S2 E5: David Montgomery and Soil Health

big dirt graphic with a guitar spinning around a ball

David Montgomery is a geomorphologist who looks at the processes shaping Earth’s surface and how they affect ecological systems — and human societies. He has studied everything from the ways that landslides and glaciers influence the height of mountain ranges to the way that soils have shaped human civilizations, both now and in the past. He has worked in mountain ranges throughout the world, from the Cascades in the Pacific Northwest to the Andes in South America and Tibet, and the Himalaya in Central Asia. 

Read more »

Q&A: Finding varieties of corn that are adapted to future climates

rows of corn in a field

Corn is one of the planet’s most important crops. It not only provides sweet kernels to flavor many dishes, but it’s also used in oils, as a sweetener syrup, and as a feed crop for livestock. Corn has been bred to maximize its yield on farms around the world. But what will happen under climate change? Research led by the University of Washington combined climate projections with plant models to determine what combination of traits might be best adapted to future climates. 

Read the full Q&A on UW News »

S2 E4: Friday Harbor Labs and Raising Sea Stars

two sea stars feeding on mussels.

In this episode of FieldSound, we take you to UW Friday Harbor Laboratories in the San Juan Islands, where marine researchers Olivia Graham and Joey Ullman prepare for a dive on a cold January morning. They scout sites for deploying juvenile sunflower stars, aiming to compare the survivability of lab-grown versus wild-caught specimens. Fiona Curliss, another researcher, discusses the intricate process of raising these sea stars, from fertilization to adulthood, and the importance of their work in combating sea star wasting syndrome. 

Read more »

UW Oceanography receives funding to study ocean animal gut microbiomes’ role in climate change

Five global science and technology projects were selected to join the Ocean Biogeochemistry Virtual Institute, part of Schmidt Sciences, to address gaps in ocean data and modeling by improving the breadth of research in the field and expanding capacity to understand ocean resources. Anitra Ingalls, professor in the School of Oceanography, is among the awardees and will lead one of the projects.

Read more on the Schmidt Sciences website »