80 mph speed record for glacier fracture helps reveal the physics of ice sheet collapse
There’s enough water frozen in Greenland and Antarctic glaciers that if they melted, global seas would rise by many feet. What will happen to these glaciers over the coming decades is the biggest unknown in the future of rising seas, partly because glacier fracture physics is not yet fully understood.
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ESS Professor Fang-Zhen Teng elected as a Geochemistry Fellow
Prof. Fang-Zhen Teng of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences was recently elected as a Geochemical Fellow of the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry. This international award, established in 1996, is bestowed upon outstanding scientists who have, over some years, made a major contribution to the field of geochemistry.
Read moreResearchers utilize fiber optics to detect Cook Inlet's seismic activity
Brad Lipovsky, assistant professor in ESS, and a team of scientists are conducting research with Cook Inlet’s fiber optic cables to measure seismic activity. “We can observe marine mammals that make acoustic vocalizations, we can also observe the seismic waves of earthquakes that pass through the area,” Lipovsky said.
Read more at the Public Radio for Central Kenai PeninsulaQ&A: How 'slow slip' earthquakes may be driven by deep hydraulic fracturing
The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a massive geologic fault that last ruptured in January 1700. But while this fault has stayed quiet for centuries, it regularly generates small tremors that accompany gradual, nondisruptive movement along the fault.
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Shallow soda lakes show promise as cradles of life on Earth
Charles Darwin proposed that life could have emerged in a “warm little pond” with the right cocktail of chemicals and energy. A study from the University of Washington reports that a shallow “soda lake” in western Canada shows promise for matching those requirements. The findings provide new support that life could have emerged from lakes on the early Earth, roughly 4 billion years ago.
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Open Geology - ESS Alums and Faculty contribute to public geological education in the western U.S.
Locals interested in learning more about Washington State geology may be familiar with Roadside Geology of Washington (2nd ed.), authored by UW geology alum Marli Miller (M.S., 1987; Ph.D., 1992) and Professor Emeritus Darrel Cowan.
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Geology's "Girls in the Boat"
While the world celebrates again the “Boys in the Boat,” our department would like to celebrate two geology majors who played historical roles in UW Husky Women’s Crew.
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Study shows UW Farm practices restore soil health
The soil beneath our feet may not often catch our attention, but keeping it healthy can have major impacts on climate change and the overall sustainability of our food production system.
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In the Field: Tracking seismic clues in one of the driest places on Earth
Unlike the Pacific Northwest, the Atacama Desert in Chile experiences very little rain. But the two regions are both seismically active. Faults in the Atacama Desert are slowly sliding past each other in a way similar to the Seattle Fault in Puget Sound and the San Andreas Fault in California.
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Spirit Whales and Sloth Tales - Book Launch
The book Spirit Whales & Sloth Tales: Fossils of Washington State, written by Elizabeth A. Nesbitt, Burke Museum curator emerita of invertebrate and micropaleontology and former ESS faculty, and David B.
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