University of Washington scientists in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences were part of a multi-institutional research team that has discovered a consistent link between abrupt temperature changes in Greenland and Antarctica during the most recent ice age. Using evidence trapped in ice cores from the West Antarctica Ice Sheet, the team from UW used analyses of oxygen molecules in the ice to uncover precise records of Antarctica’s temperature history.
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A new study published in the journal Urban Ecosystems and co-authored by Environmental and Forest Sciences‘ John Marzluff and Sergey Rabotyagov tries to determine the economic value urbanites place on having birds in their parks, backyards, and green spaces. After conducting and analyzing nearly 700 surveys taken by residents in Seattle, Washington and Berlin, Germany, Marzluff and his team found that people in both cities place a sizable value on the enjoyment they derive from birds.
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A new study by Tim Essington, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, shows for the first time that fishing likely worsens population collapses in several species of forage fish, including herring, anchovies, and sardines. Some of the largest fisheries in the world target these species, which are also a key food source for larger marine animals like salmon, tuna, seabirds, and whales. Previously, it wasn’t known whether population collapses and other population shifts in forage fish were naturally-occurring or related to fishing.
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Scientists from the College of the Environment are partnering with NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency to find out if a constellation of precipitation-measuring satellites collects accurate data. The initiative, called OLYMPEX, aims to calibrate and validate rain and snowfall data collected by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GSM). Focusing their efforts on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, the soggiest place in the continental United States and a perfect laboratory for precipitation-related research, the scientists will amass data through a variety of ground- and air-based approaches.
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Swing, batter! On a residential street in Anywhere, U.S.A., a colony of invasive emerald ash borers swarms inconspicuously on the periphery. Their sights are set on a row of lush, mature ash trees that line the quiet street. These trees have seen their community through World War II and the Civil Rights Movement, but meeting the ash borers will mark their final stand.
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