UW News

climate change


April 14, 2013

Recent Antarctic climate, glacier changes at the ‘upper bound’ of normal

A sectionof the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide core.

In recent decades the thinning of glaciers at the edge of Antarctica has accelerated, but new UW-led research indicates the changes, though dramatic, cannot be confidently attributed to human-caused global warming.


April 3, 2013

UW group part of national report, meeting on adaptation to climate change

Climate report cover

The UW’s Climate Impacts Group is part of a national report and first-ever national meeting on adapting to the effects of a changing climate.


March 28, 2013

Volunteers use historic U.S. ship logbooks to uncover Arctic climate data

Photo of historic ship and dogs on ice

A volunteer project enlists citizen scientists to transcribe climate observations buried in historic logbooks of U.S. ships that spent time in the Arctic.


March 11, 2013

Remote clouds responsible for climate models’ glitch in tropical rainfall

photo of cloudy sea

One of the most persistent biases in global climate models is due to poor simulation of cloud cover thousands of miles to the south.


February 18, 2013

Mussels cramped by environmental factors

Drawing of wave with menancing face and startled mussels on shore

The fibrous threads helping mussels stay anchored are more prone to snap when ocean temperatures climb higher than normal.


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.


January 15, 2013

International study: Where there’s smoke or smog, there’s climate change

Scientists taking snow samples in Greenland.

A new international assessment found that soot, or black carbon, is a major contributor to global warming — second only to carbon dioxide.


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.


October 2, 2012

UW scientists team with Coast Guard to explore ice-free Arctic Ocean

UW scientists are teaming with the U.S. Coast Guard to study the new frontier in the Arctic Ocean opened up with the melting ice.


September 17, 2012

Shrinking snow depth on Arctic sea ice threatens ringed seal habitat

a ringed seal looks out from its snow cave

Scientists found that the habitat required for ringed seals — animals under consideration for the threatened species list — to rear their young will drastically shrink this century.


August 20, 2012

Experiment would test cloud geoengineering as way to slow warming

unusual water craft with three large sprayers shooting water into the sky

A University of Washington scientist has proposed an experiment to test cloud brightening, a geoengineering concept that alters clouds in an effort to counter global warming.


August 14, 2012

How do they do it? Predictions are in for Arctic sea ice low point

University of Washington researchers used some new techniques this year in hopes of improving the accuracy of their annual prediction of the low point of Arctic sea ice.



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