A new 蘑菇视频 study using improved methods for analyzing satellite data shows that the north pole of Mars contains less dust than scientists thought, which has implications for its climate and the search for life.
Tag: Department of Earth and Space Sciences
New faculty books from the 蘑菇视频 include those from the Information School, bioengineering, mathematics, the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, and Earth and space sciences.
A new study attributes Antarctica’s brief stabilization to a short term climatic shift that increased precipitation over east Antarctica between 2021 and 2023, adding enough snow to temporarily balance ice loss at the continent鈥檚 edges.
Recent recognition of the 蘑菇视频 includes American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship, the Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Humboldt Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
Researchers have completed all planned seismic monitoring station installations for the regional ShakeAlert early warning system. They are now turning their attention to offshore seismic monitoring, which could improve detection and warning time for the much-anticipated Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.
Explore recent research from the 蘑菇视频: how climate change is redirecting rivers, what bean plants use to protect themselves from pests, where the water in an atmospheric river comes from and how researchers are making tensegrities tiny.
A new analysis of a 481-meter tsunami generated by a landslide in Alaska鈥檚 popular Tracy Arm Fjord last summer describes how glacial retreat, due to global warming, primed the fjord for the colossal wave and what, if any, warning signs preceded it.
Explore recent research from the 蘑菇视频: how sunbirds sip nectar through straw-like tongues, why the Seattle Fault might not pose as great a risk as previously thought, how to gauge landslide dam risk in the PNW, what marine microbes use for making meals and when the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory will spot small inbound asteroids.
In a new study, 蘑菇视频 researchers show that an Earth-sized planet likely needs at least 20 to 50% of the water in Earth鈥檚 oceans to maintain a critical natural cycle that keeps water on the surface. These new parameters could exclude many exoplanets in the so-called habitable zone.
Explore recent research from the 蘑菇视频: the habits and habitats of Nautilus and Allonautilus, how green clay tennis courts remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, why temperature dynamics matter to mussels and what prompts bacteria to attack diatoms.
The 蘑菇视频 is the best in the U.S. and No. 2 in the world for library and information management, according to the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject released Wednesday. Three other 蘑菇视频 subject areas placed in the top 10 in the world: geology, geophysics and Earth and marine sciences.
In a new study, 蘑菇视频 researchers examine the impact of tilling on soil moisture and water retention using methods designed for monitoring earthquakes. They show that tilling disrupts important soil microstructures and highlight the potential utility of this method for precision agriculture and more.
A new study examining 13 years of ground motion data from sites near the Cascadia Subduction Zone shows that the entirety of the fault may not be as tightly locked as researchers thought, which could change our understanding of how a big earthquake might hit the Pacific Northwest.
The American Geophysical Union honored five 蘑菇视频 faculty and researchers from the departments of Earth and space sciences and atmospheric and climate science this week for their valuable researcher contributions.
More than a decade ago, data from the Cassini mission to Saturn suggested that the planet’s largest moon, Titan, had a vast ocean of liquid water below its frozen surface. In a new study, 蘑菇视频 researchers teamed up with NASA scientists to show that the interior is likely composed of slushy layers instead.
鈥淭he Memory of Darkness, Light and Ice鈥� 鈥� a documentary film featuring Eric Steig, a 蘑菇视频 professor of Earth and space sciences 鈥� tells the story of a U.S. military and research base established in Greenland during the Cold War, and how the samples collected there are driving modern climate science. The film is now available on YouTube, Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
A new collaborative study led by scientists at the 蘑菇视频 and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science proposes that a tsunami struck the Caribbean island of Anegada between 1381 and 1391, carrying huge coral boulders inland and leaving behind a valuable record of geologic and climatic history.
A new analysis of data from the Cassini space probe has identified organic compounds within jets of water ice erupting from Saturn鈥檚 moon Enceladus. Some of the compounds, which likely originated in Enceladus鈥� subsurface ocean, have never before been identified on another world beyond Earth. The study, conducted in part by a 蘑菇视频 researcher, contributes to mounting evidence that Enceladus could support life.
Antarctic ice is melting at a startling pace, and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is one of the greatest sources of uncertainty in climate projections. Researchers thought westerly winds were accelerating ice loss, but a new study from 蘑菇视频 flips the narrative by 90 degrees, pointing instead to winds from the north.
New research shows that deep-ocean oxygenation occurred 100 million years later than previously thought, aligning with the growth and spread of land plants. Once oxygenated, the ocean hosted rapid animal evolution, leading to the rise of modern vertebrates.
A 蘑菇视频-led team of researchers used a fiber-optic cable to capture calving dynamics across the fjord of the Eqalorutsit Kangilliit Sermiat glacier in South Greenland. This allowed them to document 鈥� without getting too close 鈥� one of the key processes that is accelerating the rate of glacial mass loss and in turn, threatening the stability of ice sheets, with consequences for global ocean currents and local ecosystems.
