Two 天美影视传媒 geophysicists will travel to the Atacama Desert in Chile this month to study a fault system that’s similar to the Seattle Fault in Puget Sound, but in a much different climate that makes it easier to monitor its effects on the landscape.
Environment
A team at the 天美影视传媒 has created an interactive dashboard called WhaleVis, which lets users map data on global whale catches and whaling routes from 1880 to 1986. Scientists can compare this historical data and its trends with current information to better understand whale populations over time.
Three UW experts are among the authors of the newly released Fifth National Climate Assessment, an overview of climate trends, impacts and efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change across the nation.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of declining phytoplankton in the North Atlantic may have been greatly exaggerated. Analysis of a Greenland ice core going back 800 years shows that atmospheric chemistry, not dwindling phytoplankton populations, explains the recent ice core trends.
The New York Climate Exchange, a first-of-its-kind organization working to implement innovative climate solutions in New York City and across the globe, on Nov. 9 announced Stephen Hammer as its founding chief executive officer. The 天美影视传媒 is a core member of the exchange.
Five 天美影视传媒 experts comment on the current El Ni帽o, its effect on Pacific Northwest winter weather, as well as on regional and global ocean temperature trends.
A project led by the UW used genetic sleuthing to study how salmon were affected by two major culvert replacements near the city of Bellingham. One project, a major upgrade under Interstate-5, had a big impact, while the other old culvert may have been less of a barrier to fish. Authors from the UW and NOAA are studying the use of eDNA in future environmental impact reporting.
The National Science Foundation has awarded the 天美影视传媒 $52.4 million over five years to continue operating the Regional Cabled Array, a cabled deep-ocean observatory about 300 miles offshore from Newport, Oregon. The grant is part of a $220 million total investment that will fund the internet-connected ocean observatory, known as the Ocean Observatories Initiative, through 2028.
The frigid ocean surrounding Antarctica is home to much of the region’s photosynthetic life. A new 天美影视传媒 study provides the first measurements of how sea-ice algae and other single-celled life handle dramatic seasonal swings, offering clues to how this ecosystem might adapt to climate change.
Research led by the UW found that, in some western states, the amount of snow already on the ground by the end of December is a good predictor of how much total snow that area will get.
The 天美影视传媒 is a lead partner on a new multi-institution earthquake research center that will study the Cascadia subduction zone and bolster earthquake preparedness in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
A new paper from the UW and Polar Bears International quantifies the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and the survival of polar bear populations. The paper combines past research and new analysis to provide a quantitative link between greenhouse gas emissions and polar bear survival rates.
Taken together, the two papers’ findings suggest that wildfire smoke poses a risk to people of all ages, not just young children and older adults.
Researchers with the 天美影视传媒 and the U.S. Forest Service have developed a new tool, REBURN, that can simulate large forest landscapes and wildfire dynamics over decades or centuries under different wildfire management strategies. The model can simulate the consequences of extinguishing all wildfires regardless of size, which was done for much of the 20th century and has contributed to a rise in large and severe wildfires, or of allowing certain fires to return to uninhabited areas to help create a more “patchwork” forest structure that can help lessen fire severity. REBURN can also simulate conditions where more benign forest landscape dynamics have fully recovered in an area.
Twenty-five undergraduates are among the participants on a 41-day cruise off the Oregon coast aboard the UW’s large research vessel, the R/V Thomas G. Thompson. Principal investigator Deborah Kelley, professor of oceanography, answers questions about the expedition to visit and maintain the cabled ocean observatory.
New research led by the 天美影视传媒 uses data collected by coastal residents along beaches from central California to Alaska to understand how seabirds have fared in recent decades. The paper, published July 6 in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, shows that persistent marine heat waves lead to massive seabird die-offs months later.
The most comprehensive study yet of long-term ultrafine particle exposure found that concentrations of this tiny pollutant reflect the city鈥檚 decades-old racial and economic divides. 聽
Two years after the Pacific Northwest heat dome 鈥� the deadliest weather-related disaster in state history 鈥� a collaborative effort has drawn up recommendations for how people and groups across the state could prevent future heat-related illness and save lives. The effort involves a report led by the UW Climate Impacts Group and an interactive risk-mapping tool led by the UW Center for Health and the Global Environment,
An international team including a UW scientist found that the water on one of Saturn鈥檚 moons harbors phosphates, a key building block of life. The team used data from NASA鈥檚 Cassini space mission to detect evidence of phosphates in particles ejected from the ice-covered global ocean of Saturn鈥檚 moon Enceladus.
Polar scientist Eric Regehr studies polar bears on Wrangel Island, an island off Russia that is home to the highest concentration of polar bears in the world. Regehr and UW glaciologist Ian Joughin will field audience questions after screenings of “Arctic: Our Frozen Planet,” which focuses on the changing Arctic environment.
