Center for Watershed Sciences ucdaviswater

Lessons Learned Measuring and Modeling Evaporation across California By Dennis Baldocchi and Carlos Wang Rainfall and snow falling across the state have several fates. One is runoff to rivers, reservoirs and the ocean. Another is storage in the snowpack, soil and groundwater. The third is evaporation from vegetation, soil and open water bodies. Historically, the rates and amounts of evaporation from vegetation and soil to the atmosphere have been difficult to assess.

Lessons Learned Measuring and Modeling Evaporation across California

By Dennis Baldocchi and Carlos Wang Rainfall and snow falling across the state have several fates. One is runoff to rivers, reservoirs and the ocean. Another is storage in the snowpack, soil and groundwater. The third is…

01.03.2026 12:00 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

The truth is NOT in the eye of the beholder! By Alexandra Chu and Danhong Ally Li . . . For those familiar with fish archival tissues, fish otoliths are likely one of the first things that come to mind. Otoliths are indeed remarkable tools, offering insights into the water chemistry and trace elements the fish encountered while they were alive. However, we want to highlight another fascinating tissue on the rise – the fish eye lens.

The truth is NOT in the eye of the beholder!

By Alexandra Chu and Danhong Ally Li . . . For those familiar with fish archival tissues, fish otoliths are likely one of the first things that come to mind. Otoliths are indeed remarkable tools, offering insights into the water chemistry and trace…

22.02.2026 12:00 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

A Flood of Hope By Ted Sommer My most inspiring bike ride this past year was not on a mountain or in some exotic destination. It was sixteen flat and muddy valley miles under overcast skies. My destination was a new concrete structure designed to reconnect the Sacramento River with its adjacent floodplain, the Yolo Bypass. This habitat restoration project reflects decades of work by my team and represents one of the most important steps to save Central Valley salmon.

A Flood of Hope

By Ted Sommer My most inspiring bike ride this past year was not on a mountain or in some exotic destination. It was sixteen flat and muddy valley miles under overcast skies. My destination was a new concrete structure designed to reconnect the Sacramento River with its adjacent…

15.02.2026 12:00 — 👍 8 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0

2025 Annual Report: Highlights from the Center for Watershed Sciences The Center for Watershed Sciences unveils its inaugural annual report, featuring a letter from Director Dr. Karrigan Börk, insights into ongoing research, summaries of events, and the 2025 Strategic Plan. The report also highlights popular blogs, significant grants, and the California WaterBlog's 15th anniversary.

2025 Annual Report: Highlights from the Center for Watershed Sciences

The Center for Watershed Sciences unveils its inaugural annual report, featuring a letter from Director Dr. Karrigan Börk, insights into ongoing research, summaries of events, and the 2025 Strategic Plan. The report also…

08.02.2026 12:01 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

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Students Take the Stage at the Spinning Salmon Showcase

By Becca VanArnam, Peggy Harte, Rachel Johnson, Carson Jeffres, and Miranda A. Lowe-Webb . . . Spinning Salmon Program California’s Chinook…

https://californiawaterblog.com/2026/02/01/students-take-the-stage-at-the-spinning-salmon-showcase/

01.02.2026 12:00 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Not dry, but drought remains an issue, mid-wet season 2026 For the first time in 20 years, no part of California is classified as in drought, but conditions remain delicate. While precipitation levels are good, concerns linger over snowpack and groundwater recovery. California faces the dual threat of potential floods and future droughts, stressing the need for proactive water management.

Not dry, but drought remains an issue, mid-wet season 2026

For the first time in 20 years, no part of California is classified as in drought, but conditions remain delicate. While precipitation levels are good, concerns linger over snowpack and groundwater recovery. California faces the dual…

25.01.2026 12:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Resilient California Fishes: Tule Perch By Peter B. Moyle and Tom L. Taylor This is the second blog in a series on native California fishes that seem to be doing well despite multiple threats. They are still common and widely distributed, despite major changes to their habitats. The Tule Perch (Hysterocarpaus traskii) is an interesting species to include in this series because it contains three distinct subspecies, two of which seem to be doing well and one that is not.

