UW School of Oceanography holds No. 1 global ranking; Atmospheric Sciences at No. 2
Nine University of Washington subjects ranked in the top 10 and the UW School of Oceanography held its position as No. 1 in the world on the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects list for 2020. The ranking, released June 29, was conducted by researchers at the Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
“The need for excellence in scientific discovery, groundbreaking scholarship and training highly skilled experts has never been more evident or urgent,” said President Ana Mari Cauce. “The University of Washington is proud to again be recognized as a leader in the vital endeavor of advancing discovery and creating new knowledge to support a better world.”
The group ranked more than 4,000 universities around the world in 52 subjects across natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences and social sciences.
Keeping our beaches clean and healthy with Washington Sea Grant
You might not know it, but danger for saltwater plants and animals lurks on every single beach — from the white sand beaches of the Caribbean to the rockier beaches found along the Washington coastline, and every beach in between. Plastic debris and other trash left behind by beachgoers ends up in the sand and water, eventually making their way into the stomachs or around the necks of our favorite marine animals. In an effort to get visitors to leave behind only footsteps, Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is doing their best to help keep Washington’s beaches clean for beachgoers and so local ecosystems can thrive. Below are a few examples of the different projects WSG does to keep our beaches clean.
Marine debris prevention program: WSG has teamed up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) this summer to encourage everyone to keep our beaches clean. Check out the Marine Debris prevention webpage, put together by WSG to help you navigate common situations like how to properly and safely dispose of trash, help a stranded animal or what to do in case of an oil spill!
Shoreline monitoring program: state and federal funding helps support salmon habitat restoration projects, but very little funding is allocated to monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of project goals. To fill that gap, WSG students and volunteers (with WSG oversight) conduct long-term monitoring on shorelines in Bainbridge Island, Bremerton and Silverdale, which are key to salmon recovery.
WSG Crab Team: considered one of the world’s most impactful invasive species, European green crabs have entered Puget Sound waters and if unchecked, can wreak havoc on local ecosystems. The WSG Crab Team works with state agencies and tribal communities to monitor green crabs, helping keep populations low and assist with rapid responses to try and eliminate as many crabs as possible. The team works with over 200 volunteers and several partners to monitor 56 sites throughout Puget Sound.
Small oil spills prevention: recreational boats account for 75 percent of the oil dumped into local waters, which can threaten marine life (like endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales) and pollute aquatic ecosystems. This program provides boaters with the tools to stop oil pollution at the source.
This is just a small portion of the vast resources made available by Washington Sea Grant. Be sure to visit their website and check out all their different projects, from kelp aquaculture and tsunami research to shoreline restoration and invasive species prevention. Bonus for the sustainable foodies out there: theWSG Twitter provides delicious seafood recipes every Friday.
The new members are lauded for “their outstanding 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.” The academy’s current membership selected 17 of the new members, and four were chosen by virtue of their election to one of the National Academies.
He was elected “for fundamental contributions to geomorphology, for the elucidation of soils, rivers, and landscapes as underpinnings of ecological systems and human societies, and for reaching broad audiences through trade books on agriculture, microbes, creationism, and fisheries.”
New members are to be inducted at the annual members meeting, which is currently scheduled for September.
Jerry Franklin and Brian Harvey: Plotting the next generation of forest research
A group of students, accompanied by School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (SEFS) Professor Brian Harvey, look at the centuries-old trees towering around them in an old growth experimental forest plot. This plot was established many years ago and handed down through generations of forest ecologists, through the shift from when forests were studied only as potential sources of lumber to modern forest research that examines forests as complete ecosystems.
Forest research changed over sixty years ago when a young undergraduate at Oregon State University named Jerry Franklin took a position as a student trainee with the U.S. Forest Service. There, he began studying and working with permanent forest plots that were protected from human disturbances, set up by the Forest Service in the 1930’s and 1940’s for research purposes. Franklin, now a SEFS emeritus professor, considers these plots absolutely essential for understanding forest system ecology.
“I was just stunned by the value. The whole idea of setting up permanent plots was something I’d never heard of before. I was just entranced with the idea that this was really the way in which we can see what happened. The only way to see what happened [to the forests],” Franklin said.
