Mar 11, 2015

UW scientist offers new insights on Earth’s evolution in recently published book

“A New History of Life” by Earth and Space Sciences’ Peter Ward and Joseph L. Kirschvink from the California Institute of Technology draws on their years of experience in paleontology, biology, chemistry, and astrobiology to illuminate recent scientific developments about the evolution of life on Earth. More than 150 years after Darwin published his evolutionary theories, Ward and Kirschvink argue that chaos and catastrophe shaped the evolution of life on Earth; that it was not an elegant, gradual process.

UW Environmental Career Fair provides students with tips for early career success

Last week, hundreds of students packed into Mary Gates Hall Commons for the University of Washington’s annual Environmental Career Fair. Hosted by the College of the Environment, the event included more than 30 of the region’s most noteworthy organizations working in the environmental and natural resource fields. The goal was for students to see what the job market might look like, and to make meaningful connections with industry professionals.

Environmental and Forest Sciences launches Climate Change Video Contest: submit by April 13!

The College of the Environment’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences recently launched its Climate Change Video Contest, asking Washington State high school and undergraduate students to create and submit videos about what climate change means to them by April 13. In three minutes or less, contest entrants will use all styles imaginable – Claymation, stand-up comedy, music video, short-form documentary, and more – to convey their ideas.

Washington Sea Grant explores relative sea-level rise to prepare Pacific Coast communities

Washington Sea Grant, a unit in the College of the Environment, works to restore and protect marine environments through addressing important issues, providing better tools for marine management, and supporting strategic partnerships within the marine community. Coastal hazards specialist and resident geologist Ian Miller embodies this approach, and is studying changes in local sea level over time in order to help coastal communities plan for rising seas along their shores.

World's oldest rocks show signs of life on Earth 3.2 billion years ago

3.2 billion year old sedimentary rock samples from Australia contain chemical evidence for nitrogen fixation by microbes.

Recent findings from Earth and Space Sciences‘ Roger Buick, Eva Stüeken, and Matt Koehler, with Bradley Guy from the University of Johannesburg, suggest that life on Earth may have flourished more than a billion years earlier than previously thought. Nitrogen is a building block of amino and nucleic acids, both essential for life on Earth. By studying some of the planet’s oldest rocks, which contain preserved chemical clues and are free of chemical irregularities, the team concluded that life was pulling nitrogen out of the air and converting it into a form that could support larger communities 3.2 billion years ago.