Resilient California Fishes: Tule Perch

By Peter B. Moyle and Tom L. Taylor This is the second blog in a series on native California fishes that seem to be doing well despite multiple threats. They are still common and widely distributed, despite major changes to their habitats. The Tule Perch…

18.01.2026 12:00 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Three Generations of Stewardship: Exploring the Legacy of Environmental Protection on Putah Creek By Petrea Moyle Marchand This is a cross-post from a blog featured on Consero Solutions. After the indefinite cancellation of school at the start of the Covid-19 quarantine, my Dad, Peter Moyle, offered to teach my kids about Putah Creek. A fish biologist and University of California, Davis professor who started studying the creek during his early years at UC Davis in the 1970s, there are few people in the world who know as much about the creek.

Three Generations of Stewardship: Exploring the Legacy of Environmental Protection on Putah Creek

By Petrea Moyle Marchand This is a cross-post from a blog featured on Consero Solutions. After the indefinite cancellation of school at the start of the Covid-19 quarantine, my Dad, Peter Moyle,…

11.01.2026 12:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Where are they now: Dana Myers “Where are they now” is a series on the California WaterBlog. The series will celebrate the many alumni who got their start at the Center for Watershed Sciences (CWS) and have now gone on to bigger and better things. Blog posts from the “Where are they now” series will be peppered throughout our regular blog line up, and they will highlight both former students and past employees of CWS.

Where are they now: Dana Myers

“Where are they now” is a series on the California WaterBlog. The series will celebrate the many alumni who got their start at the Center for Watershed Sciences (CWS) and have now gone on to bigger and better things. Blog posts from the “Where are they now” series…

04.01.2026 12:00 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Future Ancestors of Freshwater Fishes in California By Peter B. Moyle Smoky sunset over Eagle Lake, Lassen County, CA - home of endemic Eagle Lake rainbow trout and other endemic fishes and invertebrates. Sept 23, 2014. Will this terminal lake and its unique ecosystem survive global warming? This will be discussed in a future blog. * This is a re-post of a blog originally published 09/17/2023. The Challenge…

Future Ancestors of Freshwater Fishes in California

By Peter B. Moyle Smoky sunset over Eagle Lake, Lassen County, CA - home of endemic Eagle Lake rainbow trout and other endemic fishes and invertebrates. Sept 23, 2014. Will this terminal lake and its unique ecosystem survive global warming? This…

28.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 12 – California Water: The Gift that Keeps on Giving By Karrigan Börk and Jay Lund Yolo bybass at sunset. Photo by Karrigan Börk, 2024. California is full of gifts that keep on giving. California water provides for a bounty of social, environmental, economic, and cultural benefits. Water is the lifeblood of California farms, which have created one of the world’s great agricultural economies. Water carves our state’s beautiful landscapes and floats our boats and our bodies through some of the most magnificent places on Earth.

Day 12 – California Water: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

By Karrigan Börk and Jay Lund Yolo bybass at sunset. Photo by Karrigan Börk, 2024. California is full of gifts that keep on giving. California water provides for a bounty of social, environmental, economic, and cultural benefits. Water is…

25.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 11 – The Gift of Students By Karrigan Börk You might think that teaching the same thing again every year would get old, or that taking field trips to the same location year after year would be repetitive. And, sure, gearing up to teach landlord-tenant law for the nth time can be a bit daunting.

Day 11 – The Gift of Students

By Karrigan Börk You might think that teaching the same thing again every year would get old, or that taking field trips to the same location year after year would be repetitive. And, sure, gearing up to teach landlord-tenant law for the nth time can be a bit daunting.

24.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 10 – One lucky penny A juvenile water penny beetle (Eubrianax edwardsii). Photo credit: Christine Parisek. By Christine A. Parisek Imagine a time you were standing at the edge of a creek – perhaps small pebbles and cobblestone were stacked along the shallow water edge, aquatic vegetation pushed its way in between, and a light breeze rustled the trees around you as the water swirled and lapped playfully at your feet.

