Environment

As Earth faces unprecedented climate change, a look into the planetâs deep past may provide vital insights into what may lie ahead. But knowledge of the natural world millions of years ago is fragmented. A 15-year study of a site in Bolivia by a joint U.S.-Bolivia team has provided a comprehensive view of an ancient ecosystem when Earth was much warmer than it is today, and changed how we look at the Andes.

Across the animal kingdom, models have vastly underestimated the energy costs of reproduction. Lauren Buckley, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Kelp has vanished from about 80% of the shorelines around which it once grew in Puget Sound, according to a 2023 report from Washington’s Kelp Forest Monitoring Alliance. Megan Dethier, a research professor of biology at the UW and director of the UW's Friday Harbor Laboratories, is quoted.

The $900,000 award — from a collaboration between the Kavli Foundation and the National Science Foundation — will fund work by biology’s Jeff Riffell and atmospheric and climate science’s Joel Thornton. The strengths in climate science, environmental change and neuroscience that span the College of the Environment and the College of Arts and Sciences uniquely positions the UW to bridge these fields and answer novel questions.

"Hurricanes Helene and Milton remind us of electricity infrastructure’s vulnerability to extreme weather events. However, at least one Florida community, Babcock Ranch, managed to avoid electricity shutoffs from downed power lines," write the UW's Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science.

Thousands of satellites in low-Earth orbit are still lighting up the sky, frustrating astronomers. Meredith Rawls, a research scientist of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.

"Kamala Harris of 2024, in a sharp deviation from Kamala Harris of 2016-20, epitomizes the emerging climate pragmatism," write the UW's Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science.

While big-name donors and politicians gather and spend millions against the initiative to kill Washington’s fledgling carbon market, the man behind the measure is running a guerrilla campaign to sway voters to his side. Aseem Prakash, professor of political science at the UW, is quoted. James Long, professor of political science at the UW, is mentioned.

The UW-led study says the din from ships forces orcas to expend more time and energy hunting for fish. Jennifer Tennessen, senior research scientist at the UW Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, is quoted.

When an orca hunts salmon, it clicks and buzzes. It sends a beam of sounds from its nasal passages into the murky depths in hopes that the sound waves will bounce back and reveal the location of its next nutritious meal. Those hopes are often dashed when noise from passing vessels drowns out orcas’ sonar signals. Jennifer Tennessen, senior research scientist at the UW Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, is quoted.

Volcanoes spewing carbon dioxide 250 million years ago heated the climate so much that extreme El Niño events became the norm, pushing most life on Earth past its limits. Peter Ward, professor of Earth and space sciences and of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Mia Bennett, University of Washington assistant professor of geography, will spend a week this month in Norway as part of the orientation for the Fulbright Arctic IV Initiative. Bennett is one of 20 scholars selected to collaborate on multi-disciplinary research over the next 18 months.

New research led by the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has revealed how underwater noise produced by humans may help explain why southern resident orca populations have not recovered from historic lows. In a paper published Sept. 10 in Global Change Biology, the team reports that underwater noise pollution â from both large and small vessels â forces northern and southern resident orcas to expend more time and energy hunting for fish. The din also lowers the overall success of their hunting efforts. Noise from ships likely has an outsized impact on southern resident orca pods, which spend more time in parts of the Salish Sea with high ship traffic.

"The Starbucks saga reminds us that we live in an era of heightened climate sensibilities, where corporate reputations are tarnished by small acts of CEO’s perceived climate transgressions," write the UW's Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science.

A ‘mosquito flight simulator’ reveals a potential weakness in one species that carries malaria. Saumya Gupta, a postdoctoral researcher of biology at the UW, is quoted.