The decades of research and insights that Franklin and his colleagues collected through these permanent plots have served to reshape the way that conservation managers, forestry workers and even policymakers view and understand forest ecosystems. Franklin sparked this shift after seeking and receiving funds to study forests in a way that had not been done before, an accomplishment that he describes as an immense source of pride.
“There has been a lot of research done on forests over the years, in the first half of the century forests were only studied as potential crops, not as ecosystems,” Franklin said. “We decided we were going to study a natural forest as an ecosystem, as a complete unit. We picked an old growth forest to do that…it turned out to be not only very, very instructive from the standpoint of understanding forest ecosystems, but also became very relevant to developing conservation strategies that preserved a lot of the existing old growth forest. I’m very proud of that.“
With over six decades of crucial information about forest ecosystems, Franklin says this is just the start. He is passing his research on to younger generations of forest researchers, including Harvey and undergraduate and graduate students.
It is hard to overstate how important Franklin’s contributions have been for understanding forest ecosystems. Part of what makes a forest ecologist’s job so challenging is the timescale over which trees and forests change, grow and mature.
“The ecosystem dynamics play out over timescales that are sometimes hard for us to wrap our minds around,” Harvey said. “It’s really hard to go into a forest during one snapshot of time and say, okay, how is this thing doing?”
Harvey uses a clever analogy to better understand the importance of Franklin’s decades-long work using these permanent plots. Without Franklin’s detailed records, Harvey explained, identifying issues with individual trees or forests would be analogous to a doctor attempting to diagnose someone’s health issue without any of their medical history or records.
“But with these long term records, you’ve got the ability to go in and at any point in time and say, okay, what’s going on? What changes are happening and how does that relate to the longer term trends in the system?” Harvey explained.
Still, while Franklin’s observations and records span decades, that time frame still makes up just a small portion of the lifespan of trees and forests, especially in the Pacific Northwest. That’s why it’s such a big deal that Franklin is working so hard to make sure the records are handed down to this next generation of researchers.
“I think a lot of us on the scientific side of this see ourselves as part of the relay of information,” Harvey said. “I sort of see it like, you know, handing over the baton. It’s almost like if we had to see doctors that were telling us about our health, but those doctors only lived a tenth of our lifespan.”
So in a way, Franklin, those who came before him, and those who will follow in his footsteps are but fleeting “forest doctors” who are piecing together detailed medical history records of the trees and forests that make the Pacific Northwest such a magnificent place.
The opportunities to contribute to this project that Franklin, Harvey and SEFS provides should excite prospective forestry students. The chance to learn from someone like Franklin, a man who has paved the way for forest ecologists around the world and someone who Harvey considers himself lucky to have as a mentor, is something very special.
“Jerry is probably one of the most well known and respected forest ecologists and probably ecologists around the world,” Harvey said. “The concepts and understandings that he’s built about how forest ecosystems work, many of which came from this region but also from other regions as well, have been applied and utilized worldwide for sure.”
Franklin plans on spending his retirement continuing to spread the importance of this work to others. He emphasized the need for this work to continue far into the future, and underscored its importance in relation to climate change.
“It’s very critical,” Franklin stressed. “This kind of information is absolutely critical to any kind of a credible program for using forests as part of a response to climate change.”
Luckily, an energetic and enthusiastic new generation of forest researchers here at UW are already making plans to continue this work far into the future.
Harvey is spearheading a project himself that will also undoubtedly leave a prominent legacy made possible by Franklin. The project involves setting up new permanent plots at areas where forest ecosystems have been decimated — like by fire — and are regrowing from scratch.
“Interesting things are going to happen to these ecosystems and when they happen, you’re going to really wish you would’ve had data over the long run,” Harvey said.
It’s not all the time that you get to start recording the medical history of an old-growth forest at the birth of the forest itself, but for a group of young forest ecologists, decades-old knowledge and research provide context for the rebirth of the next generation of forest researchers.
