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Warmer Pacific Ocean could release millions of tons of seafloor methane

Sonar image of bubbles rising from the seafloor off the Washington coast.

Off the West Coast of the United States, methane gas is trapped in frozen layers below the seafloor. New research from the University of Washington shows that water at intermediate depths is warming enough to cause these carbon deposits to melt, releasing methane into the sediments and surrounding water. Researchers found that water off the coast of Washington is gradually warming at a depth of 500 meters, about a third of a mile down. 

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Sea-star wasting culprit is virus

Sea-star along the Pacific coast

Disintegrating sea stars—a process described as melting, with the arms detaching and crawling away from each other—is being caused by a virus that’s been detected in West Coast waters for more than 70 years. That’s according to new findings published in late November in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by 24 co-authors including the University of Washington’s Carolyn Friedman, a professor of aquatic and fishery sciences, and Colleen Burge, who earned her bachelor’s and doctorate from UW and is now back as a postdoctoral researcher here after four years of postdoc work at Cornell University. 

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UW-made tool displays West Coast ocean acidification data

Marc Dewey

Increasing carbon dioxide in the air penetrates into the ocean and makes it more acidic, while robbing seawater of minerals that give shellfish their crunch. The West Coast is one of the first marine ecosystems to feel its effects. A new tool doesn’t alter that reality, but it does allow scientists to better understand what’s happening and provide data to help the shellfish industry adapt to these changes. 

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High definition comes to ocean floor

The Research Vessel Clifford A. Barnes

Oceanography students in the College of the Environment scoured the bottom of Lake Union on a research cruise, testing out new high-tech equipment that allows users to peer through the lake’s deep waters. Students set sail on the Clifford A. Barnes, one of several ships and boats operated by the University of Washington. King 5 reporters joined the students for the excursion, capturing video of what they were up to and what they saw on the lake bottom. 

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Migrating animals’ pee affects ocean chemistry

A school of small fish in the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The largest migration on the planet is the movement of small animals from the surface of the open ocean, where they feed on plants under cover of darkness, to the sunless depths where they hide from predators during the day. University of Washington researchers have found that this regular migration helps shape our oceans. During the daylight hours below the surface the animals release ammonia, the equivalent of our urine, that turns out to play a significant role in marine chemistry, particularly in low-oxygen zones. 

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