Day 10 – One lucky penny

A juvenile water penny beetle (Eubrianax edwardsii). Photo credit: Christine Parisek. By Christine A. Parisek Imagine a time you were standing at the edge of a creek – perhaps small pebbles and cobblestone were stacked along the shallow water edge, aquatic vegetation…

23.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 9 – A Visit From S.T. Nicholas By Kimberly Evans Our view of the Suisun Marsh when the weather becomes chilly, including Kimberly’s (top right, that’s me!) dazzling tule perch, Abigale’s wondrous starry flounder (middle left), Lynette’s swift Sacramento splittail (middle right), Kyle’s voracious common carp (bottom left), and Alex’s humble shokihaze goby (bottom right). 'Twas a morning of field work, when all through our vanNot a researcher was sleeping, and to Suisun Marsh we ran;

Day 9 – A Visit From S.T. Nicholas

By Kimberly Evans Our view of the Suisun Marsh when the weather becomes chilly, including Kimberly’s (top right, that’s me!) dazzling tule perch, Abigale’s wondrous starry flounder (middle left), Lynette’s swift Sacramento splittail (middle right), Kyle’s…

22.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 8 – Haikus We invited haiku submissions from CWS members and friends to be a part of the 8th day of our California WaterBlog series, "12 Days of CWS". A haiku is a traditional Japanese three-line poem (5-7-5 syllables) that focuses on capturing a moment, feeling, or image. We hope you enjoy... and leave us your own haiku in the comments section below!

Day 8 – Haikus

We invited haiku submissions from CWS members and friends to be a part of the 8th day of our California WaterBlog series, "12 Days of CWS". A haiku is a traditional Japanese three-line poem (5-7-5 syllables) that focuses on capturing a moment, feeling, or image. We hope you enjoy...…

21.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 7 – Pickles and Hidden Gems: The UC Davis Fish Collection By Rachel Alsheikh Dr. Peter Moyle and Rachel Alsheikh in the Ichthyology Collection room. On the UC Davis campus, past the Watershed Sciences Building, past the cows and the Arboretum, there’s a nondescript building with a locked room. It’s a secret treasure trove: shelves upon shelves stacked with more than 8,000 jars of fish specimens preserved in ethanol. At over 30,000 fishes, it’s the fourth largest ichthyological research collection in the state, and it belongs to the…

Day 7 – Pickles and Hidden Gems: The UC Davis Fish Collection

By Rachel Alsheikh Dr. Peter Moyle and Rachel Alsheikh in the Ichthyology Collection room. On the UC Davis campus, past the Watershed Sciences Building, past the cows and the Arboretum, there’s a nondescript building with a locked room.…

20.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 6 – Recharging Resilience: Balancing climate grief with curiosity and purpose By Kira Zalis Waldman Intro to Water Science (ESM 100) students exploring UC Davis’ water systems through field visits - where curiosity, community, and on-the-ground learning helped transform questions into purpose. Photos by Kira Zalis Waldman and Ethan Xie. Teaching hydrology means teaching in a world where climate awareness, and inherently climate grief, often walk into the classroom before I do.

Day 6 – Recharging Resilience: Balancing climate grief with curiosity and purpose

By Kira Zalis Waldman Intro to Water Science (ESM 100) students exploring UC Davis’ water systems through field visits - where curiosity, community, and on-the-ground learning helped transform questions into…

19.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 5 – A Day in the Life of an Indoor Ecologist By Jonathan Walter Many ecologists spend substantial time conducting research in the field – but for some of us, our skillsets (e.g., statistics, mathematical models, data science) lend themselves to a different, more indoor career. Here’s what a typical workday might look like: 6:00 AM: Start the day with coffee on the couch. Gaze longingly at my green sturgeon art; wonder if I’ll ever see one in the wild.

Day 5 – A Day in the Life of an Indoor Ecologist

By Jonathan Walter Many ecologists spend substantial time conducting research in the field – but for some of us, our skillsets (e.g., statistics, mathematical models, data science) lend themselves to a different, more indoor career. Here’s what a…

18.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 4 – The Ghost of Carp-mas Past! By Kim Luke Kim Luke holding a common carp (Cyprinus carpio) while sampling in the UC Davis Arboretum. Photo credit Greg Urquiaga. Back in 2019, I began a project called the Carp Dependent Ecosystem Urgent Management (Carp-DEUM) Project. I started this project as an undergraduate and continued it as a junior specialist and graduate student until 2022. The project was focused on the common carp (

Day 4 – The Ghost of Carp-mas Past!

