Most landslides in western Oregon triggered by heavy rainfall, not big earthquakes

Environment

September 16, 2020

Most landslides in western Oregon triggered by heavy rainfall, not big earthquakes

Researchers at the 91探花, Portland State University and the University of Oregon have shown that deep-seated landslides in the central Oregon Coast Range are triggered mostly by rainfall, not by large offshore earthquakes. The open-access paper was published Sept. 16 in Science Advances. 鈥淕eomorphologists have long understood the importance of rainfall in triggering landslides, and our study is simply driving home just how important it is,鈥� said first author Sean LaHusen, who did the work as part of…

Marine animals live where ocean is most 鈥榖reathable,鈥� but ranges could shrink with climate change

New research shows that a wide variety of marine animals 鈥� from vertebrates to crustaceans to mollusks 鈥� already inhabit the maximum range of breathable ocean that their physiology will allow. The findings provide a warning about climate change: Since warmer waters will harbor less oxygen, some stretches of ocean that are breathable today for a given species may not be in the future.

September 15, 2020

Video: How to make your own home air purifier

With wildfire smoke blanketing most of the western U.S. this week, public health experts suggest staying inside as much as possible to protect yourself from smoky air. If you don’t have air conditioning or an air purifier in your home, it’s possible to make your own inexpensive purifier. Here’s how.

September 11, 2020

Evans School interim dean receives $2M NSF grant to study 鈥榤egafires鈥�

Alison Cullen, professor and interim dean of the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the 91探花, will study “megafires” with a new $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

August 20, 2020

February lockdown in China caused a drop in some types of air pollution, but not others

Atmospheric nitrogen dioxide, which comes from transportation, was half of what would be expected over China in February 2020. Other emissions and cloud properties, however, showed no significant changes.

August 13, 2020

Systemic racism has consequences for all life in cities

aerial view of two neighborhoods with different tree cover

Social inequalities, specifically racism and classism, are impacting the biodiversity, evolutionary shifts and ecological health of plants and animals in our cities. That鈥檚 the main finding of a review paper published Aug. 13 in Science led by the 91探花, with co-authors at the University of California, Berkeley, and University of Michigan.

August 3, 2020

New studies show how to save parasites and why it鈥檚 important

An international group of scientists has laid out an ambitious global conservation plan for parasites. A related paper led by the 91探花 found that responses of parasites to environmental change are likely to be complex, and that a changing world probably will see both outbreaks of some parasites and a total loss of other parasite species.

July 30, 2020

Deep-sea anglerfishes have evolved a new type of immune system

a female anglerfish with a male attached

Deep-sea anglerfishes employ an incredible reproductive strategy. Tiny dwarfed males become permanently attached to relatively gigantic females, fuse their tissues and then establish a common blood circulation. Now scientists have figured out why female anglerfishes so readily accept their male mates. Their findings are published July 30 in Science.

July 29, 2020

Expert FAQ: Wildfires in the Pacific Northwest during the COVID-19 pandemic

The 91探花 has a long history of leading research into the impacts of wildfires from an ecological and health perspective. We worked with two experts to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, including the ways that the pandemic is increasing our community鈥檚 vulnerability to extreme wildfire events in the region.

July 27, 2020

Pristine air over Southern Ocean suggests early industrial era鈥檚 clouds not so different from today鈥檚

southern ocean clouds seen from an aircraft

A new study led by the 91探花 and the University of Leeds uses satellite data over the Southern Hemisphere to understand the makeup of global clouds since the Industrial Revolution. This research tackles one of the largest uncertainties in today鈥檚 climate models 鈥� the long-term effect of tiny atmospheric particles on climate change.

July 16, 2020

7 91探花 researchers elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences in 2020

Seven scientists and engineers at the 91探花 have been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences, according to an announcement July 15 by the academy.

July 7, 2020

History of Duwamish River, its people, explored in new book ‘The River That Made Seattle’

BJ Cummings,community engagement manager for the Superfund Research Program at the UW, discusses her book “The River that Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the Duwamish,” published in July by 91探花Press.

June 30, 2020

91探花EarthLab and The Nippon Foundation launch Ocean Nexus Center

The 91探花 and The Nippon Foundation today announced the launch of the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center, an interdisciplinary research group at the 91探花that studies changes, responses and solutions to societal issues that emerge in relationship with the oceans. The Center will bring uncompromised, critical voices to policy and public conversations to enable research and studies equaling $32.5 million spread over 10 years.

