13 news posts from November 2017

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There's a deeper fish in the sea

Researchers recover a trap after it landed on the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Meet the deepest fish in the ocean, a new species named the Mariana snailfish by an international team of researchers that discovered it. They’re small, translucent, bereft of scales — and highly adept at living where few other organisms can. The Mariana snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei) thrives at depths of up to about 8,000 meters (26,200 feet) along the Mariana Trench near Guam. 

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Salt pond in Antarctica, among the saltiest waters on Earth, is fed from beneath

At the base of the Transantarctic Mountains lies a geological oddity. Don Juan Pond is one of the saltiest bodies of water on the planet, filled with a dense, syrupy brine rich in calcium chloride that can remain liquid to minus 50 degrees Celsius, far below the freezing point of water. But the source of water and salt to this unusual pond remains a mystery — even as hints emerge that water in a similar form could exist on Mars. 

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Less life: Limited phosphorus recycling suppressed early Earth’s biosphere

A person wearing a green jacket at the base of a very large wall of red and black rock.

The amount of biomass — life — in Earth’s ancient oceans may have been limited due to low recycling of the key nutrient phosphorus, according to new research by the University of Washington and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The research, published online Nov. 22 in the journal Science Advances, also comments on the role of volcanism in supporting Earth’s early biosphere — and may even apply to the search for life on other worlds.  

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Dean Graumlich on ethics, integrity and community in the College of the Environment

UW Environment Dean Lisa J. Graumlich

Dear College of the Environment Community, Recently, I heard science described as the team-iest of team sports. As a scientist and a dean, that resonated with me: When we tackle big, important questions, we do so as a community ranging in size from research groups of several people to large, International networks of scholars from allied disciplines. Science is a social enterprise, and integrity is the foundation of great science. 

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