Apr 14, 2014

Puget Sound’s rich waters supplied by deep, turbulent canyon

The headwaters for Puget Sound’s famously rich waters lie far below the surface, in a submarine canyon that draws nutrient-rich water up from the deep ocean. New measurements may explain how the Pacific Northwest’s inland waters are able to support so many shellfish, salmon runs and even the occasional pod of whales.University of Washington oceanographers made the first detailed measurements at the headwater’s source, a submarine canyon offshore from the strait that separates the U.S.

Mar 28, 2014

Carbon dioxide in the tropical Pacific Ocean is increasing faster than expected

Research published by scientists at the College of the Environment Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean and NOAA has yielded new findings in the role that the tropical Pacific plays in regulating global CO2. The ocean acts both a source and sink for atmospheric CO2, and the tropical Pacific has always had a disproportionately large influence on that interplay.

Mar 14, 2014

Tethered robots tested for Internet-connected ocean observatory

The University of Washington this fall will complete installation of a massive digital ocean observatory. Dozens of instruments will connect to power and Internet cables on the seafloor, but the observatory also includes a new generation of ocean explorers: robots that will zoom up and down through almost two miles of ocean to monitor the water conditions and marine life above.

Mar 7, 2014

Dee Boersma talks penguins at the Future of Ice Speaker Series

The fifth event in the Future of Ice Speaker Series featured Dee Boersma, a UW scientist who has spent her career studying the ecology of our world’s penguins. Much of her time is spent in Punto Tombo, Argentina, focused on a large population of Magellanic penguins. She and her team have collected an impressive time-series of data on these birds–over 30 years–which has proved instrumental in understanding penguin ecology and the pressures that affect them.

Feb 25, 2014

Remembering Robert Burgner, professor of Aquaric and Fishery Sciences

Longtime Aquatic and Fishery Sciences professor Robert L. “Bud” Burgner, a pioneer in Alaska fisheries research, passed away in January. A leader in the aquatic sciences, Burgner helped establish and served as Director of the Fisheries Research Institute from which the Alaska Salmon Program was born. Burgner also shepherded the development of the High Seas Salmon program with his extensive international connections with Japanese and Canadian scientists.