Life onboard the R/V Falkor is a far cry from the spartan existence endured by most academic oceanographers on research trips. The privately run research vessel features a sauna, a glassed-in lounge and a helicopter pad to be kept clear at all times for VIP guests. All of which isn’t too surprising, as two of the VIPs are the Falkor’s benefactors: Google board chair Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy.
Read more »Agreement reached on Port Gamble Bay cleanup
Breaking their weeks-long impasse, the Washington Department of Ecology and Pope Resources have agreed on a $17-million cleanup plan for Port Gamble Bay. Read more about this in the Kitsap Sun.
Read more »Taking the pulse of Puget Sound
Millions of dollars are spent each year to restore Puget Sound to a healthy condition. But how do we know if the effort is paying off? The Kitsap Sun is continuing a series of stories examining six categories of indicators the Puget Sound Partnership is using to gauge the health of Puget Sound. Stories will look at indicators in categories like the ecosystem’s food web, water quality, water quantity, species and habitats.
Read more »Heavy weather: why we need supercomputers to teach us how clouds and climate change work
There’s still no clear forecast for Earth’s temperature rise, but scientists are looking to the sky for answers. Read more in The Verge, where UW atmospheric scientist Yen-Ting Hwang is quoted.
Read more »Snow or no snow, Northwest spring began months ago
Snow on the third day of spring has some people wondering: what gives? Well, actually, spring here began a long time ago, says KPLU weather expert and Atmospheric Sciences Professor Cliff Mass. Read or listen to the article on KPLU.
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