New research from the University of Washington and collaborators is the first to document the complex vocal repertoire of the Cook Inlet beluga whale population. It is also the first to quantify how ship noise may be masking specific beluga calls in this region.
Read more at UW News »Year in review: College of the Environment story highlights from 2023
From new discoveries in our solar system to insights about how predators and prey interact with humans, 2023 was another impressive year of research in the College of the Environment. Our students tackled new challenges, and we celebrated anniversaries, new honors, new leadership positions and more.
Read more »WhaleVis turns more than a century of whaling data into an interactive map
Even though they’re the largest animals on earth, whales remain difficult to track. So experts often turn to historical whaling data to inform current research. A dataset maintained by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) contains detailed information on commercial whale catches — more than 2.1 million records, predominantly from 1880 until the IWC banned whaling in 1986. Yet for researchers, distilling that data can prove its own challenge.
Read more at UW News »North Atlantic’s marine productivity may not be declining, according to new study of older ice cores
A prominent 2019 study used ice cores in Antarctica to suggest that marine productivity in the North Atlantic had declined by 10% during the industrial era, with worrying implications that the trend might continue. But new research led by the University of Washington shows that marine phytoplankton — on which larger organisms throughout the marine ecosystem depend — may be more stable than believed in the North Atlantic.
Read more at UW News »UW students get hands-on experience with Seagliders
In spring of 2023, University of Washington undergraduates loaded a curious-looking, brightly-colored machine onto a boat and headed out into Puget Sound. The machine, an autonomous underwater vehicle known as a Seaglider, looked like a cross between a torpedo and a rocket ship, and would be tasked with collecting a variety of important data about our oceans. What’s more, this particular launch would represent the first successful deployment of a Seaglider by UW students.
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