A new University of Washington study shows that plunge-diving birds such as gannets and boobies have unique morphological adaptations that allow them to survive high speed, headfirst impact.
Environment
A group of 175 researchers, including eight from the University of Washington, co-authored a commentary published in Earth’s Future and the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society that provides a roadmap for future climate assessments in the U.S. by synthesizing the science and identifying research priorities based on existing gaps.
A NASA satellite originally designed to study large bodies of water may also be able to monitor most of the world’s irrigation canals, according to a new UW study. This capability could help farmers and water managers around the world manage resources, prepare for droughts and improve food security in their communities.
A new University of Washington 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.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: ancient capybara and palm fossils found in the desert, a window into the bottom of the food web, waves that go a different way, environmental advocacy in Colombia, the mechanics of blood clotting and a superconducting surprise.
A new University of Washington study shows that past emissions from the top 178 oil, gas, coal and cement producers will prolong warming and increase the odds of extreme weather events occurring years into the future.
A new UW study shows a nine-fold increase in coyote density in Seattle compared to natural areas of Washington state. Coyotes in urban environments have fewer predators and more prey, which may help explain the national trend.
Melinda Webster, a research scientist at the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory, is the lead author on a new study that catalogs changes in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice over the past 50-plus years. She spoke with UW News about the story behind the numbers.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: nectar-stealing Hawaiian honeycreepers, ChatGPT and anxious attachment, the cost of nursing for marine mammals, new magnetic nanomaterials, and a new strategy to subdue finicky plasma.
Dominic Muren, UW teaching professor of design, and Adrienne Russell, UW professor of communication, examine environmental problems from a perspective beyond the hard sciences. They spoke to UW News about what today’s energy crises reveal about contemporary societies’ dependence on fossil fuels and how we can create a “solar-powered system.”
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’s edges.
After tracking birds in the Puget Sound lowlands for 12 years, researchers conclude that birds respond better to some development configurations than others, highlighting measures developers can take to protect native species while still meeting the region’s growing demands.
As fires rage and smoke smothers the Pacific Northwest, UW News sat down with five UW experts in fire science, forestry, air pollution and more to ask how they manage wildfire season.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: a new AI framework for developing advanced materials, a test of climate models’ ability to predict temperature trends, and the role of paternal body odor in brain-to-brain synchrony with infants.
A new University of Washington study maps how the 2001 roadless rule protects U.S. rivers, and how rescinding the rule could impact access to clean drinking water, biodiversity, outdoor recreation and more.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: low-income communities and communities of color disproportionately impacted by air pollution, an unfathomably fast chemical reaction, ups and downs in the methane record, and the cigar galaxy pictured at high resolution.
The prevalence of Bigg’s killer whales is increasing in Puget Sound, while the chances of sighting the southern residents remains slim, and pod-specific.
Every summer, UW researchers head to northern Botswana to study how large predators, such as lions and African wild dogs, are affected by climate change and other shifts in their environment. UW News asked a few team members to describe their plans for this summer.
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.
Efforts to restore fish passage are cropping up across the country, but these projects come with hefty price tags. In a new study, University of Washington researchers explore different approaches to improving the benefits from investments in salmon recovery.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: 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.
Marina Alberti, a University of Washington professor of urban design and planning, studies how cities and natural ecosystems influence one another. UW News spoke to Alberti about how climate change is triggering evolutionary change within nature-based infrastructure projects — and what urban planners can do about it.
In a new study, University of Washington scientists eavesdropped on Cook Inlet belugas to better understand the context of their calls and how human noise is impacting their ability to communicate with each other.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku caused widespread damage on the Mariana islands in April, leaving many people without power, tearing roofs off homes and destroying vital infrastructure. Several ongoing UW research projects focused on native birds and plants were disrupted.
A new analysis of a 481-meter tsunami generated by a landslide in Alaska’s 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 University of Washington: 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.
The Ecological Society of America named the UW’s Claire Willing a 2026 Early Career Fellow. Willing, an assistant professor of environmental and forest science, studies fungal ecology, looking at how fungi are evolving and supporting plant communities as the climate changes.
In a new study, University of Washington researchers show that an Earth-sized planet likely needs at least 20 to 50% of the water in Earth’s 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.
New evidence suggests that a disease-causing tapeworm that has been spreading across the United States and Canada has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. The tapeworm, called Echinococcus multilocularis, was found in one-third of coyotes surveyed from the Puget Sound region.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: 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.
A team of 170 scientists and experts — led by Phil Levin, interim executive director of the UW’s EarthLab — has published a draft of a report detailing the health of U.S. nature. While some of the resulting statistics are grim, the report highlights many areas of opportunity. Researchers welcome public comment through May 30.
New research shows that as winters get warmer, more icy crusts may form within snowpacks in much of the Pacific Northwest, increasing the risk of avalanche in some areas and changing the behavior of wildlife across the region.
In a new study, University of Washington 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.
Researchers tracked ravens and wolves in Yellowstone National Park for two and half years to show that ravens do not follow wolves to scavenge their prey but instead remember where wolves often kill and monitor these sites for fresh meat.
Spring is here, which in Seattle, means cherry blossoms. The UW’s iconic display — featuring 29 Yoshino cherry trees — is set to peak around March 20 this year. Check out the cherry blossom visitors’ website to learn more.
Researchers at UW and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are simulating something in the lab that they hope will rarely happen in the wild: a collision between underwater turbines and marine animals.
Forest managers in the eastern Cascades selectively thin forests to promote wildfire resilience. New research from the UW shows that the same process can also increase seasonal snowpack, providing some relief to drought-prone areas throughout central Washington.
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.
Jennifer Ruesink, University of Washington professor of biology, studies the relationship between the environment and marine organisms, including eelgrass, the primary species of seagrass that resides in the oceans surrounding Washington. In honor of World Seagrass Day, UW News asked Ruesink to explain what seagrass is and what makes the seagrasses in Washington unique.
NASA announced on Thursday last week that both the University of Washington STRIVE team and the UW-affiliated EDGE team were selected to lead satellite missions to better understand Earth and improve capabilities to foresee environmental events and mitigate disasters.