Arizona Science and Technology Center Wins UNESCO Prize

Center in Arizona praised for remarkable scientific work on water research in deserts and arid lands.

Students measure evaporation rates in Patagonia, Arizona. They are part of of NSF's Science and Technology Center for Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas.
Credit: Jonathan Petti, SAHRA, University of Arizona, Tucson

The Center for Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA) is one of two institutions to win the 2007 International Great Man-made River Prize awarded by UNESCO.

The UNESCO prize "rewards remarkable scientific research work on water usage in arid areas as well as areas subject to drought and also for the development of agriculture for the benefit of humanity and the environment."

Read:

• The National Science Foundation Press Release on the Award.
• The SAHRA press release.

Congressional Interest in Tsunamis in 2005

In December, 2004 a massive earthquake in Indonesia triggered tsunamis that swept across the Indian Ocean, doing enormous damage and causing great loss of life. The event triggered the creation of an Indian Ocean tsunami warning system by UNESCO's International Oceanographic Commission and its partners. It also triggered interest by the U.S. Congress in other tsunami warning systems, especially those that might protect the United States. Given the key role of UNESCO in catalyzing networks of international cooperation in oceanography and seismology, it is not surprising that its programs came up for discussion in the hearings.

• Read the 109th Congress House Hearings: TSUNAMIS: IS THE U.S. PREPARED?
• Read the 109 Senate Hearings: U.S. TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM AND S. 50, ``THE TSUNAMI PREPAREDNESS ACT OF 2005''