The rapid melting of Greenland glaciers is captured in the documentary “Chasing Ice.” The retreat of the ice edge from one year to the next sends more water into the sea. Now University of Washington atmospheric scientists have estimated that up to half of the recent warming in Greenland and surrounding areas may be due to climate variations that originate in the tropical Pacific and are not connected with the overall warming of the planet.
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The Obama Administration released the third National Climate Assessment, Climate Change Impacts in the United States, on May 6. Amy Snover, director of the Climate Impacts Group and assistant dean for applied research at the College of the Environment, served as a co-convening lead author of the assessment; additionally, the chapter focused on the Northwest drew heavily from the Climate Impact Group’s body of research, including the 2009 Washington Climate Change Impacts Assessment.
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The College of the Environment’s newest degree program, the Master of Science in Science for Teachers (MSST) is now accepting applications for the upcoming academic year. The program is designed for practicing science teachers, who will strengthen their knowledge and gain experience by completing meaningful scientific research with renowned UW researchers. Through a combination of a customized course plan and one-on-one faculty-mentored scientific research, MSST transforms science teachers into practicing scientists who return to their classrooms with the experience of doing fundamental or applied scientific inquiry.
Read more »By hightailing it to nearby ponds and shallow waterways, frogs and salamanders have – until now – had a way to evade exotic trout introduced to the West’s high-mountain lakes for recreational fishing. A warming climate, however, will dry up some of the places where amphibians and their young have found refuge. Researchers in the May 1 issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment write about this challenge and a novel combination of tools that could help land managers, biologists, fishing enthusiasts and other citizens weigh where amphibians are in the most need of help and guide plans for possible fish removals from selected lakes.
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New ocean acidification research published in late April shows a strong correlation between current ocean conditions and the dissolution of sea butterfly shells. Sea butterflies–or pteropods–play an important role in the marine food web, providing a food source for higher-level predators like salmon. The study focuses on the California Current, which stretches along the entire west coast of the United States and is a key driver of how our nearby marine ecosystems take shape and function.
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