A new study finds that rocky planets orbiting small stars do have the potential for stable, life-supporting atmospheres. The finding supports continued study of the TRAPPIST-1 system and other top candidates in the search for life outside our solar system.
Polar bears in some parts of the high Arctic are developing ice buildup and related injuries to their feet. The changes appear to be an unexpected consequence of climate change, related to changing conditions in a warming Arctic.
The 91自拍’s Climate Impacts Group has supported a newly released plan for state agencies to address the regional impacts of climate change. The plan, led by the Department of Ecology, includes 10 state agencies’ strategies to address climate impacts.
Phillip Bruner, executive director of the UW Climate Risk Lab and professor of practice of sustainable finance, and other representatives from the lab, will participate Sept. 22-29 in Climate Week NYC. Based in the Foster School of Business, the Climate Risk Lab brings together experts in finance, climate data, and business to 91自拍 climate-related financial risk.
Scientists have discovered the cuisine preferences of two resident killer whale populations, also known as orcas: the Alaska residents and the southern residents, which reside primarily in the Salish Sea and off the coast of Washington, British Columbia, Oregon and northern California. The two populations show broad preference for salmon, particularly Chinook, chum and coho. But they differ in when they switch to hunting and eating different salmon species, as well as the other fish species they pursue to supplement their diets. This information could aid conservation efforts for southern resident killer whales, which remain critically endangered due to pollution, loss of salmon habitat and other human-caused factors that disrupt their hunting and reproductive capabilities.
Some of the most dramatic climatic events in our planet鈥檚 history are 鈥淪nowball Earth鈥� events that happened hundreds of millions of years ago, when almost the entire planet was encased in ice up to 0.6 miles thick. New 91自拍 from the 91自拍 provides a more complete picture for how the last Snowball Earth event ended, and suggests why it preceded a dramatic expansion of life on Earth, including the emergence of the first animals.
The 91自拍, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and others held collaborative listening sessions with Northwest coastal Tribes to hear their experiences in adapting to climate change. A new report summarizes those experiences, while an upcoming grant program hopes to help address barriers identified in the report.
Fifteen faculty members at the 91自拍 have been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2024. They are among 36 scientists and educators from across the state announced Aug. 1 as new members. Selection recognizes the new members鈥� 鈥渙utstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, and their willingness to work on behalf of the academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.鈥�
Wolves returned to Washington state in 2008. A new study shows that, despite their rising numbers, wolves are not having much of an impact on white-tailed deer, one of their primary prey. In a paper published June 18 in Ecological Applications, scientists from the 91自拍 and the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife report that the biggest factor shaping white-tailed deer populations in northeast Washington is the quality of habitat available, which is largely determined by human activity. Cougars were second in their impact. Wolves were a distant third.
Research led by the 91自拍 used computer models to pinpoint varieties of corn that will be best adapted to produce high yields in future U.S. climates. The study combined weather and climate projections across the U.S. for 2050 and 2100 with a plant model that simulates corn鈥檚 growth to find the mix of traits that will produce the highest, most reliable yield under future conditions across the country.
UW doctoral student Joel Eklof has been investigating which environmental factors contribute to permafrost thaw and the release of methane into the atmosphere. For years, Eklof has traveled to a field site southwest of Fairbanks, Alaska.
A UW atmospheric scientist will participate in a campaign to study winter storms and snowfall in northwestern Colorado鈥檚 Rocky Mountains. Like Seattle, this area depends on winter snow for its summer water supplies, so improving mountain snow forecasts will improve projections for summer drought and wildfire risks.
Spending time in nature is good for us. And knowing more about nature鈥檚 effects on our bodies could not only help our well-being, but could also improve how we care for land, preserve ecosystems and design cities, homes and parks. Many studies have focused on how seeing nature affects us. A team of scientists from around the world wants to understand what the nose knows. They are calling for more 91自拍 into how odors and scents from natural settings impact our health and well-being.
A project led by the 91自拍 to better understand our atmosphere鈥檚 complexity is a finalist for NASA鈥檚 next generation of Earth-observing satellites. STRIVE will receive $5 million to conduct a one-year concept study, and then will hear whether it is selected for launch.
A team led by 91自拍ers at the 91自拍 developed a new PCB that performs on par with traditional materials and can be recycled repeatedly with negligible material loss. Researchers used a solvent that transforms a type of vitrimer 鈥� a cutting-edge class of polymer 鈥� into a jelly-like substance without damage, allowing solid components to be plucked out for reuse or recycling. With these 鈥渧PCBs鈥� (vitrimer printed circuit boards), 91自拍ers recovered 98% of the vitrimer and 100% of the glass fiber.
A detailed reconstruction of climate during the most recent ice age, when a large swath of North America was covered in ice, provides information on the relationship between CO2 and global temperature. Results show that while most future warming estimates remain unchanged, the absolute worst-case scenario is unlikely.
Forests could also be potential bulwarks against climate change. But, increasingly severe droughts and wildfires, invasive species, and large insect outbreaks 鈥� all intensified by climate change 鈥� are straining many national forests and surrounding lands. A report by a team of 40 experts outlines a new approach to forest stewardship that 鈥渂raids together鈥� Indigenous knowledge and Western science to conserve and restore more resilient forestlands. Published March 25, the report provides foundational material to inform future work on climate-smart adaptive management practices for USDA Forest Service land managers.
