News & Blog
UW Climate Scientists Contribute to Multi-Institute Hackathon to Understand New Climate Model Data
by Robert Jnglin Wills Modeling centers around the world are now releasing data from simulations with the next generation of climate models, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). For three days in October, thirty UW climate science graduate students and postdocs got together to see what they could learn about future climate change from these new simulations. We combined efforts with CMIP6 hackathons at two other institutes, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York.
Read morePCC/GCeCS Information Session
Graduate Certificate in Climate Science (GCeCS) 2019 Capstone and Outreach Opportunities December 2019 Each fall graduate students interested in learning more about the Program on Climate Change (PCC) and the Graduate Certificate in Climate Science (GCeCS) gather to introduce themselves and learn about capstone opportunities. On 7 Nov 2019 twenty-five students heard directly from three mentors, from fellow students working on capstones, from the PCC Director Becky Alexander, and from GCeCS adviser Miriam Bertram.
Read moreDoes a Few Degrees C of Global Warming Matter? or Understanding and Using Simple Climate Models, the 2019 Current Climate Change Workshop for High School Teachers, University of Washington, 18 May 2019.
By Miriam Bertram, Workshop Facilitator As global warming continues, and the resultant impacts on the biosphere become increasingly apparent, our young people are taking to the streets to demand political action. As these young people traverse the educational system, they need coursework and context for understanding and changing the future, for understanding what they are marching to achieve. To serve our youth, high school science teachers need resources for expanding their knowledge and keeping up with climate as it changes.
Read moreThe Third Annual Spring Symposium was held on April 27, 2019
The Program on Climate Change (PCC) held its third annual Spring Symposium on Saturday, April 27, 2019. Over the span of lively morning and early afternoon sessions, 17 students and postdoctoral researchers shared their climate-related research, education, and outreach work through a full program of talks and posters. These presentations represented a variety of perspectives on climate, drawing from observation and modeling of physical and ecological processes on scales ranging from the hyperlocal to global, as well as insights from policy, industry, and philosophy.
Read morePCC presents "Climate Change and Impacts on the Pacific Northwest", a Whole U Seminar December 2018
Climate change is already affecting life in the Northwest, and impacts are expected to grow over the coming century. How would limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compare to current global commitments? The PCC assembled a panel of UW expert scientists who spoke about where we are headed regarding temperature extremes, snowpack, and impacts on human health, fish, and wildlife. They considered climate impacts from different future emissions scenarios, including current international commitments to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Read moreBetween snow storms PCC gathers to welcome and congratulate
On 6 February 2019, nestled in time between two major snow events (#SnowMageddon2019) was the PCC Winter Welcome (#PCCWinterWelcome). The event attracted a cozy crowd who gathered to reconnect around food and drink with friends and colleagues from across campus. This event is an opportunity to introduce and welcome the first year graduate students who received PCC fellowships, postdocs working on climate from across campus, GCeCS awardees and new PCC board members.
Read morePCC Researchers and Graduate Students Build Partnerships to Address Wildfire Smoke Health Risks
After two summers in a row of several statewide smoke events in Washington, addressing the health impacts of wildfire smoke on communities has never been more urgent. While many scientific questions about wildfire smoke remain unanswered, answers to questions about risk communication and public health interventions are among the most pressing needs for impacted communities. With that goal in mind, a team of PCC faculty, researchers, and graduate students came together to plan a collaborative, interdisciplinary symposium around wildfire smoke risk communication.
Read more“Sources of Uncertainty in Long-Term Climate Projections” - PCC Summer Institute 2018
by Sarah Ragen and Hannah Director On September 12-14, 2018, members of the UW community and invited guests gathered at UW’s Friday Harbor Labs for the Program on Climate Change’s annual Summer Institute. The topic this year was “Sources of Uncertainty in Long-Term Climate Projections.” Participants attending the institute were introduced to many issues that affect how we quantify the uncertainty related to long-term climate projections.
Read moreLooking back at “Using past observations to constrain future climate variability and change” the inaugural mini-symposium
The Program on Climate Change hosted its inaugural “mini-symposium” at the UW Waterfront Activity Center on February 8-9, 2018. Exploring the theme of “Using past observations to constrain future climate variability and change”, the mini-symposium brought together a wide range of participants and speakers, including from the School of Oceanography, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, the Applied Physics Lab, and the NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.
Read moreBuilding Relationships to Promote Science-Based Decision Making
PCC graduate students from ESS (Taryn Black and Emma Kahle) and ATMOS (Michael Diamond) worked with the Union of Concerned Scientists to host a very successful event to train scientists to talk to policymakers. Inspired by the angst expressed by climate scientists during the PCC Climate Conversations last winter, this event created a pathway for action and for sharing research and science skill outside of academia.
Read about the event in the UCS blog post by Taryn, Emma and Michael.