Warming temperatures tripled Arctic lightning strikes over the past decade

Lightening strikes water in background. Aircraft carrier with jets sitting on it in foreground.

Lightning strikes in the Arctic tripled from 2010 to 2020, a finding University of Washington researchers attribute to rising temperatures due to human-caused climate change. The results, researchers say, suggest Arctic residents in northern Russia, Canada, Europe and Alaska need to prepare for the danger of more frequent lightning strikes. The study, published March 22 in Geophysical Research Letters, used data from the UW-based World Wide Lightning Location Network to map lightning strikes across the globe from 2010 to 2020. 

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Tasty options as researchers tap a new forestry product

A student collects maple sap in Pack Forest

Scientists from the University of Washington are testing the viability of making maple syrup in the Pacific Northwest. Long associated with Canada or Vermont, this sweet forest product that has graced many a breakfast table may be part of this region’s future. Washington maple syrup is made from the watery-looking sap of bigleaf maple trees, one of the most abundant native hardwood trees in the Pacific Northwest.  

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‘By-the-wind sailor’ jellies wash ashore in massive numbers after warmer winters

Velella velella, also called “by-the-wind sailor” jellies, that washed ashore at Moolack Beach, Oregon, in 2018.

As their name suggests, by-the-wind sailor jellyfish know how to catch a breeze. Using a stiff, translucent sail propped an inch above the surface of the ocean, these teacup-sized organisms skim along the water dangling a fringe of delicate purple tentacles just below the surface to capture zooplankton and larval fish as they travel. At the mercy of the wind, these jellies can wash ashore and strand — sometimes numbering in the trillions — on beaches around the world, including up and down the U.S. 

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How five global regions could achieve a successful, equitable ‘Blue Economy’

Ocean winds drive upwelling and productivity along certain coastlines. (photo: Ron LaValley)

The future of an equitable and sustainable global ocean, or “Blue Economy,” depends on more than natural or technological resources. A new study finds that socioeconomic and governance conditions such as national stability, corruption and human rights greatly affect different regions’ ability to achieve a Blue Economy — one that is socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically viable. A paper published March 17 in Nature by the University of Washington-based Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center suggests how different parts of the world might begin to achieve these goals. 

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