Vince Stricherz

October 31, 2003

Japanese shipwreck adds to evidence of great Cascadia earthquake in 1700

Evidence has mounted for nearly 20 years that a great earthquake ripped the seafloor off the Washington coast in 1700, long before there were any written records in the region. Now, a newly authenticated record of a fatal shipwreck in Japan has added an intriguing clue.

October 9, 2003

Parallels exist to area salmon strife

New laws protected salmon spawning grounds in 17 rivers, prohibiting the streams from being blocked with dams or fishing nets and imposing stiff fines for violations.

October 6, 2003

Book says Northwest salmon could face same fate as in Northeast, England

The year was 1715, and King George I of England enacted laws in an effort to protect salmon runs throughout Great Britain.Today few salmon ply British waterways, the victims of overfishing, degraded habitat, harnessing water power for industry, and misguided use of hatcheries to restore salmon runs, which ultimately hurt more than helped. Strikingly, much the same scenario began playing out 100 years later in the rivers of northeastern North America.

October 2, 2003

La Niña reshaping Amazon River basin

New findings by a UW researcher studying the Amazon River reverse conventional wisdom about flood plains. He shows that La Niña is responsible for moving enormous amounts of sediment from the Andes Mountains into the Amazon’s flood plain.

October 1, 2003

Earthquake hazards in Puget Sound region to be focus of public forum

A four-member panel will discuss how seismic faults are located, what faults look like above and below ground, the types of earthquakes the faults have produced and will produce in the future, and where scientists next will search for faults.

La Niña takes Bolivian Andes on a sedimental journey

Conventional wisdom says a river’s flood plain builds bit by bit, flood after flood, whenever the stream overflows its banks and deposits new sediment on the flood plain. But for some vast waterways in South America’s Amazon River basin, that wisdom doesn’t hold water.

September 23, 2003

Geological Society to meet in Seattle; topics include geology of salmon, wine

Scientists will present cutting-edge geological research and discuss geology topics of specific interest in the Pacific Northwest when the Geological Society of America holds its annual meeting in Seattle in November.

September 10, 2003

This summer is state’s driest in more than a century

It’s been a hot summer in Washington, but it’s a dry heat. Literally. The state is experiencing its driest summer since at least 1900, with local rain amounts from 70 percent to 85 percent below normal.

September 3, 2003

Smallest whirlpools can pack stunningly strong force

Researchers studying physical and chemical processes at the smallest scales, smaller even than the width of a human hair, have found that fluid circulating in a microscopic whirlpool can reach radial acceleration more than a million times greater than gravity, or 1 million Gs.

August 21, 2003

Astronomers celebrate proximity of Mars

Late this month, the night sky will brighten with the closest approach of Mars since human ancestors were still living in caves 60,000 years ago.

August 14, 2003

Astronomers will give public view of Mars’ closest approach in 600 centuries

In late August and early September, the red planet will appear closer and brighter than it has throughout all of recorded history, and astronomers with the University of Washington and the Seattle Astronomical Society will provide front-row seats for the public during a special “Mars Party” on Sept. 3.

August 7, 2003

Mote spells state’s climatologist drought

Just in time for the American Association of State Climatologists meeting this week in Portland, the state of Washington has someone fulfilling those duties for the first time since the late 1990s.

Young UW scientist meets Nobel laureates

Spending time with 13 Nobel Prize winners would be an exhilarating experience for any young scientist, and Summer Lockerbie Randall is no exception.

July 30, 2003

Washington state gets climatologist just in time for national meeting

Just in time for the American Association of State Climatologists meeting next week in Portland, the state of Washington has someone fulfilling those duties for the first time since the late 1990s.

July 24, 2003

Keck names UW researcher ‘Distinguished Young Scholar’

Daniel Chiu does research at the tiniest scales, but he hopes he can help unlock some of medical science’s biggest puzzles.

July 18, 2003

Homestake collaboration completes new underground lab design

The group that proposed creating a National Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory at a closed South Dakota gold mine has completed a detailed engineering plan for the conversion, replacing the initial proposal sent to the National Science Foundation two years ago.

July 10, 2003

Seismology getting to know hydrology

Through many decades, stories about earthquakes raising or lowering water levels in wells, lakes and streams have become the stuff of folklore.

