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  • PRI projects and data boost agricultural producers’ productivity

    Sep 9, 2021 9:15 am

    With some of the best farmland in the country, Illinois has a competitive advantage over other states in the agriculture sector. The Prairie Research Institute (PRI) at the University of Illinois is leveraging this advantage, investing in Illinois’ agriculture economy by offering programs, tools, and research projects to support producers and address current farming issues.

  • TapTalk icon

    Water Survey team launches podcast for drinking water professionals

    Sep 9, 2021 8:15 am

    The team behind WaterOperator.org and Private Well Class is launching a new podcast to strengthen connections between the many stakeholders involved in ensuring that every American has water that is safe to drink. The first two episodes of Tap Talk: The Drinking Water in Rural America Podcast are available now! 

  • Hot and stormy end to summer

    Sep 2, 2021 8:15 am

    August temperatures were largely above normal across Illinois. Because of the heat and humidity, August precipitation was accompanied by frequent severe weather events including several tornadoes, hail, and strong winds.

  • Water Survey simulation of Aug. 12 Gibson City flood

    Water Survey simulation matches progress of Gibson City flood

    Aug 24, 2021 2:45 pm

    A model simulation produced by the Illinois State Water Survey shows the progression of the flood in Gibson City from the morning to the evening of Aug. 12, 2021

  • A stonefly in the Kathroperlidae family

    INHS entomologists identify new family of stoneflies

    Aug 18, 2021 3:15 pm

    Entomologists at the Illinois Natural History Survey have discovered a new family of stoneflies, a finding that helps scientists studying the insects organize information and distinguish the species that need protecting.

  • Illinois soils are slightly cooler in mid-August

    Aug 18, 2021 1:00 pm

    Soil temperatures have decreased in mid-August as cooler weather moved into the state.

  • teamwork

    Teamwork and expertise drive success with major decarbonization projects

    Aug 10, 2021 10:30 am

    From 2018 to 2020, ISTC submitted over 200 proposals for technology R&D projects, winning more than 60 percent of those projects and bringing in more than $84 million in external funding. Major partners include the U.S.  Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the state of Illinois.

  • leafhopper

    Illinois team reports results of Earth BioGenome pilot project

    Aug 4, 2021 12:45 pm

    The Earth BioGenome Project aims to sequence, catalog, and characterize the genomes of all of Earth’s eukaryotic biodiversity over a period of 10 years. With seed funding provided by the Illinois Innovation Network, the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute and Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology have completed a year-long pilot study to demonstrate the potential for Illinois to join a global network of communities engaged in genome sequencing and the conservation of biodiversity. 

  • COVID-19 virus

    Sampling sewer water for COVID-19 in the community 

    Aug 3, 2021 9:00 am

    Illinois State Water Survey researchers are part of a project to look for traces of SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in sewer water in order to help monitor the spread of infection.  

  • July brought high humidity and above average rainfall

    Aug 2, 2021 3:30 pm

    Rainfall was above average in July in Illinois with slightly cooler temperatures and very high humidity, even by recent climate standards, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey.

  • Aerial view of the Kaskaskia River

    Understanding water’s role in decarbonization

    Jul 27, 2021 4:45 pm

    ISTC researchers needed to find adequate and reliable water sources to keep a carbon capture system running without compromising fragile aquatic ecosystems, local economies, and nearby communities’ water supply. Fortunately, ISTC knew the right expertise was close at hand in another unit within its parent Prairie Research Institute – The Water Survey’s Watershed Science team.

  • Irrigation equipment over a wheat field

    Integrating surface water and groundwater modeling

    Jul 27, 2021 4:45 pm

    Water Survey researchers are exploring ways to simulate the interactions between groundwater and surface water by combining existing modeling technology, including investigating how groundwater elevations change in response to storm events and subsequent river rises.

  • Thunderstorm over a field

    Increasing opportunities through hazard mitigation

    Jul 27, 2021 4:00 pm

    The ISWS Coordinated Hazard Assessment and Mapping Program's (CHAMP) more than 25 professional staff with expertise in engineering, GIS, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, hazard mitigation planning, and community engagement help communities build unique and comprehensive Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans (NHMP) to assess local hazards, identify high-risk areas, and take action in preventing losses from natural disasters. 