June 24, 2020

Puget Sound eelgrass beds create a 鈥榟alo鈥� with fewer harmful algae, new method shows

Genetic clues show that eelgrass growing underwater along Puget Sound shorelines is associated with fewer of the single-celled algae that produce harmful toxins in shellfish. The evidence shows this effect extends 45 feet beyond the edge of the eelgrass bed.

Videos: If you fish the Duwamish in Seattle, better eat the salmon 鈥� Comer el salm贸n, 膫n c谩 h峄搃, 釣斸灇釣丰灄釤勧瀭釣忈煉釣氠灨釣熱灦釣樶焿釣会瀯鈥� and here鈥檚 how

It could take another generation before resident fish in the heavily polluted Lower Duwamish Waterway in Seattle will be safe to eat. Yet many fishers from a wide range of cultural backgrounds continue to fish the 5-mile stretch of river for fun, cultural connections and food even as cleanup of this designated Superfund site continues. The Duwamish was listed on the Environmental Protection Agency鈥檚 National Priority (or 鈥淪uperfund鈥�) List of sites that require cleanup in 2001. Since that time, federal,…

June 17, 2020

Is the air getting cleaner during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Using air quality data from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors across the U.S., a UW-led team looked for changes in two common pollutants over the course of 2020.

June 9, 2020

Volcanic activity and changes in Earth鈥檚 mantle were key to rise of atmospheric oxygen

Evidence from rocks billions of years old suggest that volcanoes played a key role in the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere of the early Earth.

May 28, 2020

The most common organism in the oceans harbors a virus in its DNA

A new study in Nature Microbiology shows that the most common organism in the world’s oceans — and possibly the whole planet — harbors a virus in its DNA. This virus may have helped it survive and outcompete other organisms. The study began as a 91探花School of Oceanography senior thesis.

May 21, 2020

NOAA selects 91探花to host new, regional institute for climate, ocean and ecosystem research

A 5-year, up to $300 million grant from NOAA establishes the new Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies, a UW-based institute with partners at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Oregon State University. The institute will lead collaborative, multidisciplinary research and education activities around oceans and climate.

May 15, 2020

Ocean 鈥榖reathability鈥� key to past, future habitat of West Coast marine species

Historical observations collected off California since the 1950s suggest that anchovies thrive where the water is breathable 鈥� a combination of the oxygen levels in the water and the species鈥� oxygen needs, which are affected by temperature. Future projections suggest that the waters off Mexico and Southern California could be uninhabitable by 2100.

May 12, 2020

Seismologists to host virtual event on 40th anniversary of Mount St. Helens eruption

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, based at the 91探花, will host an online event on the 40th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, featuring seismologists from the 91探花and other institutions who can explain the events before, during and after the historic blast. The virtual event will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Monday, May 18, on the PNSN鈥檚 YouTube channel — exactly 40 years after the blast. The group will stream prerecorded talks from…

May 1, 2020

Pacific oysters in the Salish Sea may not contain as many microplastics as previously thought

91探花 researchers have discovered that the abundance of tiny microplastic contaminants in Pacific oysters from the Salish Sea is much lower than previously thought.

April 30, 2020

First results from NASA鈥檚 ICESat-2 map 16 years of melting ice sheets

Loss of ice from Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets since 2003 have contributed 0.55 inches to global sea level rise, with about two thirds coming from Greenland ice. The new, detailed satellite measurements provide a global picture of ice sheet change 鈥� and insights into the future of Greenland and Antarctica.

April 28, 2020

Agricultural pickers in US to see unsafely hot workdays double by 2050

A new study looks at temperature increases in counties across the United States where crops are grown. It also looks at different strategies the industry could adopt to protect workers鈥� health.

April 23, 2020

Smart farming via satellite: NASA profiles 91探花researcher Faisal Hossain’s tech-based irrigation advisory system for Earth Day

Faisal Hossain,who wrote two children's books on STEM

Noting the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, NASA has featured UW-led research by Faisal Hossain that uses satellite data to help farmers manage water more efficiently.

April 16, 2020

Dose of nature at home could help mental health, well-being during COVID-19

In light of stay-at-home orders, 91探花 researchers say studies show there is much to be gained from nature close to home, whether in a yard, on neighborhood walks or even indoors.

