Programs
- Agrarian Landscapes in Transition
- AHIS (Arizona Hydrological Information System)
- Arizona Water Institute
- CAP LTER (Central Arizona–Phoenix LTER)
- Decision Center for a Desert City
- Decision Theater
- Ecology Explorers
- Greater Phoenix 2100
- Integrated Analysis of Robustness in Dynamic Socioecological Systems
- IGERT in Urban Ecology
- Legacies on the Landscape
- Long-Term Coupled Socioecological Change in the American SW and N Mexico
- Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics
- National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations for Urban Climate and Energy
- 100 Cities Project
- Service at Salado
- SEINet (Southwest Environmental Information Network)
- Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research & Policy
- Sustainability Partnership
- UGEC (Urbanization and Global Environmental Change)
The monsoon may be the most talked-about weather feature of Phoenix in recent days, but another weather-related phenomenon going on in the Valley is in effect 12 months of the year. It’s the urban heat island, or UHI, a phenomenon that makes the Phoenix nighttime low temperatures 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than temperatures in rural areas. The reason for an increasing UHI is the growth of Phoenix as we build out farther and farther into the desert valley. 
Water is the key resource for growth in a desert city like Phoenix. The Valley is blessed with a diverse portfolio of water sources, including the upland watersheds of the Salt and Verde rivers, the Colorado River Basin and, when surface waters are in short supply, a vast network of underground aquifers.