Remember to bring a reusable bag when you go grocery shopping. Bring a reusable mug when you go to a coffee shop. Shop your closet or thrift your clothes whenever you can. For many people, sustainable actions like these have become second nature. With new COVID-19 regulations limiting the use of reusable or “pre-loved” products, many of us are left wondering how we can still practice sustainable behavior in our daily lives. It turns out many people are actually living more sustainably than ever before, and have an opportunity to extend the positive actions we’re already taking, whether they’re being implemented by design or by executive order.
Program on the Environment Lecturer Kristi Straus gave us the lowdown on all things sustainability, and tips on how to extend good habits beyond this lockdown period.
First, the good news. If you’re worried about the impact of the disposable grocery bags, coffee cups and takeout containers that have come back into our lives, be assured that these make up a very small component of our ecological footprint when you look at the big picture. So, while many of us are using more single-use items, we are also driving and (more importantly) flying much less. The emissions caused by road and air travel account for a far greater portion of our personal ecological footprint, and in pandemic times, we’re seeing these emissions go right down. “This reframing in the way we think about sustainability is extremely valuable for motivating individual behavior change,” says Straus.
And here’s some more good news: health benefits are also an important component of sustainable living, and many of us are getting these in spades while we safely practice social distancing. As people spend more time at home, they are preparing more home-cooked meals, walking and biking more frequently, and spending less time driving. “These alternative travel methods can reveal just how connected our neighborhoods are and show us how easy it can be to leave the car at home and walk or bike to our destination instead,” says Straus.
Another challenge you can set for yourself during this quiet time is to wean yourself off of “retail therapy.” Many people derive immediate satisfaction from buying something, but the simplicity of life right now gives us the rare opportunity to be trained out of that habit. Straus argues that we can gain more long-term happiness when we eliminate the need for immediate material gratification and have more time to think about receiving an item and enjoying it. Research suggests that our satisfaction peaks the moment before we get something, so Straus challenges her students to load up their online shopping carts before bed and wait until morning to see if they still want the items before hitting the buy button. When getting what we want is more difficult, it causes us to think harder about whether we truly want something, and we end up saving some money and Earth’s resources in the process.
If you still find yourself wanting to do more to reduce your environmental impact while the world responds to COVID-19, we’ve compiled a list of things we can all do now to cut down on our ecological footprint:
When calling for takeout be sure to ask if the restaurant uses styrofoam containers. Normally, Seattle restaurants must use takeout containers that are recyclable or compostable, but these standards have been relaxed due to the coronavirus. Styrofoam is neither recyclable nor compostable.
Cut back on beef and lamb consumption and eat more plants. Cutting out beef and lamb from a diet has a huge impact on land and water consumption. If you want to eat meat, chicken and turkey tend to be farmed using less ecologically destructive methods than beef and lamb.
Take this time to reflect. What do you miss about your previous life? What new, positive habits have you created during this time that you could carry forward? Think about your community and well-being — do you actually miss going to the mall and buying things? Has the pandemic resulted in you buying fewer groceries, resulting in less food waste? Are you planning your meals out more now? Are you spending more time outside? Reading? Sleeping more?
Straus leaves us with this thought: when trying to embed more sustainable actions into your daily life, think about community and economic value rather than just environmental value. While eating out may not be as sustainable as cooking your own meal at home, she notes that we should still be supporting and connecting with our local communities whenever we can.
With these points in mind, you may be able to alleviate some guilt surrounding sustainability and help build habits that lower your ecological footprint in the long run.
Puget Sound eelgrass beds create a ‘halo’ with fewer harmful algae, new method shows
Eelgrass, a species of seagrass named for its long slippery texture, is one of nature’s superheroes. It offers shade and camouflage for young fish, helps anchor shorelines, and provides food and habitat for many marine species.
A University of Washington study adds one more superpower to the list of eelgrass abilities: warding off the toxin-producing algae that regularly close beaches to shellfish harvests. Researchers found evidence that there are significantly fewer of the single-celled algae that produce harmful toxins in an area more than 45 feet, or 15 meters, around an eelgrass bed.
“We’re not in the laboratory. The effect we’re seeing is happening in nature, and it’s an effect that’s really widespread within this group of harmful algae. What we see is this halo of reduced abundance around the eelgrass beds,” said Emily Jacobs-Palmer, a research scientist at the UW. She is the lead author of the study published this spring in the open-access journal PeerJ.
