Jan 10, 2017

Rapid Arctic warming has in the past shifted Southern Ocean winds

Author Bradley Markle examines a section of ice core at the West Antarctic field site. He spent two months in the field as a member of the drilling team.

The global climate is a complex machine in which some pieces are separate, yet others are connected. Scientists try to discover the connections to predict what will happen to our climate, especially in a future with more heat-trapping gases. A dramatic pattern in our planet’s climate history involves paroxysms in Arctic temperatures. During the last ice age, tens of thousands of years ago, Greenland repeatedly warmed by about 10 degrees Celsius over just a few decades and then gradually cooled.

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Jan 6, 2017

UW-led study shows global evidence of the role of humans, urbanization in rapid evolution

Rapid urbanization, the researchers write, poses new challenges for species, some of which will adapt or relocate while others go extinct.

It has long been suspected that humans and the urban areas we create are having an important — and surprisingly current and ongoing — effect on evolution, which may have significant implications for the sustainability of global ecosystems. A new multi-institution study led by the University of Washington that examines 1,600 global instances of phenotypic change — alterations to species’ observable traits such as size, development or behavior — shows more clearly than ever that urbanization is affecting the genetic makeup of species that are crucial to ecosystem health and success.

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Jan 6, 2017

Arctic sea ice loss impacts beluga whale migration

The annual migration of some beluga whales in Alaska is altered by sea ice changes in the Arctic, while other belugas do not appear to be affected. A new study led by the University of Washington finds that as Arctic sea ice takes longer to freeze up each fall due to climate change, one population of belugas mirrors that timing and delays its migration south by up to one month.

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Jan 5, 2017

Eelgrass in Puget Sound is stable overall, but some local beaches suffering

Eelgrass beds in Puget Sound provide valuable habitat for crabs, young salmon, herring and a plethora of other species.

Eelgrass, a marine plant crucial to the success of migrating juvenile salmon and spawning Pacific herring, is stable and flourishing in Puget Sound — despite a doubling of the region’s human population and significant shoreline development over the past several decades. That finding surprised scientists who study eelgrass, which sprouts in the brackish waters close to shore and provides shelter and breeding habitat for fish and invertebrates.

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Jan 3, 2017

Weekly Research

Moth invasions, human well-being and more

Every other week we share the latest peer-reviewed publications coming from the College of the Environment. Over the past two weeks, nine new articles co-authored by members of the College were added to the Web of Science database. They include articles about moth invasions, human well-being, and more. Read on!