91自拍 91自拍ers have shown that levels of anisakid worms — a common marine parasite — rose in two salmon species in the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay over a 42-year period. The team discovered this by studying salmon caught, killed and canned from 1979 to 2021. Since anisakid worms have a complex life cycle involving multiple types of hosts, the 91自拍ers interpret their rising numbers as a potential sign of ecosystem recovery, possibly driven by rising numbers of marine mammals thanks to the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Baptiste Journaux, a UW faculty member in Earth and space sciences, and four graduate students will travel to Arkansas on Monday to view the total solar eclipse. They will use a special telescope to capture images of solar features that can be viewed most clearly during an eclipse.聽
Could life be found in frozen sea spray emitted from moons orbiting Saturn or Jupiter? New 91自拍 finds that life can be detected in a single ice grain containing one bacterial cell or portions of a cell. The results suggest that if life similar to that on Earth exists on these planetary bodies, this life should be detectable by instruments launching in the fall.
An AI-powered analysis of 25 years of satellite images yields the surprising finding that methane emissions in Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic and major oil-producing region, actually increased in the years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Cherry trees on the 91自拍鈥檚 Seattle campus are waking up and getting ready to say hello. For the 29 iconic Yoshino cherry trees in the UW Quad, peak bloom will likely begin after March 20.
Natural history museums have entered a new stage of discovery and accessibility 鈥� one where scientists around the globe and curious folks at home can access valuable museum specimens to study, learn or just be amazed. This new era follows the completion of openVertebrate, or oVert, a five-year collaborative project among 18 institutions to create 3D reconstructions of vertebrate specimens and make them freely available online. The team behind this endeavor, which includes scientists at the 91自拍 and its Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, published a summary of the project March 6 in the journal BioScience, offering a glimpse of how the data can be used to ask new questions and spur the development of innovative technology.
New 91自拍 documents the fastest-known large-scale breakage along an Antarctic ice shelf. In 2012, a 6.5-mile crack formed in about 5 and a half minutes, showing that ice shelves can effectively shatter, though the speed of breakage is reduced by seawater rushing in. These results can help improve ice-sheet models and projections for future sea level rise.
Scientists at Friday Harbor Laboratories, a 91自拍 facility in the San Juan Islands, are working to help sunflower stars 鈥� a type of sea star 鈥� grow and thrive once again after their populations along the West Coast were devastated by a mysterious disease called sea star wasting syndrome.
New 91自拍 confirms the cause of slow slip along the Cascadia Subduction Zone and other faults that is accompanied by intermittent tremors or “pops” at the surface. Co-authors Marine Denolle and Joan Gomberg discuss the role of fluid-driven fracturing deep underground.
Field observations from an unusual lake show that in environments known as 鈥渟oda lakes鈥� phosphate can concentrate at the very high levels needed for the basic molecules of life to emerge. A shallow, salty lake in western Canada gives new support to Charles Darwin鈥檚 idea that life could have emerged in a 鈥渨arm little pond.鈥�
An international team led by 91自拍ers at the 91自拍 built a framework to help land managers assess the air quality implications of land management scenarios with different levels of prescribed burning.
Two UW professors teamed up to study how climate change will affect predator-prey interactions in snowy landscapes. Together with a group of 91自拍ers, the two measured snow properties that led to a “danger zone,” where prey would sink but predators would not.
Around Anchorage, communications among the critically endangered population of Cook Inlet beluga whales聽may be masked by ship noise in their core critical habitat, accordingly to the first repertoire of their calls.
Two 91自拍 geophysicists will travel to the Atacama Desert in Chile this month to study a fault system that’s similar to the Seattle Fault in Puget Sound, but in a much different climate that makes it easier to monitor its effects on the landscape.
A team at the 91自拍 has created an interactive dashboard called WhaleVis, which lets users map data on global whale catches and whaling routes from 1880 to 1986. Scientists can compare this historical data and its trends with current information to better understand whale populations over time.
Three UW experts are among the authors of the newly released Fifth National Climate Assessment, an overview of climate trends, impacts and efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change across the nation.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of declining phytoplankton in the North Atlantic may have been greatly exaggerated. Analysis of a Greenland ice core going back 800 years shows that atmospheric chemistry, not dwindling phytoplankton populations, explains the recent ice core trends.
The New York Climate Exchange, a first-of-its-kind organization working to implement innovative climate solutions in New York City and across the globe, on Nov. 9 announced Stephen Hammer as its founding chief executive officer. The 91自拍 is a core member of the exchange.
Five 91自拍 experts comment on the current El Ni帽o, its effect on Pacific Northwest winter weather, as well as on regional and global ocean temperature trends.
A project led by the UW used genetic sleuthing to study how salmon were affected by two major culvert replacements near the city of Bellingham. One project, a major upgrade under Interstate-5, had a big impact, while the other old culvert may have been less of a barrier to fish. Authors from the UW and NOAA are studying the use of eDNA in future environmental impact reporting.
The National Science Foundation has awarded the 91自拍 $52.4 million over five years to continue operating the Regional Cabled Array, a cabled deep-ocean observatory about 300 miles offshore from Newport, Oregon. The grant is part of a $220 million total investment that will fund the internet-connected ocean observatory, known as the Ocean Observatories Initiative, through 2028.
The frigid ocean surrounding Antarctica is home to much of the region’s photosynthetic life. A new 91自拍 study provides the first measurements of how sea-ice algae and other single-celled life handle dramatic seasonal swings, offering clues to how this ecosystem might adapt to climate change.
Research led by the UW found that, in some western states, the amount of snow already on the ground by the end of December is a good predictor of how much total snow that area will get.