We swim in it, the sun sets over it, love songs are written about it and it covers 70% of the earth’s surface, yet we know so little about our deep blue sea. Oceans inspire some of the most puzzling questions and greatest discoveries on earth, and here at UW, researchers from across the sciences are dedicated to better understanding what’s in them, what’s changing about them, and how we can preserve these essential parts of our habitat.
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Follow Deana Crouser aboard the University of Washington’s floating lab, R/V Rachel Carson, as she studies some of Puget Sound’s smallest inhabitants and gives us a glimpse of what the future looks like for the world’s oceans.
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Most of us rely on the weather forecast to choose our outfit or make outdoor plans for the weekend. But conditions underwater can also be useful to know in advance, especially if you’re an oyster farmer, a fisher or even a recreational diver. A new University of Washington computer model can predict conditions in Puget Sound and off the coast of Washington three days into the future.
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The National Science Foundation announced that it has awarded a coalition of academic and oceanographic research organizations a five-year, $220 million contract to operate and maintain the Ocean Observatories Initiative. The coalition, led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with direction from the NSF and guidance from the OOI Facilities Board, will include the University of Washington, Oregon State University and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
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The productive ocean off Washington state’s Olympic Coast supports an abundant web of life including kelp forests, fish, shellfish, seabirds and marine mammals. The harvest and use of these treaty-protected marine resources have been central to the local tribes’ livelihoods, food security and cultural practices for thousands of years. But ocean acidification is changing the chemistry of these waters, putting many coastal species — and the human communities that depend upon them — under threat.
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