News & Blog
Painting with Data: Communicating Arctic Climate Change through Art and Science
Under anthropogenic climate change, the Arctic is warming up to 4 times more rapidly than the global average. This rapid warming impacts all facets of the Arctic system: altering seasonal weather patterns, intensifying the hydrologic cycle and storm events, reshaping ecosystem dynamics, and melting the land and sea ice that blankets much of the polar landscape. These changes do not remain confined to the Arctic.
Read moreGraduate Climate Conference 2025: Building Community and Belonging
The 19th annual Graduate Climate Conference (GCC) was held November 7–9, 2025, at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and was hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Founded by graduate students in the University of Washington’s Program on Climate Change (PCC), the GCC is an annual, student-run conference designed to foster connection, collaboration, and professional development among graduate students across climate-related fields.
Read morePCC Graduate Students Present at the COE Symposium
The UW College of the Environment Symposium gave the opportunity to showcase current research from students and faculty. The Program on Climate Change featured six presenters funded by PCC philanthropic initiatives, including Climate Science Research Acceleration Fund projects awarded to T.J. Fudge, Alison Gray, and Mira Berdahl, and Graubard Fellowships awarded to John Morgan Manous, Christina Bjarvin, and Tongxin (Joyce) Cai.
Read moreConnecting two Ice Sheets: Glacier and Snow Seasonality in Greenland and Antarctica
As we continue to expand our understanding of climate change, it is crucial to study its effects on both short- and long-term time scales. Seasonality is the study of sub-annual patterns in data that are significant to long-term data trends. Here, I present my main PhD work on the seasonality of outlet glaciers in Greenland and a side project on the seasonality of firn, which led me to do fieldwork in Antarctica!
Read moreUCo: A View Into Climate Careers
On Tuesday, November 4th, the PCC’s undergraduate cohort (UCo) hosted a climate careers panel. UCo’s goal was to provide undergraduate students with varied perspectives and insight into career options that utilize climate education and applications. This panel featured UW alum Taryn Black (Postdoctoral Associate with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center through the University of Maryland), Sam Shugart (Market Analyst at Puget Sound Energy), and Steffen Coenen (Electromobility Engineer/Planner at DSK Associates).
Read moreAt The Sea Ice Edge: Upcoming art + science collaboration event
“At The Sea Ice Edge” is an art + science collaboration with artist Jill Pelto designed to highlight research from NASA’s SASSIE (Salinity and Stratification at the Sea Ice Edge) project. In collaboration with members of the SASSIE science team, Jill has created a series of four paintings that convey the science of SASSIE and the impact of climate change on the Arctic, with each piece directly incorporating environmental data.
Read moreIn the News: Kyle Armour quoted on climate predictions in Tangle
PCC Interim Director, Kyle Armour (UW OCEAN & ATMOS), sat down with Ari Weitzman of Tangle (an independent, non-partisan media outlet) on climate predictions, the future of climate, and what scientists know and how. Grab a coffee and check out the article that brings together research, plain language, and context to address climate skepticism and the evolution of the understanding of climate change.
Read moreUCo in Review: Recapping the Year and Looking Forward to Next
As Spring Quarter comes to an end, the Program on Climate Change (PCC) Undergraduate Cohort (UCo) reflects on its year and looks forward to the next. Each year, UCo is guided by a different set of students and their unique interests in supporting the undergraduate climate science community. As new students join the team, the goals of the group change, always welcoming new ideas and energy.
Read moreAnnouncing the PNW Climate Ambassadors: Building Capacity for Public Climate Conversations
How do scientists develop confidence and experience having conversations with the general public around climate science, global and local impact, and solutions when their areas of expertise are in a disciplinary science such as oceanography or urban planning? In Fall 2024, the Program on Climate Change (PCC), and the Washington State Climate Office (WASCO), set out to create a training program that would help develop the capacity for graduate students to do just that, and to serve as a community resource on climate science and solutions.
Read moreBeyond Prediction: Building Capacity and Innovation in Adaptation Through a Participatory Evaluation
As the impacts of climate change intensify, communities across Washington are increasingly engaging in climate change adaptation planning to prepare for more frequent and severe climate impacts. Monitoring and evaluation of these plans is a crucial step to improve their efficacy and implementation, but often goes undone, as many communities struggle to assemble the resources and staff capacity evaluation requires. This leaves a critical blind spot as to whether a community’s adaptation practices are yielding the desired results.
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