Department of Earth and Space Sciences
December 18, 2015
Oxygen provided breath of life that allowed animals to evolve
It took 100 million years for oxygen levels in the oceans and atmosphere to increase to the level that allowed the explosion of animal life on Earth about 600 million years ago, according to a study co-authored by two University of Washington scientists and led by the University College London.
November 16, 2015
Microbes that are key indicators of Puget Sound’s health in decline
Paleontologists with the University of Washington’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture find that tiny organisms called foraminifera have a big story to tell about the health of Puget Sound. Two recent studies about the health of Bellingham Bay and inlets in the Bremerton area found the diversity and number of foraminifera — single-celled marine organisms that live on the sea floor — deteriorated significantly. The decline of these microscopic organisms is consistent with the deterioration of snails and other larger marine animals, even though analysis showed a reduction of chemical pollutants in Bellingham Bay and Bremerton over the same period of time.
November 12, 2015
From garden to gut: New book from UW’s David Montgomery explores an unfolding scientific revolution
A new book by University of Washington geologist David Montgomery weaves history, science and personal challenges into an exploration of humanity’s tangled relationship with microbes, perhaps the least loved and most misunderstood creatures on Earth — and in you. “The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health” comes out Nov. 16…
October 1, 2015
Simulating path of ‘magma mush’ inside an active volcano
The first simulation of the individual crystals in volcanic mush, a mix of liquid magma and solid crystals, shows the mixing to help understand pressure buildup deep inside a volcano.
September 4, 2015
September launch could give UW team rare measurements of ‘dusty plasmas’
Researchers from the University of Washington are awaiting the launch an over 50-foot-long rocket from a launch site in Norway into the upper reaches of the atmosphere to observe and measure a puzzling phenomenon.
August 25, 2015
Rare nautilus sighted for the first time in three decades
In early August, biologist Peter Ward returned from the South Pacific with news that he encountered an old friend, one he hadn’t seen in over three decades. The University of Washington professor had seen what he considers one of the world’s rarest animals, a remote encounter that may become even more infrequent if illegal fishing…
August 17, 2015
UW researchers model tsunami hazards on the Northwest coast
Recent press and social media coverage have reminded residents of the Pacific Northwest that they live in a seismically active region. Stretching offshore from northern California to British Columbia, the Cascadia subduction zone could slip at any time, causing a powerful earthquake and triggering a tsunami that would impact communities along the coast. Scientists from…
July 30, 2015
Four West Coast universities funded for earthquake early warning system
The U.S. Geological Survey today announced $5 million in funding that will allow the University of Washington and three other institutions to help transition the prototype ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system, under development since 2005, into a public-facing tool.
April 29, 2015
Antarctic ice core shows northern trigger for ice age climate shifts
UW glaciologists were part of a team that used a new Antarctic ice core to discover which region triggered sudden global-scale climate shifts during the last ice age.
April 27, 2015
Tidal tugs on Teflon faults drive slow-slipping earthquakes
Teasing out how slow, silent earthquakes respond to tidal forces lets researchers calculate the friction inside the fault, which could help understand when and how the more hazardous earthquakes occur.
February 16, 2015
Ancient rocks show life could have flourished on Earth 3.2 billion years ago
Some of the oldest rocks on the planet push back scientific estimates of when life could have covered the Earth by 1 billion years.
February 11, 2015
Earthquake early warning begins testing in Pacific Northwest
The first early earthquake warning system for the region has begun testing with a small group of users at businesses and public agencies in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.
January 27, 2015
UW researchers helping region get ready for the next Big One
On the anniversary of a massive earthquake off our region’s coast, UW researchers are working on everything from tsunami evacuation structures to updated seismic hazard maps.
January 20, 2015
Scientists drilling first deep ice core at the South Pole
A UW researcher is chief scientist this month on a project to drill the first deep ice core at the South Pole, to understand the climate history in that section of Antarctica.
January 7, 2015
How the ‘Beast Quake’ is helping scientists track real earthquakes
Scientists with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network will install instruments this Thursday to provide real-time monitoring of the stadium’s movement during the 2015 NFL playoffs. It’s a valuable test of their newest seismic technology.
September 22, 2014
Snail shells show high-rise plateau is much lower than it used to be
Geologists have long debated when and how the Tibetan Plateau reached a 14,000-foot-plus elevation, but new UW-led research shows it once was probably even higher.
August 15, 2014
Research from 1960s shakes up understanding of West Coast earthquakes
A new study used seabed samples collected by UW graduate students in the late 1960s to question current interpretations of earthquake frequency along the West Coast.
