UW News

Applied Physics Laboratory


April 14, 2014

Puget Sound’s rich waters supplied by deep, turbulent canyon

map of canyon

UW oceanographers found fast-flowing water and intense mixing in a submarine canyon just off the Washington coast.


April 7, 2014

UW startup creates underwater robotics with a human touch

Undergraduates students work on instrumentation with the BluHaptics team.

A team of University of Washington scientists and engineers working at the Applied Physics Laboratory is creating a control system for underwater remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs. Researchers will demonstrate the technology at the SmartAmerica Challenge in Washington, D.C. in June.


April 4, 2014

UW researchers, radar company conduct aerial surveys of Oso site

Black and white image of slide

UW researchers made some of the first aerial surveys over the Oso mudslide, using radar technology to map the condition immediately after the slide.


March 13, 2014

Tethered robots tested for Internet-connected ocean observatory

people on boat deploying instrument

The UW this fall will complete installation of a huge high-tech ocean observatory. Dozens of instruments will connect to power and Internet cables on the seafloor, but the observatory also includes a new generation of ocean explorers: robots that will zoom up and down through almost two miles of ocean to monitor the water conditions and marine life above.


March 4, 2014

Polar science this weekend at Pacific Science Center

event poster

The 9th annual Polar Science Weekend will bring polar research, art and an actual ice core to the Pacific Science Center.


February 26, 2014

Whales, ships more common through Bering Strait

whale

A three-year survey of whales in the Bering Strait reveals that many species of whales are using the narrow waterway, while shipping and commercial traffic also increase.


February 3, 2014

Greenland’s fastest glacier sets new speed record

floating iceberg

Observations of Jakobshavn Glacier from 2012 and 2013 show the fast-moving glacier has set new records for the speed of ice flowing toward the ocean.


January 10, 2014

Trial to test using ultrasound to move kidney stones

ultrasound image

A clinical trial in Seattle is testing a technique developed at the UW that uses low-power ultrasound to reposition kidney stones.


January 6, 2014

‘Future of Ice’ initiative marks new era for UW polar research

The UW’s new “Future of Ice” initiative includes several new research hires, a new minor in Arctic studies and a free winter lecture series.


November 18, 2013

Post-shutdown, UW Arctic research flights resume

researchers in plane

UW researchers this month are on missions to fly above the Arctic Ocean to measure glacier melt, polar storms and Arctic sea ice.


October 8, 2013

UW, local company building innovative deep-sea manned submarine

Image of submersible

The UW, Boeing and an Everett company are building a carbon-fiber submersible that will carry five passengers almost 2 miles deep.


September 17, 2013

Stronger winds explain puzzling growth of sea ice in Antarctica

sea ice

Despite warming temperatures, Antarctic sea ice is on track to hit a record high. A new study suggests stronger polar winds can explain the recent increase in Southern Hemisphere sea ice.


September 9, 2013

Breaking deep-sea waves reveal mechanism for global ocean mixing

wave

Oceanographers for the first time recorded an enormous wave breaking miles below the surface in a key bottleneck for global ocean circulation.


August 8, 2013

Ocean acidification center another example of state leading the nation

Two barncle-covered oysters in seawater

Washington’s governor and state legislators in the last session created a hub at the University of Washington to coordinate research and monitoring of ocean acidification and its effects on local sea life such as oysters, clams and fish.


August 1, 2013

Scientists review the ecological effects of sea ice loss

caribou

A UW atmospheric scientist is co-author of a review paper, published this week in the journal Science, looking at the ecological consequences of sea ice decline.


July 30, 2013

Santa’s workshop not flooded – but lots of melting in the Arctic

pool of water

Widespread media reports of a lake at the North Pole don’t hold water — but scientists who deployed the monitoring buoys are watching closely as Arctic sea ice approaches its yearly minimum.


April 15, 2013

Preparing to install the world’s largest underwater observatory

Applied Physics Laboratory engineer Mike Harrington leads development of the science junction boxes for the underwater laboratory..

Engineers at the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory are under pressure to build and test parts for installation this summer in the world’s largest deep-ocean observatory off the Washington and Oregon coasts.


