A huge circulation pattern in the Atlantic Ocean took a starring role in the 2004 movie, “The Day After Tomorrow.” In that fictional tale, the global oceanic current suddenly stops and New York City freezes over. While many aspects of the movie are unrealistic, oceanographers are concerned about the long-term stability of Atlantic Ocean circulation, and previous studies show that it has slowed dramatically in the past decade.
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UW’s College of the Environment is pleased to announce that Dr. W. Russell Callender has been named the director of Washington Sea Grant and will join UW Environment’s ranks in September 2018. As a result of the Advisory Search Committee’s deeply consultative process led by Amy Snover, Russell emerged as the best person to lead Washington Sea Grant. Russell is a committed champion for coastal science and conservation and brings more than 25 years of experience in science, policy and management to the director position — including several years as the assistant director of the Virginia Sea Grant Program.
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In recent decades, parts of the Arctic seas have become increasingly ice-free in late summer and early fall. As sea ice is expected to continue to recede due to climate change, seasonal ship traffic from tourism and freight is projected to rise. A study from the University of Washington and the University of Alaska Fairbanks is the first to consider potential impacts on the marine mammals that use this region in autumn and identify which species will be most vulnerable.
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Dozens of scientists, as well as underwater drones and other high-tech ocean instruments, will set sail from Seattle in mid-August. Funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation, the team will study the life and death of the small organisms that play a critical role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and in the ocean’s carbon cycle. More than 100 scientists and crew from more than 20 U.S.
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In the fall of 2014, West Coast residents witnessed a strange, unprecedented ecological event. Tens of thousands of small seabird carcasses washed ashore on beaches from California to British Columbia, in what would become one of the largest bird die-offs ever recorded. A network of more than 800 citizen scientists responded as the birds, called Cassin’s auklets, turned up dead in droves along the coast.
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