Program on the Environment's Kristi Straus gives us an inside look at her ENV 239 class. Register now!
Check out more courses from the College »UW oceanography senior finds plastic microfibers are common on Puget Sound beaches
Frances Eshom-Arzadon found that local beaches are riddled with synthetic microfibers that enter into the environment when they are shed in washing machines.
Read more at UW Today »Distant earthquakes can cause underwater landslides
New research finds that large earthquakes can trigger underwater landslides thousands of miles away, weeks or months after the quake occurs. Researchers analyzing data from ocean-bottom seismometers off the Washington-Oregon coast tied a series of underwater landslides on the Cascadia Subduction Zone to a 2012 magnitude-8.6 earthquake in the Indian Ocean — more than 8,000 miles away. These underwater landslides occurred intermittently for nearly four months after the April earthquake.
Read more at UW Today »The New York Times recognizes UW student policy recommendations
The team, who applied their expertise and first-hand knowledge to develop concrete recommendations for policymakers, aims to protect public health while sustaining West Coast communities.
Read more at UW Today »Nature spotlights UW geophysicists' fight to save lives with seafloor sensors
Inventor and entrepreneur Jerry Paros and University of Washington scientists are monitoring undersea faults for movements and signs of the next catastrophic earthquake. A recent Nature article looks at Paros, who has donated $2 million to the UW, and the collaborative project he’s working on with researchers including the School of Oceanography’s Emily Roland and William Wilcock. Over the course of his career, Paros developed an ultra-precise quartz sensor for oil, gas and other industry applications.
Read more at Nature »