UTSA | Catalyst | Summer/Fall 2021
The Science of a More Sustainable Future The College of Sciences is providing the tools and support needed to develop and implement environmental sustainability in San Antonio and around the world By Robert Salinas
In February, a severe winter storm slammed through Texas.
“These changes help to warm higher latitudes, which
Residents endured days of freezing temperatures, and
in turn destabilize the conditions that hold the polar jet
millions were knocked off the power grid. As Texans dealt
stream from dipping farther south. While these changes
with blackouts and a lack of running water, unusual weather
will not be constant throughout the year, they can increase
raged around the world—including a deadly tornado in
volatile weather pattern intensity and frequency.”
North Carolina and snow in Greece. The devastation left in the storm’s wake continues to impact the entire planet.
damage structures and cause fatalities among unprepared
The winter storm was caused by a variation in the polar vor-
human and wildlife populations. At UTSA’s NASA MIRO Cen-
tex. Polar vortex fluctuations occur when polar jet streams
ter for Advanced Measurements in Extreme Environments,
push into lower latitudes, aided by arctic warming, which
students are using remote sensing to track cryosphere
helps to magnify the vortex.
changes due to climate change and to better understand
“Climate change has caused a reduction in Arctic Sea ice, which in turn reduces the reflective ice surface into a dark absorptive surface,” explained Dr. Hongjie Xie, a professor of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
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The changes can also reduce arctic animal habitats,
and predict patterns, a topic Xie has been working on since 2004 with funding from agencies such as NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
