulates...

Transportation in the United States accounts for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Over half of these emissions come from on-road vehicles.