  • Valeria Trivellone

    How can the world prevent emerging infectious diseases, protect food security?

    Jul 20, 2021 10:00 am

    According to a new report co-written by Illinois Natural History Survey postdoctoral researcher Valeria Trivellone, climate change, poverty, urbanization, land-use change and the exploitation of wildlife all contribute to the emergence of new infectious diseases, which, in turn, threaten global food security. Trivellone spoke with News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about how global authorities can tackle these intertwined challenges.

  • Soils are drier for most of Illinois in mid-July

    Jul 16, 2021 10:15 am

    Illinois soils have been drying out after the wet weather at the end of June, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey.

  • Chicago skyline

    Climate studies focus on a new priority: urban areas

    Jul 15, 2021 1:15 pm

    Climate change affects cities, and cities affect the climate. Urban areas are hotspots for heat waves, flooding, and air pollution that ultimately affect human health and welfare. Scientists at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) study the relationship between cities and climate to determine ways to make cities more resilient to these challenges.

  • ISTC program marks big savings for Illinois wastewater treatment plants

    Jul 12, 2021 2:15 pm

    Illinois municipalities hoping to save money on energy costs for wastewater treatment turn to the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) Technical Assistance Program (TAP) for advice. The Wastewater Treatment Plant Energy Assistance Program started in 2018 with funding from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Partnering with the University of Illinois’ Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC), the TAP team visits publicly owned wastewater treatment plants across the state and drafts no-cost assessments with specific recommendations on how to lower energy costs.

  • June brought all kinds of weather to start the summer in Illinois

    Jul 1, 2021 2:15 pm

    June in Illinois started out particularly warm and ended with above average rainfall from numerous storms, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey.

  • Elizabeth Watts Malouchos (left) and Alleen Betzenhauser (right) map a Mississippian structure at the Pfeffer site in the region outlying Cahokia in 2008.

    ISAS experts co-edit Reconsidering Mississippian Communities and Households

    Jun 30, 2021 8:00 am

  • Illinois soil conditions are hot and dry in June

    Jun 17, 2021 1:45 pm

    Warmer weather has led to higher than normal soil temperatures for Illinois in June.

  • Water Survey to analyze flood risks in Bureau County, Illinois

    Jun 14, 2021 4:30 pm

    Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) hydrologic and hydraulic modeling in the Villages of Tiskilwa and Walnut (Bureau County, Illinois) is underway as part of a study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk for flood mitigation planning.

  • Working with scientists better informs managers’ decisions on bird conservation

    Jun 9, 2021 10:45 am

    Scientists studying birds have the data, and conservation managers make the decisions in the field, but if the two groups collaborate, together they can form the best outcomes on real-world bird conservation issues.

  • May brought a cool end to a warm spring

    Jun 2, 2021 8:15 am

    May temperatures varied substantially across Illinois, with an average temperature 2.5 degrees below the 30-year normal, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey.

  • Scientists study regional benefits of limiting climate warming

    May 24, 2021 12:00 pm

    Limiting the global average temperature to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) above pre-industrial conditions compared with 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F), as predicted for the future, will avoid more intense and more frequent heavy precipitation and extreme heat waves, according to a recent study at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) that explored global warming’s effects on specific U.S. regions.

  • mining Illinois coal

    ISGS project will seek valuable elements, minerals from coal and coal waste

    May 20, 2021 3:00 pm

    The Office of Fossil Energy within the U.S. Department of Energy has selected to award nearly $1.5 million to the Illinois State Geological Survey for a project that will evaluate the availability of valuable rare earth elements and critical minerals in coal and coal waste streams in Illinois and nearby states. 

  • man at injection well site

    Carbon capture and storage project with ADM concludes

    May 19, 2021 2:15 pm

    On May 19, 2021, ADM and the University of Illinois announced the successful completion of the Illinois Basin - Decatur Project, a carbon capture and storage project designed to evaluate and test the technology at commercial scale.