Researchers sampled five coastal sites three times in the spring and summer of 2017. Four sites were within Puget Sound and one was in Willapa Bay, on Washington’s outer coast.
Studying sea ice algae in Antarctica: two graduate students take fieldwork to the next level
School of Oceanography Assistant Professor Jodi Young is studying one of the most essential components of Antarctic ecosystems: sea ice algae. This algae supports the bottom of the food chains in polar regions, and if it were to suddenly disappear, dependent ecosystems could collapse. For two Oceanography graduate students, the chance to work with Young and collect sea ice algae data in one of the most remote and visually stunning regions on the planet was a twice in a lifetime experience. Yes — Hannah Dawson and Susan Rundell, graduate students who each focus on oceanography and astrobiology, have made the challenging expedition to Antarctica twice over the past two years. The rigors required to make the trip down to the Palmer Station research hub on the Western Antarctic Peninsula are extensive, but laced with anticipation.
“Physically going was exhausting, but exciting,” Dawson said, describing the logistics of bringing lab equipment from Seattle down to Chile, and having to pass detailed medical screenings before hopping on the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer and crossing the harrowing Drake Passage.
“It can get pretty rough. It’s some of the roughest seas in the world and it’s about a four to five day passage across from South America to the peninsula,” Dawson added. “Usually for about two or three days it gets pretty rough. They even recommend you taco yourself in your bunk.”
Once at the station, the field work and data analysis could actually begin. A typical cycle involved Dawson and Rundell conducting field work in the morning and analyzing those samples for the rest of the day. The next day they would clean and organize, and prepare for another day of field work and data analysis. Dawson and Rundell were lowered off the side of a boat in a basket to access their field sites, reaching spots inaccessible by foot or small Kodiak boats.
Although researchers frequently use satellites to study sea ice in polar regions, it limits the kind of information they can collect. Satellites can see the extent of sea ice as it expands and contracts over the course of a year and even identify levels of chlorophyll in the waters near sea ice. But a lot of sea ice algae lives underneath the thick layers of ice, blocked from view. With polar regions experiencing faster climatic warming than anywhere else on the planet, it’s more important than ever to track the status of sea ice algae.
“This area is rapidly changing and warming, but one of the things we don’t have a good handle on is what’s happening in the sea ice algae community because satellites can’t see through the ice,” said Young. “You’ve got to actually physically get out there and get samples.”
The professional and personal development opportunities that arise from conducting field work in Antarctica are numerous. Whether scooping up water to analyze phytoplankton or drilling cores into the sea ice to access the algae underneath, each day presented challenges and obstacles that required innovation, creativity and problem solving — essential skills in such remote settings.
“I think it’s really fun having to kind of come up with creative solutions to our everyday research problems, because with sea ice work in particular and polar work in isolated places, there are some really well-founded methods and fancy pieces of equipment we can use,” Rundell said. “But there’s also a whole different side to that like ‘Figure it out, make it yourself and be creative.’”
The opportunity also provided Dawson and Rundell with other professional development skills in other ways.
“I feel like it was just a really good experience to learn about not only the science and the amazing field work, but a lot of what goes on behind the scenes and logistics and planning and kind of getting a sneak into what it’s like to get a grant and then what you do once you get it,” Dawson said.
Professional development aside, getting to see the beauty of Antarctica was a joy and experience that Dawson and Rundell both found hard to describe, and a journey that both students were grateful to have taken.
“For me, it almost feels like you’re on a different planet. It’s just so foreign and untouched, and you don’t see the influence of people anywhere,” Dawson said. “It’s really cool, just insane landscapes, animals and ice and beautiful things every single day.”
The journey, the research, the breathtaking views, the professional development and more were not only made possible by Young’s research project, but also by the less visible marine techs and Palmer Station veterans.
“I think that just mentioning how many amazing people we’ve got to work with both of these years, with people at Palmer Station who go back year after year and have created a really strong community there as well as all the amazing Marine techs on the ship we were on,” Rundell said. “It takes a really special type of person to keep doing that really hard work here after a year and they do such a fantastic job and make all of the science possible.”