Clouds come in myriad shapes, sizes and types, which control their effects on climate. New research led by the University of Washington shows that splintering of frozen liquid droplets to form ice shards inside Southern Ocean clouds dramatically affects the clouds’ ability to reflect sunlight back to space. The paper, published March 4 in the open-access journal AGU Advances, shows that including this ice-splintering process improves the ability of high-resolution global models to simulate clouds over the Southern Ocean – and thus the models’ ability to simulate Earth’s climate.
Read more at UW News »Solar energy explains fast yearly retreat of Antarctica’s sea ice
In the Southern Hemisphere, the ice cover around Antarctica gradually expands from March to October each year. During this time the total ice area increases by 6 times to become larger than Russia. The sea ice then retreats at a faster pace, most dramatically around December, when Antarctica experiences constant daylight. New research led by the University of Washington explains why the ice retreats so quickly: Unlike other aspects of its behavior, Antarctic sea ice is just following simple rules of physics.
Read more at UW News »How Alaska Native communities are building resilience to climate change
On the shores of the Chukchi Sea in far northwest Alaska, climate change is already impacting the traditional way of life of the Iñupiaq people. The inhabitants of this region have lived off the land for thousands of years, hunting caribou and bearded seals, fishing for salmon and sheefish, and foraging wild berries and plants. But as the planet warms and Arctic sea ice thins, accessing and harvesting these traditional foods has become more difficult.
Read more »Planting trees in pastureland provides significant cooling in the tropics
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.
Read more at UW News »Can artificial intelligence revolutionize weather forecasting?
In an age of rapidly advancing technology, humans are fascinated with AI, which is shorthand for artificial intelligence. Many movies and TV shows feature this techno-wizardry, whether it’s AI beings starring in our favorite Marvel movies or the creation of deeply imaginative worlds that depict post-apocalyptic robot takeovers. The idea of deep learning machines is one we often think about in fictional contexts, but at the University of Washington researchers are looking at practical, real-world applications.
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