News & Blog
PCC 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 moreCongratulations 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 EngineeringDale Durran, Atmospheric Science Professor, comments on I-1631
In a letter to the editor published in The Seattle Times on October 29, 2018, Atmospheric Science Professor Dale Durran, along with 21 other professors express their views on I-1631, a ballot initiative proposing a carbon tax in Washington.
Read more at The Seattle Times“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 morePlant 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 NewsOn Wildfire Smoke and Climate Change
As satellite images of wildfire smoke and local air quality data streamed into our labs last month, the implications of our science have never felt so immediate. The thick haze of toxic wildfire smoke created levels of particulate matter that are the worst in over two decades for the Puget Sound region. In a lab meeting on a record-breaking pollution day, a colleague described a sinking feeling in her gut when she saw a group of children at summer camp playing outside in the smoke, since wildfire smoke can be especially dangerous for kids.
Read moreUnderstanding and Advancing Natural Resource Management in the Context of Changing Ocean Conditions
By Nyssa Baechler and Katie Keil The ocean is easy to take for granted一every day the tides roll in and out like clockwork, salmon return each season to their natal streams, and the ocean provides essential resources to sustain life around the globe. However, changes are happening at an unprecedented rate and the magnitude of the consequences of these changes is largely unknown.
Read moreCongratulations to Professor Cecilia Bitz, 2018 AGU Fellow!
Our PCC Director, Cecilia Bitz, was named AGU Fellow for the class of 2018, a recognition that only 0.1% of the AGU membership receives in any given year. The AGU fellows program recognizes members who achieve excellence in research in ways that help us understand the complex natural world, in new, innovative ways that have sustained impact. Cecilia will receive the honor in December at the AGU Fall Meeting in Washington D.C. Read more about the AGU fellowship program here.
American Geophysical Union Announces 2018 FellowsMindfulness Practices as a Tool for Climate Change Communication
I’ve practiced nature-based spirituality in one form or another for more than twenty years. But spiritual or religious practices are not something that most scientists, particularly those in the “hard sciences,” talk about. This is perhaps a natural consequence of the idea that science needs to be unbiased. Personally, however, I feel a strong connection to the ocean generally and the Puget Sound region specifically.
Read more"Climate change could heighten risk of global food production ‘shocks’"--Michelle Tigchelaar writes about her recent paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Michelle Tichelaar, a postdoctoral researcher at UW Atmospheric Sciences and others show in the PNAS paper that climate change will increase the likelihood of major crop failures of corn, and other crops, and provides context for the article in her piece for "Carbon Brief" Tigchelaar, M., Battisti, D. S., Naylor, R. L. and Ray, D. K. (2018) Future warming increases probability of globally synchronized maize production shocks, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi:10.1073/pnas.1718031115
Michelle's opinion post in Carbon Brief