UW News

College of the Environment


September 23, 2025

Longer body size means more female calves for baleen whale moms

Two whales, a mother and her calf, swim toward the surface of the ocean.

University of Washington researchers found, in historical whaling data, that longer baleen whale mothers were more likely to birth female calves than males. These results run contrary to a leading evolutionary theory that suggests that fit mothers will benefit more from male offspring.


September 10, 2025

Researchers find key to Antarctic ice loss blowing in the north wind

A large wall of ice sits atop the ice-covered surface of west Antarctica. Penguins walk across the surface of the sea ice.

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 UW flips the narrative by 90 degrees, pointing instead to winds from the north.


September 8, 2025

Ocean warming puts vital marine microbe at risk

Sunset aboard the Thomas G. Thompson research vessel during a research cruise.

Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthesizing organism in the ocean, might be more vulnerable to climate change than researchers thought. Population decline could weaken the foundation of subtropical and tropical ecosystems as ocean temperatures continue to rise.


September 4, 2025

This common fish has an uncommon feature: Forehead teeth, used for mating

An illustration of a fish with teeth in its mouth and teeth on the tip of a trunk-like structure protruding from its forehead.

New findings call into question one of the core assumptions about teeth. Adult male spotted ratfish, a shark-like species native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, have rows of teeth on top of their heads, lining a cartilaginous appendage called the tenaculum, in addition to those in their jaws. They used their tenaculum teeth to grip females while mating in water.


August 27, 2025

New ad highlights national impact of Big Ten universities

Big10 we are here

The positive impact of Big Ten universities across the Pacific Northwest and around the nation will be highlighted in a new 30-second ad that will air during sporting events featuring conference members, starting with this week’s season-opening football games. The ad – entitled “We Are Here” – will air alongside the fan-favorite “Maps” spot. The…


Fund for Science and Technology invests in the UW College of the Environment to further innovation and research related to climate solutions

three researchers collecting specimens in a marsh

The University of Washington’s College of the Environment will expand its work related to climate solutions thanks to a grant announced today from Fund for Science and Technology, FFST, a new foundation within the Paul G. Allen philanthropic ecosystem.


August 25, 2025

How oxygen made the deep ocean home to animals, spurring rapid evolution

an illustration of an larged jawed fish, reminiscent of early deep-ocean dwellers

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.


This AI model simulates 1000 years of the current climate in just one day

Satellite image of the US showing a low pressure weather system hovering over the midwest and extending east. Exemplary of the simulations the model creates.

University of Washington researchers use AI to simulate the Earth’s current climate and interannual variability for up to 1,000 years. The model runs on a single processor and takes just 12 hours to generate a forecast.


August 13, 2025

‘Revolutionary’ seafloor fiber sensing reveals how falling ice drives glacial retreat in Greenland

A Greenlandic fjord landscape with a huge glacier emerging from the background towards the front.

A UW-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 — without getting too close — 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.


August 4, 2025

‘The discovery of the decade’: Researchers have found the culprit behind sea star wasting disease

the underside of a sea star

An international research effort, including scientists from the University of Washington, has finally revealed the cause of sea star wasting disease: a strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida.


July 24, 2025

Seismologists tapped into the fiber optic cable network to study offshore faults

A drone photo taken from above the Homer Spit, a 4.5 mile stretch that extends into the ocean. On the left, fiber optic cables are beneath the water.

University of Washington 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.


July 21, 2025

In the field: UW researchers bound for Alaska’s earthquake-impacted marshlands

researcher holds field instrument on a beach

Kendall Valentine, an assistant professor of oceanography at University of Washington, along with collaborators from the University of Rhode Island and the Desert Research Institute are traveling to Anchorage and the Copper River Delta to study marshes that formed in the years following the 1964 earthquake.


June 30, 2025

Joel Thornton named interim dean of the College of the Environment

man with glasses

University of Washington Provost Tricia R. Serio announced that Joel Thornton has agreed to serve as interim dean of the College of the Environment, effective July 1, until a new permanent dean is selected.


Four UW researchers named Fulbright Scholars

A collage of four UW professors showing their headshots.

Four University of Washington researchers have been selected as Fulbright Scholars for 2025-2026 and will pursue studies in Spain, Taiwan, Poland and Japan.


June 18, 2025

UW is the No. 8 university in the world, according to new US News & World Report rankings

The University of Washington is No. 8 on the 2025-26 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities rankings, released on Tuesday. The UW maintained its No. 2 ranking among U.S. public institutions.


June 3, 2025

Study projects that increasing wildfires in Canada and Siberia will actually slow global warming

Orange smoke surrounds a New York City bridge.

