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The Science of a More Sustainable Future

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Awesome Alum

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. Residents endured days of freezing temperatures, and millions were knocked off the power grid. As Texans dealt with blackouts and a lack of running water, unusual weather raged around the world—including a deadly tornado in North Carolina and snow in Greece. The devastation left in the storm’s wake continues to impact the entire planet.

The winter storm was caused by a variation in the polar vortex. Polar vortex fluctuations occur when polar jet streams push into lower latitudes, aided by arctic warming, which helps to magnify the vortex.

“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. “These changes help to warm higher latitudes, which in turn destabilize the conditions that hold the polar jet stream from dipping farther south. While these changes will not be constant throughout the year, they can increase volatile weather pattern intensity and frequency.”

The changes can also reduce arctic animal habitats, damage structures and cause fatalities among unprepared human and wildlife populations. At UTSA’s NASA MIRO Center for Advanced Measurements in Extreme Environments, students are using remote sensing to track cryosphere changes due to climate change and to better understand 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).

Sustainable Storm Water Management

From Arctic Sea studies to monarch butterfly preservation, students and faculty in the College of Sciences are conducting invaluable research in an effort to protect natural resources and encourage environmental sustainability in San Antonio and beyond. Several local research projects focus on storm water management and are funded by a three-year, $1-million grant through the City of San Antonio’s Proposition 1 Edwards Aquifer Protection Program.

“Being the seventh largest city, water issues have been one of water quantity,” said Dr. Saugata Datta, chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. “But population growth has caused the issues to now become one of water quality as well, which leads to an increased concern in keeping water contaminants such as nitrates and phosphates low.”

Due to the region’s reliance on groundwater, San Antonio needs more stringent policies to protect local aquifers, as well as increased communication among the various South Texas aquifer authorities. To help identify potential solutions, the Institute for Water Research, Sustainability and Policy (IWRSP) contributes data collected in crossdisciplinary research of water quantity, water quality and flood control to local and state governments.

Growing the Next Generation of Environmental Scientists

Teaching and Research in Environmental Ecology (TREE), funded by the United States Department of Agriculture and active since 2010, provides developmental leadership skills to help students become ideal candidates for federal employment in natural resource conservation such as the U.S. National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the USDA. To develop their communication and leadership skills, the program’s fellows assist in UTSA’s Educating Youth in Environmental Science (EYES), an elementary school outreach program. TREE fellows also have the opportunity to assist in the maintenance of UTSA’s ongoing bioswale project, another initiative funded by a grant from the Proposition 1 Edwards Aquifer Protection Program. The bioswale draws on the principles of low-impact development as a model to naturally remove pollutants from untreated storm water at its source.

“I hope the program will show how effective the bioswale is and encourage other entities in and around San Antonio to build similar types of bioswales,” said Dr. Janis Bush, TREE/EYE program director and chair of the Department of Integrative Biology. The Mesquite Learning Laboratory is located on UTSA’s Main Campus near a second bioswale. The green roof showcases the merits of green roofs to students and the community. Similarly, a rain garden displays the possibility of low-impact development. A nearby trail leads to a pollinator garden as well as a bird blind, where students can observe birds without disturbing them. The laboratory is designed to promote habitat and environmental education opportunities associated with the Edwards Aquifer watershed, including the laboratory’s adjacent creek ecosystem.

The college’s Monarch and Milkweed Project further pairs environmental research with direct community involvement. Participants observe and maintain local monarch butterfly and native bee habitats. Funded by the Texas Comptroller Office, the research will result in a comprehensive report on the current status of native milkweed species for a large area of Texas and will also determine which milkweed host plants are preferred by monarchs. Combined with findings about the milkweed species’ optimal growth requirements, this study will guide statewide management strategies and conservation efforts and ultimately help refine recommendations by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Tuggle Scholars, a program designed to mentor and train leaders in environmen-

tal science and ecology, helped graduate student Sally Lent fund her thesis study on analysis and maintenance of urban green spaces as habitats for native bees.

“It’s been great that I can do my research while enlisting the help of undergraduates, who in turn gain research experience of their own,” she said.

Learn more about Sally on page 19.

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