Spraying reflective particles into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and then stopping it could exacerbate the problem of climate change, according to new research by atmospheric scientists at the University of Washington. Carrying out geoengineering for several decades and then stopping would cause warming at a rate that will greatly exceed that expected due to global warming, according to a study published February 18 in Environmental Research Letters.
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The third installment in our Future of Ice speaker series featured Jody Deming, Walters Endowed Professor and a faculty member in Oceanography and Astrobiology at UW. Her talk explored how life exists in sea ice, the experience of studying sea ice in the Arctic in the dead of winter, and what studying sea ice can tell us about possibility for life on other planets.
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The College of the Environment hosted Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell as she toured through Washington State to discuss climate change. On the heels of President Obama’s State of the Union address, where he spoke of the need to address a changing climate, the Secretary and Dean Lisa Graumlich teamed up to convene a roundtable of scientists, policy makers, natural resource managers and communicators engaged in climate issues.
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A soils lab that schedules fieldwork to minimize car trips, reuses sampling containers and recycles soils and leftover plant material has achieved the highest score yet in the University of Washington’s 10-month-old Green Laboratory Certification Program. With an overall score of 95 percent, Tom DeLuca’s environmental and forest sciences lab has just topped the 93 percent previously earned by a UW Bothell chemistry instructional lab.
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A report prepared by the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs’ Dr. Robert Pavia and other researchers, for NOAA’s emergency response division, say it is unclear whether diluted bitumen will float in water and for how long the molasses-like mixture will remain at the surface. Learn more about the science and potential impacts of oilsands spills in rivers or coastal areas at this Calgary Herald story.
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