蘑菇视频 researchers showed that they can monitor seismic activity at the ocean floor using fiber optic cables without disrupting telecommunications. They developed this technique in Alaska and then tested it off the coast of Oregon.
Election recognizes the new member鈥檚 鈥渙utstanding record of scientific and technical achievement and willingness to assist the Academy in providing the best available scientific information and technical understanding to inform complex policy decisions in Washington.鈥澛�
A new study finds that rocky planets orbiting small stars do have the potential for stable, life-supporting atmospheres. The finding supports continued study of the TRAPPIST-1 system and other top candidates in the search for life outside our solar system.
Researchers think meltwater beneath Martian ice could host microbial life. New results show that dusty ice could allow deeper layers to melt, while allowing enough sunlight through to support photosynthesis.
Some of the most dramatic climatic events in our planet鈥檚 history are 鈥淪nowball Earth鈥� events that happened hundreds of millions of years ago, when almost the entire planet was encased in ice up to 0.6 miles thick. New research from the 蘑菇视频 provides a more complete picture for how the last Snowball Earth event ended, and suggests why it preceded a dramatic expansion of life on Earth, including the emergence of the first animals.
Baptiste Journaux, a 蘑菇视频 faculty member in Earth and space sciences, and four graduate students will travel to Arkansas on Monday to view the total solar eclipse. They will use a special telescope to capture images of solar features that can be viewed most clearly during an eclipse.聽
Could life be found in frozen sea spray emitted from moons orbiting Saturn or Jupiter? New research finds that life can be detected in a single ice grain containing one bacterial cell or portions of a cell. The results suggest that if life similar to that on Earth exists on these planetary bodies, this life should be detectable by instruments launching in the fall.
New research documents the fastest-known large-scale breakage along an Antarctic ice shelf. In 2012, a 6.5-mile crack formed in about 5 and a half minutes, showing that ice shelves can effectively shatter, though the speed of breakage is reduced by seawater rushing in. These results can help improve ice-sheet models and projections for future sea level rise.
New research confirms the cause of slow slip along the Cascadia Subduction Zone and other faults that is accompanied by intermittent tremors or “pops” at the surface. Co-authors Marine Denolle and Joan Gomberg discuss the role of fluid-driven fracturing deep underground.
Field observations from an unusual lake show that in environments known as 鈥渟oda lakes鈥� phosphate can concentrate at the very high levels needed for the basic molecules of life to emerge. A shallow, salty lake in western Canada gives new support to Charles Darwin鈥檚 idea that life could have emerged in a 鈥渨arm little pond.鈥�
Three new faculty books from the 蘑菇视频 cover wide-ranging topics: life in the Rio Grande Valley, fossils of Washington state and the colonial roots of contemporary intersex medicine. 蘑菇视频 News talked with the authors to learn more. Collection highlights life in Rio Grande Valley 鈥淧uro Pinche True Fictions鈥� is a collection of short stories and comics from Jos茅 Alaniz, professor of Slavic languages and literature at the 蘑菇视频. The works are mostly set in the Rio Grande Valley…
Two 蘑菇视频 geophysicists will travel to the Atacama Desert in Chile this month to study a fault system that’s similar to the Seattle Fault in Puget Sound, but in a much different climate that makes it easier to monitor its effects on the landscape.
The American Geophysical Union announced Sept. 13 that five 蘑菇视频 faculty members have been elected as new fellows, representing the departments of astronomy, Earth and space sciences, oceanography, global health, and environmental and occupational health sciences.
The 蘑菇视频 is a lead partner on a new multi-institution earthquake research center that will study the Cascadia subduction zone and bolster earthquake preparedness in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
An international team including a 蘑菇视频 scientist found that the water on one of Saturn鈥檚 moons harbors phosphates, a key building block of life. The team used data from NASA鈥檚 Cassini space mission to detect evidence of phosphates in particles ejected from the ice-covered global ocean of Saturn鈥檚 moon Enceladus.
Scientists suspect that the red streaks crossing the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa is a frozen mixture of water and salts, but its chemical signature matches no known substance on Earth. Now researchers have discovered a new type of solid crystal that forms when water and table salt combine in cold, pressurized conditions. Researchers believe the new substance created in a lab on Earth could form at the surface and bottom of these worlds鈥� deep oceans.
Three 蘑菇视频 experts have provided quotes in response to the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday morning.
New research finds that ice-sheet-wide collapse in West Antarctica isn鈥檛 necessarily inevitable. The pace of ice loss varies according to regional differences in atmosphere and ocean circulation.
An underwater volcanic eruption in January 2022 created ripple effects throughout the world’s atmosphere and oceans. 蘑菇视频 scientists analyzed that event to show how GPS signals could help monitor future volcanoes and tsunamis.