February 27, 2013

Bundle up for Polar Science Weekend at Pacific Science Center

Polar Science Weekend poster

The annual Polar Science Weekend, featuring many UW students and faculty, takes place tomorrow through Sunday at Pacific Science Center.


February 13, 2013

European satellite confirms UW numbers: Arctic Ocean is on thin ice

Chuchki Sea ice

New satellite observations confirm a University of Washington analysis that for the past three years found accelerated declines in the volume of Arctic sea ice.


January 31, 2013

Cyclone did not cause 2012 record low for Arctic sea ice

Satellite image of Arctic cyclone

A huge Arctic cyclone in August was not responsible for the historic minimum seen soon after in Arctic sea-ice extent.


November 29, 2012

International study provides more solid measure of shrinking in polar ice sheets

Channel through glacier

Climatologists have reconciled their measurements of ice loss in Antarctica and Greenland during the past two decades. A second article looks at how to monitor and understand accelerating losses from the planet’s two largest continental ice sheets.


June 12, 2012

Novel scientific equipment will unlock ocean secrets for decades — with slide show

University of Washington engineers and scientists are one step closer to deploying sophisticated equipment that will collect important information about ocean properties like currents and temperature and send the information via the Internet in real time to scientists around the world.


May 3, 2012

Increasing speed of Greenland glaciers gives new insight for rising sea level

Changes in the speed that ice travels in more than 200 outlet glaciers indicates that Greenland’s contribution to rising sea level in the 21st century might be significantly less than the upper limits some scientists thought possible, a new study shows.


February 24, 2012

Kids can explore icy worlds with scientists at Polar Science Weekend (with video)

Learn about polar bears and penguins. Center a two-foot tusk on your forehead and imagine youre a narwhal exploring your icy-ocean home. For these activities and more, grab the kids and head for Polar Science Weekend, March 1 to 4, sponsored by the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory and Pacific Science Center.


February 25, 2011

Learn about research in some of the most challenging places on Earth

With live presentations and 40 exhibit and activity stations, Polar Science Weekend March 3-6 offers opportunities to learn about extreme polar environments from those who work there.


February 11, 2010

Go to the poles in your imagination at annual Polar Science Weekend

Hands-on exhibits, UW polar experts and a bit of imagination will transport you and your family to the extreme environments of the Arctic and Antarctica later this month during Polar Science Weekend at Pacific Science Center.


March 5, 2009

Wintery blast launches fourth annual Polar Science Weekend

Right on cue, Seattle delivered snow for the opening day of this year’s Polar Science Weekend.


February 19, 2009

Lecture on arctic policy challenges marks opening of Polar Science Weekend

Marking the end of International Polar Year, the chair of the eight-nation council that is assessing the implications of increased shipping in the Arctic Ocean will give a lecture on campus Thursday, Feb.


April 17, 2008

While stability far from assured, Greenland perhaps not headed down too slippery a slope

In a pair of companion papers in Science Express this week, scientists investigate the role of surface meltwater on accelerating the flow of the Greenland Ice Sheet and outlet glaciers and conclude that, while surface melt plays a substantial role in ice sheet dynamics, it may not produce large instabilities.


March 6, 2008

UW, Pacific Science Center expand Polar Science Weekend activities

Smash ice, turn your tongue into a salinometer to experience how saltiness differs in the world’s oceans, explore an igloo and field camp, predict polar climate, dive into the world of oceanographic moorings and get your hands on real scientific instruments during the third annual Polar Science Weekend today through Sunday at Pacific Science Center.


March 1, 2007

Talk to explorers, don mukluks, learn about glaciers at pair of polar events

The UW will launch International Polar Year with two events next week, a lecture that kicks off the series “Our Changing Climate: Polar Ice to Politics” followed by the Polar Science Weekend at the Pacific Science Center.


February 23, 2006

Pacific Science Center in grips of polar blast March 2-5

With the extent of Arctic ice reaching record-breaking lows in recent seasons and Antarctic ice sheets losing dramatic, miles-wide pieces of ice, the world’s attention has been focused on changes underway at both ends of the Earth.



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