Jun 28, 2017

Distant earthquakes can cause underwater landslides

New research finds that large earthquakes can trigger underwater landslides thousands of miles away, weeks or months after the quake occurs. Researchers analyzing data from ocean-bottom seismometers off the Washington-Oregon coast tied a series of underwater landslides on the Cascadia Subduction Zone to a 2012 magnitude-8.6 earthquake in the Indian Ocean — more than 8,000 miles away. These underwater landslides occurred intermittently for nearly four months after the April earthquake.

The New York Times recognizes UW student policy recommendations

(From left) Team members Hillary Scannell, Eleni Petrou, Leah Johnson and Kate Crosman connect on the UW’s waterfront.

The team, who applied their expertise and first-hand knowledge to develop concrete recommendations for policymakers, aims to protect public health while sustaining West Coast communities.

Nature spotlights UW geophysicists' fight to save lives with seafloor sensors

Inventor and entrepreneur Jerry Paros and University of Washington scientists are monitoring undersea faults for movements and signs of the next catastrophic earthquake. A recent Nature article looks at Paros, who has donated $2 million to the UW, and the collaborative project he’s working on with researchers including the School of Oceanography’s Emily Roland and William Wilcock. Over the course of his career, Paros developed an ultra-precise quartz sensor for oil, gas and other industry applications.

Archaea, La Nina and more

Every other week we share the latest peer-reviewed publications coming from the College of the Environment. Over the past two weeks, twelve new articles co-authored by members of the College were added to the Web of Science database. They include articles about climate sensitivity, biodiversity, and more. This will be the last Weekly Research of the year-- see you in the fall!

2017 Hall Conservation Genetics Research Award winners announced

UW Environment is pleased to announce that Yaamini Venkataraman and Laura Spencer, both Ph.D. students in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, are recipients of the 2017 Hall Conservation Genetics Research Award. The fund is made possible by a generous gift from the Benjamin and Margaret Hall Charitable Lead Trust. Yaamini Venkataraman Yaamini’s work broadly focuses on the effects of environmental stressors, including ocean acidification and warming, on shellfish.

More about the Hall Conservation Genetics Research Award »