15 news posts from May 2020

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Seismologists to host virtual event on 40th anniversary of Mount St. Helens eruption

Mt St Helens two years after eruption (photo: USGS)

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, based at the University of Washington, will host an online event on the 40th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, featuring seismologists from the UW and other institutions who can explain the events before, during and after the historic blast. The virtual event will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Monday, May 18, on the PNSN’s YouTube channel — exactly 40 years after the blast. 

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Antarctic sea-ice models improve for the next IPCC, UW study shows 

The world of climate modeling is complex, requiring an enormous amount of coordination and collaboration to produce. Models feed on mountains of different inputs to run simulations of what a future world might look like, and can be so big — in some cases, lines of code in the millions — they take days or weeks to run. Building these models can be challenging, but getting them right is critical for us to see where climate change is taking us, and importantly, what we might do about it. 

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The Thomas G. Thompson's triumphant return

The Thomas G. Thompson has spent a quarter century exploring the world’s oceans.

Friday, May 8 marked the triumphant return of the research vessel Thomas G. Thompson, which arrived home to a sunny Seattle after 823 days at sea. University of Washington Oceanography community members waited along the city’s waterways (practicing social distancing) from the Ballard Locks to the UW campus holding welcome home signs. The excitement was palpable, with many documenting the moment via social media for their colleagues who weren’t there in person. 

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Pacific oysters in the Salish Sea may not contain as many microplastics as previously thought

Julieta Martinelli collects oysters at Kopachuck State Park near Gig Harbor, Washington.

Plastic pollution is an increasingly present threat to marine life and one which can potentially impact your dinner table. Oysters, and other economically valuable shellfish, filter their food from the water where they may also inadvertently capture tiny microplastics. The ingestion and accumulation of these microplastics can have detrimental effects on their health and may be passed to other animals, including humans, through the food chain. 

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