New research shows that in Washington state, the presence of two apex predators 鈥� wolves and cougars 鈥� does indeed help keep populations of two smaller predators in check. But by and large the apex predators were not killing and eating the smaller predators, known as mesopredators. Instead, they drove the two mesopredator species 鈥� bobcats and coyotes 鈥� into areas with higher levels of human activity. And people were finishing the job.
UW will be a core member of a consortium led by Stony Brook University that will build and operate The New York Climate Exchange 鈥� a carbon-neutral international hub focused on climate action and adaptation
Two 天美影视传媒 researchers are using very different methods to investigate the issue of marine microplastics. For Earth Day, UW News asked them to discuss their research.
The UW Climate Impacts Group created an interactive tool that lets state agencies and local governments see what climate scientists project for their county and what they might want to consider when developing their districts鈥� comprehensive plans through 2100.
UW oceanographers discovered warm, chemically distinct liquid shooting up from the seafloor about 50 miles off Newport. They named the unique underwater spring “Pythia鈥檚 Oasis.” Observations suggest the spring is sourced from water 2.5 miles beneath the seafloor at the plate boundary, regulating stress on the offshore subduction zone fault.
A record-breaking heat wave that baked Washington state in 2021 contributed to 159 excess injury deaths, according to research led by a UW professor.
Phil Levin, professor of practice in environmental and forest sciences at the 天美影视传媒 and lead scientist at The Nature Conservancy in Washington, has been appointed to direct the first-ever U.S. National Nature Assessment. The 3-year assessment will take an interdisciplinary approach to better understand the role of nature in the lives of people across the country, and how those benefits might be altered under climate change.
The cherry blossoms at the 天美影视传媒 campus are a seasonal tradition and celebration for the entire region. This year鈥檚 colder-than-usual spring is demanding a little more patience. Mark your calendars and plan your visit for a peak bloom expected in early April.
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the 天美影视传媒 are bringing together climate, sustainability and resilience leaders, and educators representing a cross section of colleges and universities from around the country, with federal agency leaders for a virtual forum on climate change.
Non-erupting volcanoes leak a surprisingly high amount of sulfur-containing gases. A Greenland ice core shows that volcanoes quietly release at least three times as much sulfur into the Arctic atmosphere than estimated by current climate models. Aerosols are the most uncertain aspect of current climate models, so better estimates could improve the accuracy of long-term projections.
New research finds that ice-sheet-wide collapse in West Antarctica isn鈥檛 necessarily inevitable. The pace of ice loss varies according to regional differences in atmosphere and ocean circulation.
A recent report and upcoming virtual event looks at the unequal effect of marine plastics on different communities. The international report led by UW’s Yoshitaka Ota covers topics ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on plastic pollution to a critique of Coca-Cola’s waste initiative.
Save the … parasites? Analyzing 140 years of parasite abundance in fish shows dramatic declines, especially in parasites that rely on three or more host species. The decline is linked to warming ocean temperatures. Parasitic species might be in real danger, researchers warn — and that means not just fewer worms, but losses for the entire ecosystem.
An underwater volcanic eruption in January 2022 created ripple effects throughout the world’s atmosphere and oceans. 天美影视传媒 scientists analyzed that event to show how GPS signals could help monitor future volcanoes and tsunamis.
UW’s Virtual Field Geology project has many goals: to make geology field experiences accessible to more people; to document geological field sites that may be at risk from erosion or development; to offer virtual 鈥渄ry run鈥� experiences; and to allow scientific collaborators to do virtual visits to a field site together.聽While the pandemic brought new urgency to the project, its developers believe it’s part of a “new normal” for geology research and education.
The strongest Arctic cyclone ever observed struck in January 2022. A new analysis led by the 天美影视传媒 shows that while forecasts accurately predicted the massive storm, models seriously underestimated its impact on sea ice. Results suggest how forecast models for a changing Arctic Ocean could improve.
Two UW College of the Environment professors, Ginger Armbrust and Dennis Hartmann, will be honored at the 2022 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in December.
A new 天美影视传媒-led study reports that throughout Earth鈥檚 ancient history, there were several periods of time when many fish actually favored the cold, dark, barren waters of the deep sea instead of shallow ocean waters that are warm and full of resources.
天美影视传媒 researchers found that adopting permanent daylight saving time in the United States would reduce deer-vehicle collisions and likely prevent an estimated 36,550 deer deaths, 33 human deaths, 2,054 human injuries and $1.19 billion in costs each year. Deer-vehicle collisions would decrease under permanent DST because skies would be brighter later into the evening.
A new 天美影视传媒-led study has found that even in remote, rarely visited national parks, the presence of even just a few humans impacts the activity of wildlife that live there. Nearly any level of human activity in a protected area like a national park can alter the behavior of animals there.