July 17, 2014
Geophysicists prep for massive ‘ultrasound’ of Mount St. Helens
Dozens of geophysicists and volunteers will deploy 3,500 seismic sensors at Mount St. Helens next week in an unprecedented study of the volcano’s plumbing.
June 18, 2014
Scientists ready to study magma formation beneath Mount St. Helens
Scientists are embarking on research to improve volcanic eruption forecasting by learning more about how a deep-underground feeder system creates and supplies magma to Mount St. Helens.
May 12, 2014
West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse is under way
The collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has begun, according to computer models using detailed topographic maps. The fast-moving Thwaites Glacier will likely disappear in a matter of centuries, researchers say, raising sea level by nearly 2 feet.
May 7, 2014
Greenland melting due equally to global warming, natural variations
Up to half of the recent warming in Greenland and surrounding areas may be due to climate variations that originate in the tropical Pacific and are not connected with the overall warming of the planet. Still, at least half the warming remains attributable to global warming caused by rising carbon dioxide emissions.
April 11, 2014
Greenland ice cores show industrial record of acid rain, success of U.S. Clean Air Act
Detailed ice core measurements show smog-related ratios leveling off in 1970, and suggests these deposits are sensitive to the same chemicals that cause acid rain.
March 31, 2014
UW experts part of technical team investigating Snohomish County mudslide
A national team jointly led by a University of Washington geotechnical engineer and an engineering geologist will investigate what caused the March 22 mudslide in Snohomish County and what effects the disaster had on the nearby residential communities.
January 17, 2014
UW seismologists expand stadium monitoring for NFC championship game
UW scientists installed a third seismograph at CenturyLink Field this week after the trial by fire of a website and new monitoring tools during last weekend’s Seahawks game.
January 16, 2014
Soil production breaks geologic speed record
Samples from steep mountaintops in New Zealand shows that rock can transform into soil more than twice as fast as previously believed possible.
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.
January 2, 2014
El Niño tied to melting of Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier
A new study in Science, co-authored by the British Antarctic Survey and UW authors, shows that melting of the floating Pine Island ice shelf is tied to global atmospheric patterns associated with El Niño.
December 9, 2013
Astronomers solve temperature mystery of planetary atmospheres
An atmospheric peculiarity the Earth shares with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune is likely common to billions of planets, University of Washington astronomers have found, and knowing that may help in the search for potentially habitable worlds.
November 6, 2013
News Digest: TEDx talk on brainy crows, Town Hall ‘rocks’ tonight
Brainy crows subject of TEDx talk Saturday || Town Hall talk “Stories from My Pet Rocks” tonight
October 29, 2013
Crashing rockets could lead to novel sample-return technology
This year, in an annual trek to the Nevada desert, UW students deliberately launched rockets from altitude directly into a dry lakebed. These were early tests of a concept that eventually could be used to collect and return samples from an erupting volcano, a melting nuclear reactor or even an asteroid in space.
July 22, 2013
Geochemical ‘fingerprints’ leave evidence that megafloods eroded steep gorge
For the first time, scientists have direct geochemical evidence that the 150-mile long Tsangpo Gorge, possibly the world’s deepest, was the conduit by which megafloods from glacial lakes, perhaps half the volume of Lake Erie, drained catastrophically through the Himalayas when their ice dams failed during the last 2 million years.
April 17, 2013
A key to mass extinctions could boost food, biofuel production
A substance implicated in several mass extinctions could greatly enhance plant growth, with implications for global food supplies biofuels, new UW research shows.
April 14, 2013
Recent Antarctic climate, glacier changes at the ‘upper bound’ of normal
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.
February 28, 2013
Changes in cloud distribution explain some weather patterns
Regional cloud changes may be as important for climate change as the overall amount of cloud cover.
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.
November 29, 2011
$2M grant could make early earthquake warning a reality in the Northwest
A grant to the University of Washington from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation could pave the way for a system to provide a warning seconds to minutes in advance of a major offshore earthquake in the Northwest.
October 18, 2007
Improved forecasting of volcanic eruptions is part of Malone’s legacy
When Steve Malone retired earlier this month, he could take satisfaction in the great strides that have been made in forecasting volcanic eruptions, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.
April 24, 2000
Twenty years after big blast: Mount St. Helens leaves legacy of more accurate eruption predictions
Steve Malone began studying Mount St. Helens in 1973. He didn’t know that just seven years later he would be tracking swarms of earthquakes signaling that the mountain was about to blow its top.
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