By Kim Luke Kim Luke holding a common carp (Cyprinus carpio) while sampling in the UC Davis Arboretum. Photo credit Greg Urquiaga. Back in 2019, I began a project called the Carp Dependent Ecosystem Urgent Management (Carp-DEUM) Project. I started this project…

17.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 3 – An Ode to Gulls By Lynette Williams Duman Clockwise from left to right: The Heermann’s Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull, Short-billed Gull, and Lesser Black-backed Gull. A small slice of winter visitors to California. (Images courtesy of Lynette Williams Duman and Konshau Duman). There is no better cure for the winter blues than looking at birds, and there is no better group of birds to look at in the winter than gulls.

Day 3 – An Ode to Gulls

By Lynette Williams Duman Clockwise from left to right: The Heermann’s Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull, Short-billed Gull, and Lesser Black-backed Gull. A small slice of winter visitors to California. (Images courtesy of Lynette Williams Duman and Konshau Duman). There is no better…

16.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 2 – Fish Eye View By Miranda Bell-Tilcock Adult salmon eye lens. Photo Credit: Johnson-Jeffres Lab. That’s no moon. That is the lens of a fish eye. While it looms large in the photo, this lens is tiny, approximately 3-5mm in diameter, similar to a small bead on a friendship bracelet. How did we even capture such a zoomed in photo of a small lens? We use a very nice built-in camera microscope to capture images like the one in today's blog.

Day 2 – Fish Eye View

By Miranda Bell-Tilcock Adult salmon eye lens. Photo Credit: Johnson-Jeffres Lab. That’s no moon. That is the lens of a fish eye. While it looms large in the photo, this lens is tiny, approximately 3-5mm in diameter, similar to a small bead on a friendship bracelet. How did…

15.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Day 1 – Introducing “12 Days of CWS” By Christine A. Parisek and Miranda Bell-Tilcock The California WaterBlog celebrates its 15th anniversary this January 2026, and so we thought we’d try out something a little special and festive this month. This December, we’re piloting a new short-post format series that will open up a small window into a day in the life of the Center for Watershed Sciences…

Day 1 – Introducing “12 Days of CWS”

By Christine A. Parisek and Miranda Bell-Tilcock The California WaterBlog celebrates its 15th anniversary this January 2026, and so we thought we’d try out something a little special and festive this month. This December, we’re piloting a new short-post format…

14.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

What’s next in river science? Takeaways from the International Symposium of River Science (ISRS) conference By Miranda Bell-Tilcock and Sarah Yarnell A big thank you to everyone who attended the International Symposium of River Science (ISRS) conference, hosted by the Center for Watershed Sciences (CWS)! The International Symposium of River Science (ISRS) conference took place October 6th–9th and featured 4 days of speakers hailing from across the globe, many field trips, and an excellent evening of water-themed trivia.

What’s next in river science? Takeaways from the International Symposium of River Science (ISRS) conference

By Miranda Bell-Tilcock and Sarah Yarnell A big thank you to everyone who attended the International Symposium of River Science (ISRS) conference, hosted by the Center for Watershed Sciences…

07.12.2025 12:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Eight California Water Rites By Jay Lund “Rite” noun:1. a religious or other solemn ceremony or act.2. a social custom, practice, or conventional act. California has complex and hallowed water rites. Here are some: Claim other water users are engaged in a “water grab” (when you grabbed it first). Correlative rite 1.1: Declare a “water war”. Insist climate change will require actions you wanted even without climate change.

Eight California Water Rites

By Jay Lund “Rite” noun:1. a religious or other solemn ceremony or act.2. a social custom, practice, or conventional act. California has complex and hallowed water rites. Here are some: Claim other water users are engaged in a “water grab” (when you grabbed it first).…

30.11.2025 12:00 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Announcing the International Fish Passage Conference 2026 By Nann A. Fangue Scott River, CA. Nature-Like Fishway constructed in 2025 by the Yurok Tribe. Photo credit CDFW. UC Davis will host the International Fish Passage Conference on May 4-8, 2026. Please join us for this opportunity to engage with fish passage practitioners working across academia, government, utilities, consultancy, and other professional organizations while enjoying the beautiful springtime of Davis and the greater Sacramento region.

