College of the Environment
June 3, 2016
Finding connections to nature in cities is key to healthy urban living
The authors of a Science perspective piece discuss the growing tension between an arguably necessary role urban areas play in society and the numbing, even debilitating, aspects of cities that disconnect humans from the natural world.
June 1, 2016
UW researchers attend sea ice conference — above the Arctic Circle
University of Washington polar scientists are on Alaska’s North Slope this week for the 2016 Barrow Sea Ice Camp. Supported by the National Science Foundation, the event brings together U.S.-based sea ice observers, satellite experts and modelers at various career stages to collect data and discuss issues related to measuring and modeling sea ice. The…
May 30, 2016
Deep, old water explains why Antarctic Ocean hasn’t warmed
The waters surrounding Antarctica may be one of the last places on Earth to experience human-driven climate change, because of its unique ocean currents.
May 26, 2016
Ray Hilborn receives international fisheries science prize
Ray Hilborn, a UW professor of aquatic and fishery sciences, this week will receive the 2016 International Fisheries Science Prize at the World Fisheries Congress in Busan, South Korea.
May 25, 2016
UW, NOAA deploy ocean robot to monitor harmful algal blooms off Washington coast
Oceanographers from the UW and NOAA deployed a new tool that will automatically test for harmful algal blooms and help warn of when they could hit local beaches.
May 24, 2016
Chickens on campus and a mood shift at EPA: Relevant projects are nature of environmental studies capstone
A cohort of UW Environmental Studies majors will present projects and research findings at at symposium from 1:30-5:30 p.m. May 25 at Alder Hall and Wallace Hall.
May 20, 2016
Lingcod meet rockfish: Catching one improves chances for the other
In a new study, scientists found that selectively fishing for lingcod in protected areas actually avoided hampering the recovery of other fish, including rockfish species listed as overfished.
Bacteria in branches naturally fertilize trees
A University of Washington team has demonstrated that poplar trees growing in rocky, inhospitable terrain harbor bacteria within them that could provide valuable nutrients to help the plant grow.
May 19, 2016
Will more snow over Antarctica offset rising seas? Don’t count on it
Heavier snowfall over Antarctica was supposed to be one of the few brakes on sea-level rise in a warming world. But that prediction is not reliable, says a new study of Antarctic snowfall over the past 31,000 years.
May 10, 2016
UW part of NOAA-led cruise to study West Coast ocean acidification
University of Washington students, faculty and staff are part of the fifth West Coast Ocean Acidification Cruise that will investigate changes to ocean chemistry from Baja to British Columbia. The ship left Thursday from San Diego to begin sampling on Mexico’s northern coast. It will stop May 21 at San Francisco’s Exploratorium Pier, then travel…
May 9, 2016
Early Earth’s air weighed less than half of today’s atmosphere
The idea that the young Earth had a thicker atmosphere turns out to be wrong. New research from the University of Washington uses bubbles trapped in 2.7 billion-year-old rocks to show that air at that time exerted at most half the pressure of today’s atmosphere. The results, published online May 9 in Nature Geoscience, reverse…
May 3, 2016
Dennis L. Hartmann elected to National Academy of Sciences
Dennis Hartmann, a UW professor of atmospheric sciences, was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
April 28, 2016
Wolf hunting near Denali, Yellowstone cuts wolf sightings in half
Visitors to national parks are half as likely to see wolves in their natural habitat when wolf hunting is permitted just outside park boundaries, according to a new study.
April 21, 2016
UW’s Jerry Franklin honored for lifetime of forest research, policy
Jerry Franklin, a professor of environmental and forest sciences, was honored by the Pinchot Institute for Conservation for his lifelong work in forest ecology, conservation and policy.
April 20, 2016
UW experts call Paris climate agreement ‘bold,’ ‘encouraging’
As the U.S., China and other countries sign the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions and limit climate change, UW experts talk about the possibilities and risks in what could be a turning point for global economies.
April 18, 2016
First Salish Sea-wide shoreline armoring study shows cumulative effects on ecosystem
A new University of Washington study shows that impacts associated with shoreline armoring can scale up to have cumulative, large-scale effects on the characteristics of Salish Sea shorelines and the diversity of life they support.
April 14, 2016
Author, reporter Lynda V. Mapes discusses year with 100-year-old ‘Witness Tree’ in April 21 talk
Local author and Seattle Times reporter Lynda V. Mapes is the featured speaker in this year’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences annual Sustaining Our World Lecture, 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 21.
April 6, 2016
UW-led field project watching clouds from a remote island off Antarctica
From a tiny island halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica, scientists hope to learn more about the physics of clouds above the stormy, inhospitable Southern Ocean.
April 1, 2016
Global ocean fish populations could increase while providing more food, income
Most of the world’s wild fisheries could be at healthy levels in just 10 years, and global fish populations could greatly increase by 2050 with better fishing approaches, according to a new study co-authored by University of Washington researchers.