  • Rock Island county map of structure-based flood risk assessment

    FEMA honors Water Survey and Illinois Department of Natural Resources

    May 18, 2021 3:00 pm

    The Illinois State Water Survey and the Office of Water Resources in the Illinois Department of Natural Resources took first place in FEMA’s 2021 National Cooperating Technical Partner Recognition Award for their statewide efforts to assess flood risk at the individual property level. 

  • Soil temperatures cooler in May but are rising

    May 18, 2021 10:30 am

    Cooler weather led to a decline in soil temperatures in the first half of May, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey.

  • Greg Cane analyzes a sample.

    International testing validates accuracy of Stable Isotope Lab analyses

    May 11, 2021 10:00 am

    The Illinois State Geological Survey’s stable isotope laboratory recently passed a standards proficiency test overseen by the International Atomic Energy Association. 

  • smokestack

    DOE awards $47 million to PRI and collaborators for carbon capture project

    May 10, 2021 3:45 pm

    The team will build and operate a 10 MWe slipstream of the Linde/BASF post-combustion carbon capture technology at City Water, Light and Power (CWLP) in Springfield, Illinois. The successful construction and operation of this plant will provide a means to demonstrate an economically attractive and transformational capture technology. 

  • power lines

    Three new DOE-funded PRI projects set to design energy storage systems for power plants

    May 7, 2021 10:15 am

    It is challenging to integrate renewable resources into the distribution grid of fossil-fueled power plants when energy is most needed. The results are often intermittent and unpredictable, which makes it difficult to match energy demand with supply.

    In three new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-funded projects, scientists in the Prairie Research Institute will design systems and explore the feasibility of combining the use of renewable and fossil energy sources to ensure both short and long-term reliability in electric power delivery.

  • April brought a mix of winter, spring, and summer weather

    May 3, 2021 12:45 pm

    Illinois temperatures varied considerably in April from way above to significantly below normal, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey.

  • Check in with INHS online before heading out to hunt or fish

    Apr 30, 2021 8:30 am

    Whether it’s for hunting or fishing, the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) collects data and provides information and education to support hunters and anglers in exploring Illinois and its many biological resources.

  • Campus Instructional Facility

    UIUC’S largest geothermal system goes online

    Apr 29, 2021 3:30 pm

    The largest geothermal energy system implemented at the university so far went online in April, at the Campus Instructional Facility (CIF) ahead of its opening this coming fall. The CIF geothermal system was designed using data acquired and analyzed from a nearby geothermal monitoring well installed by the Illinois State Geological Survey and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. 

  • bee on flower

    Spring forest flowers likely a key to bumble bee survival, Illinois study finds

    Apr 28, 2021 9:30 am

    For more than a decade, ecologists have been warning of a downward trend in bumble bee populations across North America. While efforts to preserve wild bees in the Midwest often focus on restoring native flowers to prairies, a new Illinois-based study finds evidence of a steady decline in the availability of springtime flowers in wooded landscapes. The scarcity of early season flowers in forests – a primary food source for bumble bees at this time of year – likely endangers the queen bees’ ability to start their nesting season and survive until other floral resources become available, researchers say. They report their findings in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

  • Corn stalks in summer

    Climatologist: Vegetation plays a role in developing flash droughts

    Apr 22, 2021 1:30 pm

    Farmland vegetation and grasses can affect both the frequency and extent of flash droughts, say scientists at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), who hope to better understand the phenomenon and improve early warnings.

  • PRI experts help assess climate change impact on Illinois

    Apr 21, 2021 2:15 pm

    Illinois is undergoing a rapid change in weather patterns that has started to transform the state, according to a new scientific assessment by The Nature Conservancy in Illinois. Scientific experts from across PRI contributed to the report, including Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford; Water Survey scientists Daniel Abram, Walt Kelly, Momcilo Markus, Sally McConkey, and Ashish Sharma; and Natural History Survey scientists Sergiusz Czesny, Jim Ellis, Chris Stone, and John Taft.

    Read more about the report and its findings from the Nature Conservancy.

  • Near-surface soil temperatures and moisture levels are declining in mid-April

    Apr 16, 2021 11:30 am

    Colder weather in the second week of April has caused soil temperatures to decline in Illinois.