Announcing the International Fish Passage Conference 2026

23.11.2025 15:53 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Physics and Chemistry of San Francisco Bay Sediments – Lectures by Professor Ray B. Krone, 1991 By Jay Lund, Jamie Anderson, William Fleenor, and Fabián A. Bombardelli Ray Krone (left) and fellow UC Davis professors Ian King (middle), Gerald T. Orlob (right), and George Tchobanoglous (not shown) shaped generations of water professionals in California. Photo: 1999 San Francisco Bay is a tidally-energetic estuary where clay muds are the dominant sediment building wetlands, depositing in channels and harbors, and responding to sea level rise since San Francisco Bay was most recently inundated about 8,000 years ago.

Physics and Chemistry of San Francisco Bay Sediments – Lectures by Professor Ray B. Krone, 1991

By Jay Lund, Jamie Anderson, William Fleenor, and Fabián A. Bombardelli Ray Krone (left) and fellow UC Davis professors Ian King (middle), Gerald T. Orlob (right), and George Tchobanoglous (not shown)…

16.11.2025 12:00 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Think Now about the Unthinkable in US Disaster Management By Nicholas Pinter and David Conrad In a turbulent year for US disaster management, changes that seemed unthinkable a few months ago are now coming to pass. California leaders should be planning proactive responses now. The California Flood Future Panel is now assessing potential impacts of federal changes to US disaster management, particularly considering proposed changes or elimination of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Think Now about the Unthinkable in US Disaster Management

By Nicholas Pinter and David Conrad In a turbulent year for US disaster management, changes that seemed unthinkable a few months ago are now coming to pass. California leaders should be planning proactive responses now. The California Flood…

09.11.2025 12:00 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The search for flow metrics that support fish success – case study in Scott River, Siskiyou County, California By Claire Kouba, Sarah Yarnell, Leland Scantlebury, and Thomas Harter How much water do fish really need, and is it possible to ask the fish? One approach to answering this question is to monitor the abundance of a local fish population over many years, and determine the degree to which observed streamflow correlates with fishery persistence, increase, or decline. We applied this approach in a recent…

The search for flow metrics that support fish success – case study in Scott River, Siskiyou County, California

By Claire Kouba, Sarah Yarnell, Leland Scantlebury, and Thomas Harter How much water do fish really need, and is it possible to ask the fish? One approach to answering this question is to…

02.11.2025 12:00 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

It’s Elementary My Dear Walleye By George Whitman, who is dressed as Dr. John Watson this Halloween While this Sherlockian mystery is fictional, it is inspired by a real event in which a Walleye was illegally introduced into Lake Cascade, Idaho. The events described below parallel the actual research conducted to uncover its origins. Looking back over the notes of my many adventures with Sherlock Holmes, I cannot but reflect upon the remarkable variety of his methods.

It’s Elementary My Dear Walleye

By George Whitman, who is dressed as Dr. John Watson this Halloween While this Sherlockian mystery is fictional, it is inspired by a real event in which a Walleye was illegally introduced into Lake Cascade, Idaho. The events described below parallel the actual…

30.10.2025 12:40 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Where are they now: Kelly Neal “Where are they now:” is a blog series on the California WaterBlog, written in the voices of our alumni. The series celebrates the many alumni who got their start at the Center for Watershed Sciences (CWS) and have now gone on to bigger and better things. Blog posts from “Where are they now:” will be peppered throughout our regularly scheduled line up blogs, and they will highlight both former students and past employees of CWS.

Where are they now: Kelly Neal

“Where are they now:” is a blog series on the California WaterBlog, written in the voices of our alumni. The series celebrates the many alumni who got their start at the Center for Watershed Sciences (CWS) and have now gone on to bigger and better things. Blog posts…

26.10.2025 11:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

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