June 26, 2003

Charting seismic effects on water levels can refine earthquake understanding

The relationship between seismic activity and hydrology is not well understood and is ripe for serious examination by scientists from the two disciplines, said David Montgomery, a University of Washington professor of Earth and space sciences.

May 22, 2003

Aerosols’ effects could change current understanding of global climate change

Atmospheric aerosols, airborne particles that reflect the sun’s heat away from Earth and into space, are part of everyday life.

May 15, 2003

Aerosols’ effects could change current understanding of global climate change

Atmospheric aerosols, airborne particles that reflect the sun’s heat away from Earth and into space, are in air pollution, in plumes of smoke from forest fires and in ash clouds from erupting volcanoes. A new study says the cooling effect of man-made aerosols could throw a monkey wrench into the current understanding of climate change.

May 1, 2003

UW joins telescope effort

The UW and three other organizations are joining forces to build a world-class telescope to search the heavens for supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, near-Earth asteroids and dark energy, the mysterious force behind the expansion of the universe.

April 10, 2003

Make no mistake: Protons come in variety of shapes, sizes

When Gerald A.

April 5, 2003

Surprise to physicists — protons aren’t always shaped like a basketball

PHILADELPHIA — When Gerald A.

April 2, 2003

Annual UW astronomy open house to feature astronaut ‘Pinky’ Nelson

University of Washington astronomy department’s annual open house

March 13, 2003

Parts of Washington, British Columbia in the midst of a ‘silent earthquake’

At this moment, parts of Washington and British Columbia are having an earthquake, but it is a slow-moving temblor that can’t be felt and won’t cause any injuries or damage. Still, by the end of the event, which already has lasted more than two weeks, it is likely to have released about as much energy as the Nisqually earthquake did in February 2001.

February 20, 2003

Studying all life: New department combines botany, zoology, biology

The University of Washington has a biology department.

January 16, 2003

Earth faces its end — in 7.5 billion years

In its 4.

Roger Buick: From oldest fossils to newest science

Earth’s most ancient fossils are hard to find.

January 9, 2003

Sloan Digital Sky Survey finds fainter stars

Glitzy tools such as the Hubble Space Telescope let modern astronomers peer deeper and deeper into space, billions of light years from Earth.

January 8, 2003

Digital sky survey shedding light on faint Milky Way stars

Glitzy tools such as the Hubble Space Telescope let modern astronomers peer deeper and deeper into space, billions of light years from Earth. But it’s a small special-purpose telescope on a New Mexico mountaintop that is shedding new light on what lies in our celestial neighborhood.

January 7, 2003

Finding life away from Earth will be tough task, paleontologist says

Earth’s most ancient fossils are hard to find.

December 30, 2002

In mutually beneficial relationship, slowest-evolving species gains upper hand

When members of two species compete directly with each other, scientists believe the one that rolls with the evolutionary punches and adapts most quickly has the upper hand. But new evidence suggests that in relationships that benefit both species, the one that evolves more slowly has the advantage.

December 18, 2002

Rain will take greater toll on reindeer, climate change model shows

Jolly Old St.

December 5, 2002

Studies dispute ultraviolet effect on declining amphibian populations

For several years it has been widely believed that increased ultraviolet-B radiation because of thinning of atmospheric ozone was a major culprit in deforming amphibian offspring and dwindling populations. Now two new studies cast serious doubt on that assumption, and the lead author of one says the belief could have had negative impacts on efforts to save amphibians.

December 4, 2002

Lecture will focus on using Hubble Space Telescope to glimpse the birth of the universe

Margon, a popular astronomy lecturer for more than 20 years at the UW, will discuss astronomical discoveries and achievements of the Hubble Space Telescope, emphasizing how the observatory has helped scientists understand the origins of stars, galaxies and the universe itself. His talk will include many of the stirring images captured by Hubble.

November 28, 2002

Jupiter-like planets formed in hundreds – not millions – of years, study shows

New research suggests that Jupiter-like planets form in as little as a few hundred years.

October 28, 2002

Flyby of Annefrank asteroid to help Stardust prepare for primary mission

It will be a moment tinged with history when the Stardust spacecraft makes an encounter with Asteroid 5535 Annefrank this weekend. The flyby will test many of the systems and procedures to be used when Stardust makes its encounter with comet Wild 2 in little more than a year.

October 11, 2002