March 30, 2016
Tracking ‘marine heatwaves’ since 1950 – and how the ‘blob’ stacks up
A tally of Northern Hemisphere marine heatwaves since 1950 shows that prolonged warm periods have recurred regularly in the past, but are being pushed into new territory by climate change.
March 25, 2016
Geology and art connect at UW light rail station
Alison Duvall talks about the geology of the UW light rail station in a narration to accompany the station’s art installation, which was created by UW alumnus Leo Saul Berk.
Arboretum trail project underway will expand public access
Construction started this month on the Washington Park Arboretum’s new Arboretum Loop Trail, one of the largest improvement projects to date in the Seattle public garden.
March 17, 2016
Galapagos lakes reveal tropical Pacific climate since Biblical times
University of Washington oceanographers track 2,000 years of El Niño history, showing that it can shift in strength for centuries at a time.
March 16, 2016
New technique tracks ‘heartbeat’ of hundreds of wetlands
UW researchers have developed a new method to track how wetlands in Eastern Washington behave seasonally, which will also help monitor how they change as the climate warms.
March 11, 2016
Video contest challenges students to creatively define climate change
The UW’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences is hosting its second-annual contest for undergraduate and high school students in Washington to create videos about what climate change means to them, in three minutes or less.
March 9, 2016
Darkening of Greenland ice sheet due mainly to older, melting snow
A study by the UW and others finds that the darkening of the Greenland ice sheet is not due to an increase in wildfires, but is a side effect of a warming climate.
March 4, 2016
UW video on clingfish takes top prize at Ocean 180 competition
A University of Washington team won first place in a science communication video contest that culminated during the recent Ocean Sciences Meeting.
March 1, 2016
Ice cores, polar bears and whale sounds at 11th Polar Science Weekend
Investigate a real ice core from Greenland, survey microbes from the coldest parts of the world, explore an Arctic ice camp and meet with polar scientists – many of whom are from the University of Washington. It’s all part of Polar Science Weekend, returning to Seattle’s Pacific Science Center March 4-6. The three-day event features…
February 25, 2016
Herring fishery’s strength is in the sum of its parts, study finds
Just like a strong financial portfolio contains shares from different companies, the diverse subpopulations of herring from different bays and beaches around Puget Sound collectively keep the total population more stable, a new study finds.
February 23, 2016
For weather forecasting, precise observations matter more than butterflies
Small disturbances, like the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, don’t really matter for weather forecasts. More important is boosting the accuracy of observations at larger scales.
February 19, 2016
UW part of team that drilled first deep ice core at the South Pole
UW glaciologists helped drill the first deep ice core at the South Pole, which will provide new clues to Antarctica’s climate history.
February 17, 2016
NASA-funded consortium to support science education in Washington, Oregon and Montana
A new program based at the University of Washington will bring together educational institutions, K-12 teachers and informal education organizations to inspire, teach and recruit the next generation of students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The new Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pipeline, or NESSP, has begun a $10 million, five-year cooperative agreement with NASA…
February 12, 2016
Rare beluga data show whales dive to maximize meals
As the Arctic continues to change due to rising temperatures, melting sea ice and human interest in developing oil and shipping routes, it’s important to understand belugas’ baseline behavior, argue the authors of a new paper.
February 11, 2016
Bellingham Bay buoy an opportunity to observe marine waters for Northwest Indian College, world
The Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction, through its education partner the University of Washington, is deploying an oceanographic observing buoy in Bellingham Bay this week that will allow Northwest Indian College students both hands-on experience with the technology as well as the ability to study the data from their computers, through the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems, NANOOS.
February 2, 2016
UW awarded private, public grants to develop earthquake early warning tool
The UW is among West Coast universities awarded new funding to further develop ShakeAlert, an earthquake early warning system for the region.
Risk of lead poisoning from urban gardening is low, new study finds
A University of Washington study looked at potential risks associated with growing vegetables in urban gardens and determined that the benefits of locally produced vegetables in cities outweigh any risks from gardening in contaminated soils.
February 1, 2016
UW seismologist speaking at White House earthquake preparedness summit
UW seismologist John Vidale will participate in a White House summit focusing on national earthquake preparedness.
January 29, 2016
Moon’s tidal forces affect amount of rainfall on Earth
Satellite data show that the moon’s gravity puts a slight damper on rainfall on Earth.
January 26, 2016
Mathematical model explains huge recurring rainstorms in the tropical Indian and Pacific oceans
A new model explains the fundamental features of the Madden-Julian Oscillation, which some scientists predict will be the “next El Nino.”
January 20, 2016
UW-designed climate change games honored this week in Washington, D.C.
Two University of Washington teams claimed top prizes in a national competition to design a game about climate adaptation.
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