A team of 9 researchers, including Atmospheric Sciences’ David Catling, has published a paper in the December issue of Astrobiology that enumerates two ways of narrowing down the growing number of known exoplanets and exomoons to those that might harbor life – an Earth Similarity Index (ESI) for categorizing a planet’s more earth-like features and a Planetary Habitability Index (PHI) for describing a variety of chemical and physical parameters that are theoretically conducive to life in more extreme, less-earthlike conditions.
Read more »How do you know it's cold? You can see Puget Sound's "breath" - KOMO News
The cold weather over the weekend highlighted the temperature “convergence zone” in the Puget Sound. This video from Atmospheric Sciences shows how clouds flow across the lower airspace above the Puget Sound, as the air warmed by the water is displaced by the colder air flowing off of the land. https://youtube.com/watch?v=KCq5lLSX9WA%3Ffeature%3Dplayer_embedded
Read more »State scrambles to fight massive tree die-offs - Seattle Times
Washington’s forests are deteriorating so quickly the state commissioner of public lands says he’ll appoint an emergency panel to seek ways to stabilize the situation or reverse the decline. Jerry Franklin, professor of forest resources, is quoted.
Read more »Massive oyster die-offs suggest ocean acidification is already here - Yale e360
The die-offs of oyster larvae along the Pacific coast suggest that ocean acidification is already taking its toll. Scientists say this is just the start if atmospheric greenhouse gases continue to rise. Read more here; Dick Feely is quoted.
Read more »Friday Harbor Labs students perform the UW fight song - and win competition!
Several students enrolled in the Marine Biology Quarter at FHL celebrated “W Day” in style! Led by David Haas, they used FHL as a backdrop for their music video entry to the “UW Fight Song” contest by KJR radio. They sang the “unsingable” and WON! You can view their winning entry on YouTube.
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