How COVID-19 changed research on the high seas

masked people aboard the thompson charting their course

For crew members of the UW research vessel Thomas G. Thompson, the last two years have been a test of preparedness and resilience while conducting research at sea. On top of the usual threats of rough seas and homesickness, seafarers now have to factor in the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, which has had a special knack for spreading rapidly on ships. While the isolated nature of research on the open ocean might have seemed like welcome distance from the rest of humanity during the early days of the pandemic, many will remember how some of the first stories of the virus’ potential came from shipboard outbreaks.

Planting trees in pastureland provides significant cooling in the tropics

A man carries a banana bush in the forest

Farmers struggling to adapt to rising temperatures in tropical regions can unleash the benefits of natural cooling, alongside a host of other wins, simply by dotting more trees across their pasturelands. For the first time, a study led by the University of Washington puts tangible numbers to the cooling effects of this practice. Researchers at the UW and The Nature Conservancy, along with Duke University, the University of California San Diego and Stony Brook University Hospital, find that adding trees to pastureland, technically known as silvopasture, can cool local temperatures by up to 2.4 C (4.3 F) for every 10 metric tons of woody material added per hectare (about 4 tons per acre) depending on the density of trees, while also delivering a range of other benefits for humans and wildlife.

This tiny coastal fish wears a toothy coat of armor

pacific spinly lumpsucker as viewed from the side

The ocean is full of otherworldly creatures, seemingly from alien planets with alien capabilities. In most cases, the award for craziest looking critter would go to an invertebrate. But many fish are contenders, too, and there’s an oddly adorable one common in northwest waters. What does it look like? Imagine a golf ball. Now put some googly eyes on it and add a suction cup to its belly.

Glaciers are squishy, holding slightly more ice than thought

Brad Lipovsky (right) hikes over Easton Glacier on Washington’s Mount Baker in September 2021 with UW graduate students Danny Hogan (left) and Quinn Brencher.

Glacier ice is usually thought of as brittle. You can drill a hole in an ice sheet, like into a rock, and glaciers crack and calve, leaving behind vertical ice cliffs. But new University of Washington research shows that glaciers are also slightly compressible, or squishy. This compression over the huge expanse of an ice sheet — like Antarctica or Greenland — makes the overall ice sheet more dense and lowers the surface by tens of feet compared to what would otherwise be expected, according to results published Jan.

UW Environment scientist named 2021 AAAS fellow

Emily Carrington, resident scientist at the UW’s Friday Harbor Laboratories, was named a AAAS Fellow, according to a Jan. 26 announcement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is among 564 new fellows from around the world elected in 2021, who are recognized for “their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements” in science and engineering. Carrington is honored for her research contributions in biomechanics and ecophysiology, as well as efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in science.