Nov 16, 2015

Natural Hazards and Resilient Communities Lecture Video: UW’s John Vidale

Surviving Disaster: A tale of three Seattle tremblors

Unlike some natural disasters that we can depend on arriving at our doorstep every year—hurricanes, tornados, fires—earthquakes can be out of sight and out of mind because of their relative infrequency. But when the Big One strikes, it could be a real catastrophe for the Pacific Northwest coast, deeply disrupting the lives and economies throughout the region. John Vidale, professor of Earth and Space Sciences and chief seismologist for the State of Washington, wants people to be aware of the threats.

Oceans and Ocean Activism Deserve Broader Role in Climate Change Discussions

Less visible, but perhaps more indelible, signs of changing climate lie in the oceans. A University of Washington researcher in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs argues in the journal Science that people—including world leaders who will gather later this month in Paris for global climate change negotiations—should pay more attention to how climate change’s impacts on ocean and coastal environments affect societies around the globe.

From Garden to Gut: New Book from UW’s David Montgomery Explores an Unfolding Scientific Revolution

A new book by Earth and Space Sciences‘ David Montgomery weaves history, science and personal challenges into an exploration of humanity’s tangled relationship with microbes, perhaps the least loved and most misunderstood creatures on Earth—and in you. “The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health” comes out Nov. 16 from W.W. Norton & Co. Montgomery, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences, co-wrote the book with his wife, Anne Biklé, a biologist and environmental planner.

OLYMPEX project measures rain and snowfall to gauge new precipitation satellite

A cloudy, foggy Lake Quinault, by the field sites, in late October just before the start of the campaign.

NASA and UW researchers are deploying a massive array of instruments Washington's Olympic Peninsula to improve local forecasts and ground-truth satellite data.

Natural Hazards and Resilient Communities Lecture Recap: Team Rubicon's Jake Wood

Air Force veteran Rebekah La Due, part of Team Rubicon's Operation: Good Medicine in Okanogan, Washington in October 2015.

Jake Wood was submitting applications for MBA programs when a magnitude 7.0 struck Haiti in 2010. Having just returned from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was surprised by the similarities between the news footage from Port-au-Prince and what he had seen on the ground, during times of war as a marine. Unable to plug-in with traditional disaster relief organizations, who preferred monetary donations over extra hands, Wood and three friends charted their own path to Haiti and beyond.