7 news posts from August 2014

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David Battisti, Qiang Fu elected fellows of American Geophysical Union

David Battisti and Qiang Fu

The College of the Environment congratulates two professors — David Battisti and Qiang Fu — on their election as fellows to the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The organization’s mission is to “promote discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity.” They join the ranks of several other faculty in the College that have been honored as AGU fellows as well. 

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Students craft forest stewardship plan in partnership with King County

Student participants

The College of the Environment is full of opportunities for students to try their hand at solving real world problems that come with managing natural resources. This past spring, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences students partnered with King County to develop a forest stewardship plan for the newly acquired Black Diamond Natural Area. Taking into account the property’s multiple uses, students addressed the social, economic, and environmental issues that will serve the county’s needs for the long term. 

Read more on the SEFS Blog »

Atlantic Ocean caught storing heat for decades, creating global warming "staircase"

Warming Hiatus

Following rapid warming in the late 20th century, this century has so far seen surprisingly little increase in the average temperature at the Earth’s surface. At first this was a blip, then a trend, then a puzzle for the climate science community. New research co-authored by Ka-Kit Tung, a UW professor of applied mathematics and adjunct faculty member in atmospheric sciences, has found that the Atlantic Ocean has stored much of the missing heat, as part of a natural cycles. 

Read more at UW Today »

UW program aims to diversify the conservation workforce

Doris Duke Conservation Scholars at UW are helping define how diverse groups shape conservation.

The Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at UW wrapped up its inaugural year on August 14 in a symposium where students shared their experiences over the course of the summer. Focusing on the intersection of environment and society, the students spoke about the issues surrounding climate, water, biodiversity and food. Instead of learning about these topics solely in the classroom, a majority of their time was spent in the field around Washington state, including in our urban environments, along the coast, up in the mountains, and in the agricultural fields on the eastern side of the state. 

Read more at the Seattle Times »

Ancient shellfish remains rewrite 10,000-year history of El Niño cycles

ancient clam shells

Scientists by their very nature are inquisitive and creative, often figuring out novel ways to answer complex and perplexing questions. In a paper recently released in Science, College of the Environment oceanographer Julian Sachs and colleagues use ancient clam shells to peer into the past and piece together a 10,000 year history of climate driven by the El Niño Southern Oscillation. 

Read more at UW Today »