College of the Environment
February 8, 2017
Hidden lakes drain below West Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier
Drainage of four interconnected lakes below Thwaites Glacier in late 2013 caused only a 10 percent increase in the glacier’s speed. The glacier’s recent speedup is therefore not due to changes in meltwater flow along its underside.
January 25, 2017
Monsoons to mosquitoes: UW researchers attend national weather conference in Seattle
Researchers from across the UW are presenting their work at the American Meteorological Society’s annual meeting this week in Seattle.
January 18, 2017
Listen to the Earth smash another global temperature record
The year 2016 was officially the hottest in recent history, beating previous records in 2014 and 2015. UW scientists let you hear the data speak for itself.
Climate change prompts Alaska fish to change breeding behavior
A new University of Washington study finds that one of Alaska’s most abundant freshwater fish species is altering its breeding patterns in response to climate change, which could impact the ecology of northern lakes that already acutely feel the effects of a changing climate.
Vitamin B-12, and a knockoff version, create complex market for marine vitamins
Vitamin B-12 exists in two different, incompatible forms in the oceans. An organism thought to supply the essential vitamin B-12 in the marine environment is actually churning out a knockoff version.
January 17, 2017
Conditions right for complex life may have come and gone in Earth’s distant past
Conditions suitable to support complex life may have developed in Earth’s oceans — and then faded — more than a billion years before life truly took hold, a new University of Washington-led study has found.
Diversification key to resilient fishing communities
Fishing communities can survive ― and even thrive ― as fish abundance and market prices shift if they can catch a variety of species and nimbly move from one fishery to the next, a new University of Washington study finds.
January 12, 2017
Ocean acidification to hit West Coast Dungeness crab fishery, new assessment shows
The acidification of the ocean expected as seawater absorbs increasing amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will reverberate through the West Coast’s marine food web, but not necessarily in the ways you might expect, new research shows.
January 11, 2017
UW oceanographer dropping robotic floats on voyage to Antarctica
Autonomous floating sensors built at the UW are being deployed to track conditions in the waters surrounding Antarctica.
January 10, 2017
Rapid Arctic warming has in the past shifted Southern Ocean winds
Ice core records from the two poles show that during the last ice age, sharp spikes in Arctic temperatures triggered shifts in the winds around Antarctica.
January 5, 2017
Arctic sea ice loss impacts beluga whale migration
A new study led by the University of Washington finds the annual migration of some beluga whales in Alaska is altered by sea ice changes in the Arctic, while other belugas do not appear to be affected.
January 4, 2017
Eelgrass in Puget Sound is stable overall, but some local beaches suffering
Eelgrass, a marine plant crucial to the success of migrating juvenile salmon and spawning Pacific herring, is stable and flourishing in Puget Sound, despite a doubling of the region’s human population and significant shoreline development over the past several decades.
January 3, 2017
Songbirds divorce, flee, fail to reproduce due to suburban sprawl
New research finds that for some songbirds, urban sprawl is kicking them out of their territory, forcing divorce and stunting their ability to find new mates and reproduce successfully, even after relocating.
December 19, 2016
Investing in fisheries management improves fish populations
Research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that successful fisheries management can be best achieved by implementing and enforcing science-based catch or effort limits.
December 16, 2016
What makes influential science? Telling a good story
Researchers from the University of Washington have found that scientific papers written in a more narrative style were more influential among peer-reviewed studies in the climate change literature. Their results were published Dec. 15 in the journal PLOS ONE.
December 15, 2016
Underwater volcano’s eruption captured in exquisite detail by seafloor observatory
The cracking, bulging and shaking from the eruption of a mile-high volcano where two tectonic plates separate has been captured in more detail than ever before. A University of Washington study published this week shows how the volcano behaved during its spring 2015 eruption, revealing new clues about the behavior of volcanoes where two ocean…
December 12, 2016
Mountain glaciers are showing some of the strongest responses to climate change
A University of Washington study addresses controversies over the cause of mountain glacier retreat, and finds that for most glaciers the observed retreat is more than 99 percent likely due to climate change.
December 6, 2016
Put people at the center of conservation, new study advises
People must be part of the equation in conservation projects to increase local support and effectiveness, according to a new study by the University of Washington and other institutions.
November 28, 2016
Our closest worm kin regrow body parts, raising hopes of regeneration in humans
A new study of one of our closest invertebrate relatives, the acorn worm, reveals that regenerating body parts might one day be possible.
November 21, 2016
Ocean acidification study offers warnings for marine life, habitats
Acidification of the world’s oceans could drive a cascading loss of biodiversity in some marine habitats, according to research published Nov. 21 in Nature Climate Change.
November 16, 2016
Large forest die-offs can have effects that ricochet to distant ecosystems
Major forest die-offs due to drought, heat and beetle infestations or deforestation could have consequences far beyond the local landscape. Wiping out an entire forest can have significant effects on global climate patterns and alter vegetation on the other side of the world.
