Sep 15, 2020

Case studies illustrate how water utilities may adapt to climate change

Changing climate has far-reaching impacts, and is testing parts of society’s ability to continue doing business-as-usual. Among these are water utilities, the entities responsible for delivering clean, fresh water to our nation’s households and managing wastewater and stormwater. Climate change affects not only rainfall and annual precipitation patterns—which has implications on the availability of freshwater—but can also stress the infrastructure and systems used to treat, deliver and manage water resources.

February lockdown in China caused a drop in some types of air pollution, but not others

Pollution over Shanghai, China in October 2019.

Atmospheric scientists have analyzed how the February near-total shutdown of mobility affected the air over China. Results show a striking drop in nitrogen oxides, a gas that comes mainly from tailpipes and is one component of smog. Learning how behavior shifts due to the COVID-19 pandemic affect air quality is of immediate importance, since the virus attacks human lungs. The event is also a way for Earth scientists to study how the atmosphere responds to sudden changes in emissions.

Pristine air over Southern Ocean suggests early industrial era’s clouds not so different from today’s

Isabel McCoy directing cloud sampling while serving as a flight scientist during the 2018 SOCRATES campaign.

A new study uses satellite data over the Southern Hemisphere to understand the makeup of global clouds since the Industrial Revolution. This research tackles one of the largest uncertainties in today’s climate models — the long-term effect of tiny atmospheric particles on climate change. Research led by the University of Washington and the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom uses remote, pristine parts of the Southern Hemisphere as a window into the early-industrial atmosphere.

Conservation planning for a wild and thriving Cascadia

With ever-shrinking pristine habitats across the region and globe, wildlife is often hard-pressed to find a place to call home. Even if they find a suitable home today, the question remains if it will still be suitable tomorrow. With climate change already underway and increasing human presence in wild landscapes, land managers and conservation organizations continually wrestle with this issue here in the Pacific Northwest and across the world.

NOAA selects UW to host new, regional institute for climate, ocean and ecosystem research

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced May 20 that it has selected the University of Washington to host NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies. The new regional consortium will include faculty and staff at the UW, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Oregon State University. Members will contribute expertise, research capacity, technological development, help train the next generation of NOAA scientists, and conduct public education and outreach.