Even the most prepared countries need to focus more on climate change, according to the University of Notre Dame’s Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) Country Index. The annual study—which measures how 181 countries compare on vulnerability to climate impacts and readiness to successfully implement adaptation solutions—shows that top-ranked nations such as...

Their responses underscore the reality of a world in concurrent crises, an undeniable need for action now and hope for the future.

At Notre Dame researchers are working to provide solutions to society’s complex environmental challenges to minimize the trade-offs between human welfare and environmental health. 

Climate scientists at Notre Dame say despite the challenge to collecting data, the current crisis is already spurring new proposals for research and revealing interesting parallels to the climate crisis that could provide valuable lessons for the future.

In a first-of-its-kind study, released by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) today, Daniel Hungerman and graduate student Vivek Moorthy investigated the long-term effects of that momentous eco-celebration, studying how the event and the weather that day affected people’s attitudes toward conservation and their health years later.

New research from the University of Notre Dame is shedding light on the unexpected effects climate change could have on regional instability and violent conflict.

Shannon Speir’s research, focusing on how storms affect nitrogen concentrations in Indiana streams, has received recognition from the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE). The grant they awarded her will help the fourth-year graduate student, who is pursuing a PhD in biological sciences, continue to combine...

The research team found that although coastal homeowners may perceive a worsening of climate change-related hazards, these attitudes are largely unrelated to a homeowner’s expectations of actual home damage.

Danielle Wood, associate director for research in the Center for Civic Innovation at the University of Notre Dame, has been named project director of the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), a key program of the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative (ND-ECI). 

Learn how Notre Dame researchers have made key discoveries that have improved our understanding of mosquito-borne diseases and continue these research efforts today.

The University of Notre Dame won nine awards at the annual Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence Awards, second among 611 participating member institutions from 20 countries.

Within the next 80 years, global food demand is expected to increase sharply to meet the needs of a projected world population topping 11 billion. The increase in agriculture will likely influence human infectious diseases, which in turn may affect food production and distribution, according to a review paper by...

According to the study, 62 percent of coastal homeowners are not considering taking any action to reduce the vulnerabilities of their homes or enhance protections against future hurricanes.

An assessment of how climate change impacts farming, urban populations, wildlife, and more in the Great Lakes region has been released by the Environmental Law & Policy Center.

For the fourth year in a row, the United States has ranked 15th in the University of Notre Dame’s Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) Country Index.

The National Parks Service at the Indiana Dunes will utilize a video on Jessica Hellmann’s research on the Karner blue butterfly, an endangered species, in their educational programming. In the video, Hellman, professor of ecology at the University of Minnesota and past fellow of the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced...

Industries such as agriculture, transportation, and recreation all benefit from the health and stability of Indiana’s freshwaters. Now a new report released by the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment (IN CCIA) suggests that with warmer temperatures and increases in precipitation, effective management and conservation of the state’s freshwater ecosystems will...

 

The Urban Adaptation Assessment is an open-source, free measurement and analysis tool that explores a city’s ability to adapt and readiness for adaptation to climate change.

Notre Dame researchers have created an integrated framework to identify which neighborhoods would benefit most from green roofs – and provide city officials with a strategic approach to ensure the best return on their investment to beat the heat.

If there is a formula for how an internship should strike a balance between too little boss oversight and too much over-your-shoulder scrutiny, then Matt Lupo may have found it.    “It should be structured enough to tell you what to do,” said Lupo, of his internship with the Notre Dame Global...

As residents in Indiana continue to clean up from areas of extreme flooding, a new report focusing on how climate change is expected to affect the state shows Hoosiers should expect to see a significant increase in temperatures and precipitation.

Just because he’s an Environmental Science major doesn’t mean that Jorge Daura likes dirt. Daura worked for a time in a Notre Dame lab where he analyzed soil samples, yet it wasn’t for him. But ask him to research the emergency traffic capacity for a large city and he’s on it.  ...

To understand the pivotal role that Big Data plays in the career dreams of a ND-GAIN intern, consider what Carolyn Yvellez wants for her next birthday: a four-terabyte hard drive. It’s an essential computing tool should you want to store climate data for 278 large U.S. cities. “I need more...

Three continents, five countries, and countless hours spent traveling by boat, plane, train, and car. To say Alejandra Cartagena-Sierra's research is her passion project is an understatement. The past year has been a wild ride for the Ph.D. candidate as she studies sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) during the Pliocene and Pleistocene...

As island nations prepare for a lead role in the 23rd annual Conference of Parties (COP23) in Bonn, Germany, Nov. 6-17, the latest data released by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) shows that small island states face increasing challenges to address the impact of climate change.

During the four-year study, researchers will work to develop improved storm surge models that incorporate fine-scale data to increase the accuracy of forecasts, while also maintaining reduced computer time and reasonable computational costs.

“But how can you be sure that climate change is caused by humans?”   I stared at my dad– the smartest man I knew, my rock, and my role model– in disbelief. He was testing me, I thought. He wanted to see just how much I knew about the topic....

Bad news for humans about the spread of mosquito-borne disease as climate change continues to worsen. New research from the University of Notre Dame, recently published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, proposes a new way that climate change could contribute to mosquitos’ capacity to drive disease epidemics. As climate change...