AGU fellowsThree University of Washington professors have been elected as new fellows of the American Geophysical Union. The scientific group recognizes only one in 1,000 members each year for major scientific work and sustained impact. This year, Charles Eriksen, Deborah Kelley and Stephen Warren are among 60 newly elected 2016 fellows from U.S. and international institutions.

Eriksen, a UW professor of oceanography, was recognized for his work using new technology to study the upper ocean. In his recent work, Eriksen has led the development of the Deepglider, the only autonomous underwater vehicle capable of gliding to the seafloor and back in the deep ocean. Deepgliders are designed to last up to a year and a half and travel as far as a quarter of the way around the Earth.

Kelley, also a UW professor of oceanography, was recognized for her studies of deep-sea environments. Kelley is a lead investigator for the Pacific Northwest Cabled Array, a real-time seafloor observatory that connects the ocean to the internet. She has also traveled to the deep ocean firsthand more than 50 times, reaching more than 2 miles below the surface.

Warren, a UW professor emeritus of atmospheric sciences and of Earth and space sciences, was recognized for his research on the interaction of solar radiation with clouds, snow, sea ice and glaciers. In his recent work, Warren has looked at how soot from forest fires and fossil-fuel burning gets deposited on snow and changes the reflectivity of snow and glaciers, speeding up global warming.

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