A new University of Washington–led study projects that in the next 35 years increasing boreal fires will actually slow global warming by 12% globally and 38% in the Arctic. Because the aerosols in smoke reflect more sunlight and make clouds brighter, summer temperatures during fire season drop, leading to reduced sea ice loss and cooler winter temperatures.


Iron from coal, steel industries alters North Pacific ecosystem

Scattered clouds float above the ocean during an orange-colored sunset.

The study revealed that iron released from industrial processes, such as coal combustion and steelmaking, is altering the ecosystem in the North Pacific Transition Zone, an area just north of Hawai’i that’s important for Pacific fisheries.


May 30, 2025

Atlantic Ocean current expected to undergo limited weakening with climate change, study finds

Closeup of waves in the ocean

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, is a system of ocean currents that plays a crucial role in regulating Earth’s climate by transporting heat from the Southern to Northern Hemisphere. Climate models have long predicted that global warming will cause the AMOC to weaken, with some projecting what amounts to a near-collapse relative to the AMOC strength in observations today. But a new study from a team of researchers that included the University of Washington shows that the AMOC is likely to weaken to a much lesser extent than current projections suggest.


April 21, 2025

Q&A: UW researchers examine mental impact of Girl Scouts’ interactions with nature

A person photographed from the lower leg down. The person is wearing black leggings and brown boots and is standing on a rock in the woods.

New research from the University of Washington, recently published in the Journal of Environmental Education, examined whether children’s interactions with nature that are embodied, rather than just visual, are associated with feeling connected to something beyond the self. Exploratory analyses found that participants who had embodied interactions reported a greater sense of presence in nature than those who reported only visual interactions. 


April 7, 2025

UW Information School ties for 1st; other UW programs place highly in US News & World Report Best Graduate Schools ranking

Drone shot

The University of Washington’s graduate and professional degree programs were widely recognized as among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Graduate Schools released late Monday.


March 27, 2025

Five UW researchers named AAAS Fellows

image including five researchers

Five University of Washington researchers have been named AAAS Fellows, according to a March 27 announcement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are among 471 newly elected fellows from around the world, who are recognized for their “scientifically and socially distinguished achievements” in science and engineering.


March 14, 2025

Ranking: UW library and information management best in the country, second best in the world

overhead view of library building at sunset

The University of Washington is the best in the U.S. and No. 2 in the world for library and information management, according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject released Wednesday. Four other UW subject areas placed in the top 10.


February 13, 2025

Q&A: How 12 UW researchers fell in love with their research

A graphic with a heart that says "UW researchers share their love stories"

For Valentine’s Day, UW News asked 12 University of Washington researchers to share their love stories: What made them decide to pursue their career paths?


February 6, 2025

Whale poop contains iron that may have helped fertilize past oceans

blue whale seen from above

A recent theory proposes that whales weren’t just predators in the ocean environment: Nutrients that whales excreted may have provided a key fertilizer to these marine ecosystems. Research led by University of Washington oceanographers finds that whale excrement contains significant amounts of iron, a vital element that is often scarce in ocean ecosystems, and nontoxic forms of copper, another essential nutrient that in some forms can harm life.


January 27, 2025

Q&A: How rate of CO2 rise can affect a global ocean current

illustration of globe with red and blue line through the oceans

How fast the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide — and with it, the temperature — goes up matters for the ability of humans and ecosystems to adjust. A slower increase gives humans time to move away from low-lying coasts and animals time to move to new habitats. It turns out the rate of that increase matters for non-living systems, too. Camille Hankel, a postdoctoral researcher at the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies, talks about her research on the Atlantic Ocean circulation.


December 13, 2024

In the Field: UW oceanographers and undergrads pursue tiny viral prize in Puget Sound waters

people on ship with two tanks filled with water in foreground

UW oceanographer Robert Morris and a collaborator at UCLA are going out with students to collect the most abundant bacteria in the oceans to understand how its relationship with marine viruses changes depending on the place or the season. They leave Dec. 16 aboard UW School of Oceanography’s small research vessel, the RV Rachel Carson.


December 12, 2024

Surveys show full scale of massive die-off of common murres following the ‘warm blob’ in the Pacific Ocean

black and white birds on a rock

Colony surveys of common murres, an Alaskan seabird, show the full effects of the 2014-16 marine heat wave known as “the blob.” Analysis of 13 colonies surveyed between 2008 and 2022 finds that colony size in the Gulf of Alaska dropped by half after the marine heat wave. In colonies along the eastern Bering Sea, west of the peninsula, the decline was even steeper, at 75% loss. No recovery has yet been seen.


