State of the College 2020

Dean Lisa J. Graumlich was joined by Provost Mark Richards for her last State of the College address on October 15, 2020 to discuss the implications of COVID-19 on the College of the Environment and University of Washington, continued work in the diversity, equity and inclusion space and the future of environmental science and the College. Watch the full address below!

Early-arriving endangered Chinook salmon take the brunt of sea lion predation on the Columbia

The Columbia River is home to one of the West Coast’s most important Chinook salmon runs. Through late spring and early summer, mature fish return from the sea and begin their arduous journey upriver to spawn. In recent years, these fish have faced an additional challenge: hungry California sea lions. A new University of Washington and NOAA Fisheries study found that sea lions have the largest negative effect on early-arriving endangered Chinook salmon in the lower Columbia River.

Are climate scientists being too cautious when linking extreme weather to climate change?

In this year of extreme weather events — from devastating West Coast wildfires to tropical Atlantic storms that have exhausted the alphabet — scientists and members of the public are asking when these extreme events can be scientifically linked to climate change. Dale Durran, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington, argues that climate science need to approach this question in a way similar to how weather forecasters issue warnings for hazardous weather.

Studying Yellowstone’s ravens during COVID-19

Summers for UW Environment students are often spent working as interns, taking summer classes or accompanying faculty conducting field research. But the spring and summer of 2020 were anything but typical as COVID-19 forced faculty and students to figure out alternative plans or rethink research. With the belief that many students learn best when doing, known as immersive learning, many researchers have had to pivot to still provide students with the resources and opportunities normally available.

Greenland is on track to lose ice faster than in any century over the past 12,000 years, study finds

Researchers collect rock samples in Greenland

If human societies don’t sharply curb emissions of greenhouse gases, Greenland’s rate of ice loss this century is likely to greatly outpace that of any century over the past 12,000 years, a new study concludes. University of Washington scientists are among the authors of the study published Sept. 30 in the journal Nature. The research employed ice sheet modeling to understand the past, present and future of the Greenland Ice Sheet.