Environment & Nature

three professors seated in a lab

Weathering the Storm: Professors Turn Tragedy Into Transformative Research

Tragedy inspired these Alabama professors to turn disaster into groundbreaking research and solutions for safer communities.

Carla Atkinson and three researchers sample water on the Ichawaynochaway Creek in SW Georgia.

What Lives Beneath: Atkinson’s Work Reveals Why Mussels Matter

Freshwater ecologist Dr. Carla Atkinson is one small piece of the system working to understand and preserve Alabama ecosystems.

A small brown bird perched on a slender twig--a Savannah sparrow taken at Riverbend Turf birding spot

UA Community Invited to Participate in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Bird lovers in the UA community are welcome to join the Audubon Christmas bird count to contribute to citizen bird science.

The Science of Alabama’s Caves

The Science of Alabama’s Caves

The Science of Caves, a new course in the Built by Bama core curriculum, uses Alabama’s natural cave system to explore scientific concepts.

A child's hand, wrinkled from being in the water, holds out a tiny fossilized shark tooth about 1 cm long.

Bringing Science to the People and the People to Science

The UA summer fossil expeditions are one way the UA community can engage with world class natural history research collections.

Two researchers, a man and a woman, stand in front of a large TV showing a map divided into brightly colored sections.

UA Researchers Develop More Effective Model for Wildfire Evacuation

A new computer model from UA researchers provides an adaptable method of wildfire evacuation for communities.

Ripples spread from a central point on the surface of water with trees and blue sky reflected in its surface

NextGen In A Box Makes Water Modeling More Accessible

Open source software package makes it easier to set up and use the NextGen National Water Model framework.

Clean-up Day Spotlights Black Warrior River’s Place at UA’s Heart

Clean-up Day Spotlights Black Warrior River’s Place at UA’s Heart

Campus Clean-up Day offers students a chance to show their pride in this important waterway.

Dr. Mark Elliott and two students stand thigh-deep in an Alabama stream with instruments to collect water for water quality research.

Alabama Impact: UA Environmental and Ecological Research Serves the State

To address environmental challenges in Alabama, UA researchers develop solutions tailored to the state’s landscapes.

Several clear plastic bottles with the lids removed.

UA Engineer Pioneers New Process for Recycling Plastics

As consumer plastics continue to accumulate in our environment, U researchers developed a way to more efficiently and effectively recycle polymers.