The goals of the Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions Center will be to address the nation's needs for biofuels and bioproducts, strengthen Arizona's bioeconomy, and provide training for the next generation of scientists and engineers. Kimberly Ogden, director of the UA Institute for Energy Solutions, will head the Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions Center. Peter Waller and Dennis Ray, researchers from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will also be involved with the center.
<p>In this episode of the CLIMAS Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido look back at the monsoon that wasn't, then very much so was, and then wasn't again (at least in Arizona), as well as the late season surge over in New Mexico. They discuss the mechanisms that helped push the monsoon to near record levels in July, but helped facilitate a shut down for most of August and nearly all of September. They also discuss "the bet". Next month the discussion will return to ENSO, drought, and upcoming forecasts for fall/winter in the SW, but for now, it's all monsoon, all the time.</p>
<p>Researchers at the UA-led CLIMAS program will assess how Southwestern adaptations to extreme climate are functioning now, how that might change in the future and how the region can support long-term socioeconomic resilience.</p>
<p>Renowned environmental scientist Raina Maier has been named interim director of the Institute of the Environment, a universitywide research institute that aims to identify and advance innovative solutions to environmental challenges in Arizona and around the world.</p>
<p>After a slow start in June and a record-wet July, precipitation in much of the Southwest has been mostly absent since early August. The high-pressure ridge that helped hold Hurricane Harvey in place over Houston kept moisture from circulating into the Southwest. This year, the late-season monsoon has been particularly dry, with very few storms and limited tropical storm activity that might otherwise help boost seasonal totals</p>