Alongside fellow experts, UW professor John Vidale is working toward making the earthquake-prone Pacific Northwest a safer place. Vidale answers some of our most pressing questions.
Read more at Washington.edu »Ocean observatory comes alive
This month, researchers from across the globe gain unprecedented access to data from the U.S. Regional Cabled Ocean Observatory.
Read more at The New York Times »Citizen-science climate project adds logs from historic Arctic whaling ships
Even if climate negotiations in Paris are successful, the planet is locked into long-term warming and an uncertain future. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. But what was the Arctic like before — when maritime explorers and whale hunters first ventured into its icy seas? If scientists could know more about Arctic climate of the past, they could better understand today’s changes, and use that knowledge to improve projections for the future.
Read more at UW Today »Former astronaut lands at the College of the Environment
Dream big A question from one of her students at Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver, Wash., changed the trajectory of Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger’s life: “Mrs. ML, how do astronauts use the restroom in space?” The Earth sciences and astronomy teacher looked for the answer online, but got more than she bargained for: NASA wanted to send math and science teachers to space.
Read more »September launch could give UW team rare measurements of ‘dusty plasmas’
Researchers from the University of Washington are awaiting the launch an over 50-foot-long rocket from a launch site in Norway into the upper reaches of the atmosphere to observe and measure a puzzling phenomenon. This scientific mission, led and funded by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, will simultaneously create and observe “dusty plasmas” in Earth’s outer atmosphere. These hot, charged clouds of ions, electrons and dust form and dissipate naturally when swift-moving objects move through the atmosphere — from a satellite launching into orbit to a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere.
Read more at UW Today »