Nov 3, 2020

UW awarded $23.5M to build floating robots as part of NSF project to monitor the world’s oceans

The ocean float lab in the UW Ocean Sciences Building is a hive of activity. Dozens of floats are in various stages of construction, both for the ongoing Argo program and the new SOCCOM project to study the Southern Ocean

The University of Washington is among leading U.S. oceanographic institutions that have received National Science Foundation funding to build and deploy 500 robotic ocean-monitoring floats to monitor the chemistry and biology of the world’s oceans. The National Science Foundation on October 29 approved a $53 million, five-year grant to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI); the UW; Scripps Institution of Oceanography; the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; and Princeton University.

Flying through wildfire smoke plumes could improve smoke forecasts

Carley Fredrickson of the UW and Lauren Garofalo of CSU look at incoming data inside the research aircraft

Wildfires burning in the West affect not only the areas burned, but the wider regions covered by smoke. Recent years have seen hazy skies and hazardous air quality become regular features of the late summer weather. Many factors are causing Western wildfires to grow bigger and to generate larger, longer-lasting smoke plumes that can stretch across the continent. An analysis led by the University of Washington looks at the most detailed observations to date from the interiors of West Coast wildfire smoke plumes.

Happy hauntings from UW Environment!

As darkness falls across the land, we are once again at the time of year when temperatures drop, days shorten and scary things start popping up. Last year, we celebrated the season of all things spooky with slimy, creepy creatures found in Pacific Northwest waters. This year, we turned our attention to the land, and invited researchers at the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (SEFS) to share a little about their favorite classic Halloween emblem.

2020 Doug Walker Lecture with Jonathan Foley and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

The events of this year have brought to the forefront the importance of the natural world to humanity, the intersection of science informing action and the fundamental human compact to elevate the lives of all people and leave a better world to future generations. Brought to you by the University of Washington’s College of the Environment, this live discussion was moderated by Dean Lisa Graumlich with featured speakers: Jonathan Foley, Executive Director of Project Drawdown Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Founder and CEO of the consultancy Ocean Collectiv, and Founder of Urban Ocean Lab Watch the recording of the 2020 Doug Walker lecture below.

Diversity, equity and inclusion at UW Environment

Future Huskies in the lab at Future Student Visit Day 2016.

The tragic events of spring quarter have emphasized the tremendous amount of work that still needs to be done to counteract the mistreatment and marginalization of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPoC) and create an environment that is more just, more equitable and more inclusive. Schools, programs, institutes and departments within the College of the Environment have been working hard to refine, rethink and deepen their work in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) space, often led by unit-level diversity committees.