2 UW scientists lead effort to craft ‘blueprint’ for holistic fisheries management
Two University of Washington professors are leading an effort to help U.S. fisheries consider the larger marine environment, rather than just a single species, when managing a fishery.
November 10, 2016
How lightning strikes can improve storm forecasts
Research shows that real-time lightning observations could significantly improve forecasts of large storm events.
November 7, 2016
Mislabeled seafood may be more sustainable, new study finds
A University of Washington study is the first to broadly examine the ecological and financial impacts of seafood mislabeling. The paper, published online Nov. 2 in Conservation Letters, finds that in most cases, mislabeling actually leads people to eat more sustainably, because the substituted fish is often more plentiful and of a better conservation status than the fish on the label.
November 2, 2016
New study co-authored by UW geologists looks at what lies below Mount St. Helens
Research that peers below Mount St. Helens finds that the material below the western and eastern half of the mountain is different material and temperatures, and suggests that the source of explosive magma is coming from the east.
October 26, 2016
Completed boardwalk trail in Yesler Swamp offers access to wildlife, natural areas
The UW’s Yesler Swamp, part of the Union Bay Natural Area along Lake Washington, has a newly completed, fully handicapped-accessible boardwalk trail that loops throughout the wetland, offering opportunities for birdwatching, exercise and a chance to experience nature in the heart of the city.
October 24, 2016
Nanometer-scale image reveals new details about formation of a marine shell
Oceanographers used tools developed for semiconductor research to view the formation of a marine shell in the most detail yet, to understand how organisms turn seawater into solid mineral.
October 11, 2016
Morel mushrooms pop up, cluster together after wildfires
A new study finds that morel mushrooms cluster in groups across burned areas in the forest after a wildfire. It’s one of the only scientific studies to actually quantify morels’ abundance after a fire.
September 30, 2016
CO2 record at Mauna Loa, the music video: The sounds of climate change
University of Washington scientists have put world’s longest-running measure of atmospheric carbon dioxide to music. The result is a 90-second rendition of human-induced climate change: The video project was done by Judy Twedt, a UW doctoral student in atmospheric sciences, and Dargan Frierson, a UW associate professor of atmospheric sciences and amateur musician. Their techno…
September 29, 2016
Ocean conditions contributed to unprecedented 2015 toxic algal bloom
A study led by researchers at the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration connects the unprecedented West Coast toxic algal bloom of 2015 to the unusually warm ocean conditions — nicknamed “the blob” — in winter and spring of that year.
September 27, 2016
NSF award to launch citizen science initiative across Pacific Rim
A team of researchers led by the University of Washington believes creating a network of community-based science is possible with new support from the National Science Foundation.
Missing fish catch data? Not necessarily a problem, new study says
A new study by University of Washington scientists finds that in many cases, misreporting caught fish doesn’t always translate to overfishing. The study was published online this month in the journal Fish and Fisheries.
September 19, 2016
Microbes help plants survive in severe drought
Plants can better tolerate drought and other stressors with the help of natural microbes, University of Washington research has found. Specifically, plants that are given a dose of microbes stay green longer and are able to withstand drought conditions by growing more leaves and roots and using less water.
September 15, 2016
Floating DNA reveals urban shorelines support more animal life
Researchers are now able to capture the cells of animals, sequence their DNA and identify which species were present at a point in time. A new University of Washington study is the first to use these genetic markers to understand the impact urbanization has on the environment — specifically, whether animal diversity flourishes or suffers.
September 13, 2016
Westerly winds have blown across central Asia for at least 42 million years
The winds that gust across the Tibetan Plateau have done so for far longer than previously believed, showing they are resilient to the formation of mountains and changes in carbon dioxide and temperature.
September 12, 2016
UW scientist helping direct NASA field study of clouds off Namibia
UW atmospheric scientists are part of a month-long NASA effort to learn how smoke and clouds interact.
UW forestry student wins Bullitt Foundation’s top prize for wildlife conservation
A Q&A with Carol Bogezi, a UW doctoral student in environmental and forest sciences who received the 10th annual Bullitt Environmental Prize. The award recognizes people with exceptional potential to become powerful leaders in the environmental movement.
September 8, 2016
How do shark teeth bite? Reciprocating saw, glue provide answers
A recent University of Washington study sought to understand why shark teeth are shaped differently and what biological advantages various shapes have by testing their performance under realistic conditions.
August 29, 2016
Plants’ future water use affects long-term drought estimates
Many popular long-term drought estimates ignore the fact that plants will be less thirsty as carbon dioxide goes up. Plants’ lower water use could roughly halve some current estimates for the extent of future drought, especially in central Africa and temperate Asia.
August 26, 2016
Interactive map shows where animals will move under climate change
The University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy have created an animated map showing where mammals, birds and amphibians are projected to move in the Western Hemisphere in response to climate change.
Previous page Next page