  • watershed management areas map

    Water Survey helps Cook County manage stormwater

    Apr 5, 2021 11:00 am

    Experts from the Illinois State Water Survey support the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago in making informed watershed management decisions for a vast service area that includes 128 suburban communities in Cook County. 

  • Black bear in a field of lupines

    Translocation is a viable option for problem bears

    Apr 2, 2021 9:00 am

    One way to manage bears who damage property and crops is to move them to a different area within their geographic range. Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) scientists studying translocation have found that capture and release does not lower bears’ survival rates, so it’s a good option for handling nuisance bears.

  • Mild March was quite a contrast to February

    Apr 2, 2021 8:30 am

    The preliminary statewide average March temperature was 45.9 degrees, 4.5 degrees above the 1991–2020 average and the 13th warmest on record going back to 1895. Preliminary statewide average total March precipitation was 4.10 inches, 1.16 inches above the 1991–2020 average and the 30th wettest on record going back to 1895.  

  • concrete

    DOE-funded project to find beneficial uses for coal combustion wastes

    Mar 23, 2021 10:00 am

    Scientists at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) are beginning a $1 million, two-year project to find new and value-added uses for fly ash, a powdery remnant of burning coal. Confining the ash in vegetable oil will potentially reduce the amount of fly ash waste and lessen the risk of heavy metals from waste piles leaching into surface and groundwater. 

  • Puma

    Study: Black bears are eating pumas' lunch

    Mar 19, 2021 8:15 am

    A camera-trap study in the Mendocino National Forest in Northern California reveals that black bears are adept at finding and stealing the remains of adult deer killed by pumas. This “kleptoparasitism” by bears, as scientists call it, reduces the calories pumas consume in seasons when the bears are most active. Perhaps in response to this shortage, the pumas hunt more often and eat more small game when the bears are not in hibernation.

  • map of Illinois flood insurance rate map status by county

    FEMA recognizes Water Survey's significant contributions as a Cooperating Technical Partner

    Mar 15, 2021 8:30 am

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently praised the Water Survey’s accomplishments as a Cooperating Technical Partner, including improving the flood mapping process in Illinois and developing accurate, easily accessible flood data for every county in Illinois. 

  • carrots, corn, and other produce in plastic bins

    Farm to food bank survey extended to end of March

    Mar 12, 2021 8:00 am

    Farmers throughout Illinois are encouraged to complete a short online survey that will help identify the mix of incentives and program interventions to overcome the current barriers to efficient flows of fresh food produced in Illinois, to Illinois residents, with as little waste as possible. The survey closes March 30.

  • Water Survey to analyze flood risks in Boone and Winnebago counties

    Mar 11, 2021 3:45 pm

    Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) hydrologic and hydraulic modeling in Boone and Winnebago Counties, Illinois is underway as part of a study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk for flood mitigation planning.

  • Warmer soils this winter in Illinois could indicate healthy insect populations for spring

    Mar 5, 2021 9:00 am

    Despite the cold weather this February, winter soil temperatures averaged 1 to 2 degrees higher than the long-term averages in Illinois, indicating a greater chance of insects surviving the winter.

  • winter scene in the woods

    A wild February ended an otherwise mild winter

    Mar 2, 2021 8:00 am

    The cold season came with a vengeance in February, bringing bitter cold and snow across the state. The preliminary statewide average February temperature was 20.0 degrees, 11.1 degrees below the 1991–2020 average.

  • microphone

    Virtual speaker series features Native scholars and leaders

    Feb 23, 2021 2:30 pm

    This spring the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will hold a virtual speaker series featuring Native scholars and leaders. The Intersections of Indigenous Knowledge and Archaeology series is intended to center Indigenous voices, increase awareness of the deep Native histories of the Eastern Woodlands, and amplify the experiences and research of Indigenous scholars and leaders. 

  • Smoke from May 31, 2013, the first day of the Thompson Ridge fire in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. This fire grew to an area of over 23,000 acres and engulfed much of Wâavêmâ (Redondo Peak), a mountain held sacred by the people of Jemez Pueblo.

    Exploring historic fire ecosystems

    Feb 22, 2021 11:30 am