News & Blog
UW Researchers detect carbon dioxide outgassing in the Southern Ocean
Alison Gray (UW Oceanography) and her team recently published a paper in AGU about significant carbon dioxide outgassing in the Southern Ocean during the winter. The Southern Ocean was previously thought to be a carbon sink, based off of measurements that were sparse and tended to be from the summer. This paper used data from SOCCOM (Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling) floats that take measurements year-round. Steve Riser (UW Oceanography) leads the UW team that is a part of SOCCOM. They build and test the floats before they are deployed, and have a key role in SOCCOM's observational group.
Read More at ScienceNewsCongratulations to Surabhi Biyani, UW's only 2019 Hollings Undergraduate Scholar
This highly coveted award went to 125 undergraduates across the country--with UW represented by Surabhi Biyani, PCC's current undergraduate assistant, a College of the Environment ambassador and double major in Earth and Space Science and Atmospheric Science. The award is targeted at students who are committed "to help us better understand our changing world" and allows them research opportunities as well as tuition support.
Learn moreCongratulations to Chris Bretherton, newly elected member of the National Academy of Sciences
Chris Bretherton, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and Applied Mathematics and former PCC Director was elected to the National Academy of Sciences on April 30th, 2019.
Read more at UW NewsJanneke Hille Ris Lambers' Citizen Science Project featured in Science News for Students
Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, a professor in UW Biology, recently had her citizen science project MeadoWatch featured in Science News for Students. Science News for Students in an online publication that aims to provide students with approachable and relevant science news.
Read more at Science News for StudentsWOMEN IN STEM PART 4: CELEBRATING THE IN(DI)VISIBLE WOMEN OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Alex Stote and Zoë van Duivenbode, SMEA graduate students, friends and colleagues, combine their voices to highlight and celebrate women across the planet leading in climate.
Read the article in SMEA's "Currents: A Student Blog"Between 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 moreAnn Bostrom elected to Board of Directors for the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Ann Bostrom, Weyerhaeuser Endowed Professor in Environmental Policy, was elected to the board of directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS seeks to "advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people." Congratulations, Ann!
Learn more about the AAAS 2018 electionsCongratulations to Rebecca Neumann, AGU Award Recipient
Rebecca Neumann, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering is the American Geophysical Union’s 2018 recipient of the Charles S. Falkenberg Award given in “recognition of an early- to middle-career scientist who has contributed to the quality of life, economic opportunities and stewardship of the planet through the use of Earth science information and to the public awareness of the importance of understanding our planet.” Neumann has been an active PCC board member, she is currently on sabbatical.
Read more at UW Civil and Environmental EngineeringPlant response to elevated carbon dioxide amplifies warming
A new study published by Marlies Kovenock, a graduate student in the Department of Biology and member of the PCC, demonstrates how the response of plants to climate change could result in more warming. Plants have been observed to change the thickness of their leaves when subject to increased CO2. Yet, the consequence of this physiological response is still poorly understood. Does this response amplify or dampen the warming caused by the increased CO2? Kovenock suggests that the thicker leaves may amplify the effects of climate change because the leaves would be less efficient in sequestering atmospheric carbon. By not accounting for this response, it means that global temperatures could rise by an extra 0.3 to 1.4 degrees Celsius.
Read More at UW NewsPCC members part of massive international project to monitor Thwaites Glacier
Knut Christianson, an assistant professor of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, and Nick Holschuh, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, are helping to lead a massive international collaboration to better understand the fate of Thwaites Glacier, nicknamed the "world's most dangerous glacier". Their work is just one of eight projects involving over 100 scientists. The project aims to collect better data that will eventually be fed into computer models to forecast the future of Earth’s climate. The data that Christianson and Holschuh will collect will be from scans using two different radars to map the individual layers of snow, ice, and bedrock. Predictions of the near-term fate of Thwaites Glacier depend critically on a more detailed picture of the bed topography where the glacier resides.
Read More at UW News