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10 UW Environment stories you may have missed over the summer

Journal pages list all the species of plants the UW Environmental Studies class has seen by the penultimate day of their backpacking trip in the Olympic National Park backcountry. Here, the group takes a break at Grand Pass.

At the conclusion of a long and arduous academic year, many students look forward to the rest and relaxation that comes with summertime. But while many are enjoying the glorious downtime of a few months without classes, others — faculty, undergrads, graduate students and postdocs — are in the field and in labs pushing their research forward. The summer of 2016 was no different. 

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Remembering Sarah Reichard

Sarah Reichard and Kern Ewing.

UW suffered a tremendous loss this month with the passing of Professor Sarah Reichard. To other faculty members, Sarah embodied what we work so hard to become. She was a scholar who relentlessly pursued scientific understanding and – as importantly – shared what she discovered with communities so they could use new knowledge to improve our world.

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All polar bears across the Arctic face shorter sea ice season

A polar bear tests the strength of thin sea ice.

It’s no secret that Arctic sea ice is melting. Polar bears, the poster child for climate change, are among the animals most affected by the seasonal and year-to-year changes in Arctic sea ice, because they rely on this surface for essential activities such as hunting, traveling and breeding. A new University of Washington study, with funding and satellite data from NASA, finds a trend toward earlier sea ice melt in the spring and later ice growth in the fall across all 19 polar bear populations, which can negatively impact the feeding and breeding capabilities of the bears. 

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Invasive green crab found on San Juan Island by citizen science volunteers

A European green crab (Carcinus maenas, meaning “raving mad crab”) found earlier in Willapa Bay, Washington.

Earlier this week in Westcott Bay, San Juan Island, a team of volunteer monitors caught an invasive green crab, marking the first confirmation of this global invader in Washington’s inland waters. The volunteers are part of Washington Sea Grant’s Crab Team, an early detection and monitoring program to look for European green crab (Carcinus maenas) and collect information on local marine life. 

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Interactive map shows where animals will move under climate change

Scientists predict that as Earth warms and climate patterns morph in response, animals will be forced to move to survive. That usually means hightailing it to higher latitudes as equatorial areas become too hot and dry. The University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy have created an animated map showing where mammals, birds and amphibians are projected to move in the Western Hemisphere in response to climate change. 

Read more at UW Today »