December 6, 2024

Record-low Antarctic sea ice can be explained and forecast months out by patterns in winds

bow of ship with ice floes in background

University of Washington researchers show that the all-time record low in winter sea ice extent in 2023 can be explained by warm Southern Ocean conditions and patterns in the winds that circled Antarctica months earlier, allowing forecasts for sea ice coverage around the South Pole to be generated six or more months in advance. This could support regional and global weather and climate models.


December 4, 2024

Video: Talking about climate and weather with the Office of the Washington State Climatologist

Researchers speaking and scenes from Washington state

From a base at the southwest corner of the UW’s Seattle campus, the Office of the Washington State Climatologist’s Guillaume Mauger and Karin Bumbaco provide expertise, tools and resources on “all things climate” to partners and communities across the state.


November 4, 2024

NASA funds effort to study effects of the space environment on living organisms

NASA has awarded a five-year, $2.5 million grant to establish a regional scientific consortium based at the University of Washington, in partnership with Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The consortium will use an interdisciplinary approach to explore how the space environment — both in low-Earth orbit and beyond — affects living things.


October 30, 2024

UW researcher reveals ‘everything you (n)ever wanted to know’ about parasites in new children’s book

The cover of the book "Power to the Parasites"

Chelsea Wood, a University of Washington associate professor of aquatic and fishery sciences, has an upcoming children’s book titled “Power to the Parasites! Everything You (N)ever Wanted to Know About the Creepy Crawlies Hidden in Your Home, Your Food, Your Pets – and Maybe Even in You!” The book introduces kids to the world of parasitism.


October 23, 2024

Rocky planets orbiting small stars could have stable atmospheres needed to support life

glowing orb on left and row of circular planets

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.


October 22, 2024

Paws of polar bears sustaining ice-related injuries in a warming Arctic

polar bears on ice

Polar bears in some parts of the high Arctic are developing ice buildup and related injuries to their feet. The changes appear to be an unexpected consequence of climate change, related to changing conditions in a warming Arctic.


October 17, 2024

Life could exist on Mars in shallow meltwater pools below icy surface, study suggests

white-edged mounds on dark background

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.


September 30, 2024

UW Climate Impacts Group contributes to new WA State Climate Resiliency Strategy

Washington State Climate Resilience Strategy report cover with photos of Washington state

The University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group has supported a newly released plan for state agencies to address the regional impacts of climate change. The plan, led by the Department of Ecology, includes 10 state agencies’ strategies to address climate impacts.


September 19, 2024

What’s for dinner? Scientists unearth key clues to cuisine of resident killer whales

Scientists have discovered the cuisine preferences of two resident killer whale populations, also known as orcas: the Alaska residents and the southern residents, which reside primarily in the Salish Sea and off the coast of Washington, British Columbia, Oregon and northern California. The two populations show broad preference for salmon, particularly Chinook, chum and coho. But they differ in when they switch to hunting and eating different salmon species, as well as the other fish species they pursue to supplement their diets. This information could aid conservation efforts for southern resident killer whales, which remain critically endangered due to pollution, loss of salmon habitat and other human-caused factors that disrupt their hunting and reproductive capabilities.


September 18, 2024

Explaining dramatic planetwide changes after world’s last ‘Snowball Earth’ event

person looking at layered rock

Some of the most dramatic climatic events in our planet’s history are “Snowball Earth” 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 University of Washington 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.


August 12, 2024

Report describes the barriers Pacific Northwest coastal Tribes face in adapting to climate change

map of Washington and Oregon showing locations of coastal Tribes

The University of Washington, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and others held collaborative listening sessions with Northwest coastal Tribes to hear their experiences in adapting to climate change. A new report summarizes those experiences, while an upcoming grant program hopes to help address barriers identified in the report.


August 1, 2024

15 UW professors among new class of members to the Washington State Academy of Sciences

Fifteen faculty members at the University of Washington have been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2024. They are among 36 scientists and educators from across the state announced Aug. 1 as new members. Selection recognizes the new members’ “outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, and their willingness to work on behalf of the academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.”


July 10, 2024

Wolves’ return has had only small impact on deer populations in NE Washington, study shows

Wolves returned to Washington state in 2008. A new study shows that, despite their rising numbers, wolves are not having much of an impact on white-tailed deer, one of their primary prey. In a paper published June 18 in Ecological Applications, scientists from the University of Washington and the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife report that the biggest factor shaping white-tailed deer populations in northeast Washington is the quality of habitat available, which is largely determined by human activity. Cougars were second in their impact. Wolves were a distant third.



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