April 1, 2020

Study synthesizes what climate change means for Northwest wildfires

A 91探花 study, published this winter in Fire Ecology, takes a big-picture look at what climate change could mean for wildfires in the Northwest, considering Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana.

UW-created podcasts: ‘Crossing North’ by Scandinavian Studies 鈥� also College of Education, Information School’s Joe Janes, a discussion of soil health

91探花Notebook visits with the producer of “Crossing North,” a podcast by the Scandinavian Studies Department, and notes other podcasts on campus and an appearance by David Montgomery on the podcast “Undark.”

March 24, 2020

Ships’ emissions create measurable regional change in clouds

Years of cloud data over a shipping route between Europe and South Africa shows that pollution from ships has significantly increased the reflectivity of the clouds. More generally, the results suggest that industrial pollution’s effect on clouds has masked about a third of the warming due to fossil fuel burning since the late 1800s.

March 19, 2020

鈥楽ushi parasites鈥� have increased 283-fold in past 40 years

A new study led by the 91探花 finds dramatic increases in the abundance of a worm that can be transmitted to humans who eat raw or undercooked seafood. Its 283-fold increase in abundance since the 1970s could have implications for the health of humans and marine mammals, which both can inadvertently eat the worm.

March 18, 2020

鈥楩atal attraction鈥�: Small carnivores drawn to kill sites, then ambushed by larger kin

91探花 researchers have discovered that large predators play a key yet unexpected role in keeping smaller predators and deer in check. Their 鈥渇atal attraction鈥� theory finds that smaller predators are drawn to the kill sites of large predators by the promise of leftover scraps, but the scavengers may be killed themselves if their larger kin return for seconds.

March 12, 2020

Ocean acidification impacts oysters’ memory of environmental stress

Researchers from the 91探花 School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences have discovered that ocean acidification impacts the ability of some oysters to pass down 鈥渕emories鈥� of environmental trauma to their offspring.

March 10, 2020

‘Age of A.I.’ documentary on YouTube features 91探花experts

A documentary series produced and released this winter by YouTube features 91探花computer scientist Pedro Domingos and members of the UW-based Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

91探花faculty join radio debate on climate change solutions

KUOW’s That’s Debatable on Wednesday will feature two 91探花 faculty members: Dan Schwartz, professor of chemical engineering and director of the Clean Energy Institute, and Kate Simonen, upcoming chair of the Department of Architecture and director of the Carbon Leadership Forum.

March 5, 2020

Visitors should avoid coming to 91探花campus to see cherry blossoms amid COVID-19 outbreak

The University is asking people to avoid coming to campus this year to comply with Gov. Inslee鈥檚 March 11 proclamation that prohibits large gatherings of more than 250 people as our region combats the spread of COVID-19.

March 2, 2020

New honors for scientists studying 鈥榚cosystem sentinels鈥�

P. Dee Boersma, a 91探花professor of biology and director of the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, is a finalist for the 2020 Indianapolis Prize for conservation, to be awarded later this year by the Indianapolis Zoological Society. Sue Moore, a scientist with the center and a 91探花affiliate professor of biology and of aquatic and fishery sciences, has won the 2020 IASC Medal, also known as the Arctic Medal, from the International Arctic Science Committee.

February 27, 2020

Video: Warming Arctic means less ice, bigger waves

Throughout the month of November 2019, a team of 91探花 researchers chased storms in the Arctic Ocean. The project, Coastal Ocean Dynamics in the Arctic, or CODA, is looking at how water currents shift and waves hit the coast with more open water, to provide better forecasts and predictions for the region鈥檚 future.

Thinning, prescribed burns protected forests during the massive Carlton Complex wildfire

In the first major study following the devastating Carlton Complex fire in north central Washington, researchers from the 91探花 and U.S. Forest Service found that previous tree thinning and prescribed burns helped forests survive the fire.

February 26, 2020

Wildness in urban parks important for human well-being

A new 91探花 study has found that not all forms of nature are created equal when considering benefits to people’s well-being. Experiencing wildness, specifically, is particularly important for physical and mental health.

February 12, 2020

Polar bears in Baffin Bay skinnier, having fewer cubs due to less sea ice

Satellite tracking of adult females and visual monitoring of polar bears in Baffin Bay show changes from the 1990s to the period from 2009 to 2015. Bears in Baffin Bay are getting thinner and adult females are having fewer cubs than when sea ice was more available.