Scientists discover skyscraper-sized underwater waves beneath Greenland that speed up glacier melt

Underwater waves triggered by falling icebergs are playing a bigger role in Greenland's ice loss than previously thought. ESS postdoc Dominik Gräff is lead author on the study.

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ESS Professor David Catling elected as a Geochemistry Fellow

Professor David Catling of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences has been elected as a 2026 Geochemical Fellow of the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry. This international award is bestowed upon outstanding scientists who have made a major contribution to the field of geochemistry.

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NPR's Short Wave podcast interviews Marine Denolle about earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest

NPR's Short Wave podcast interviewed ESS Associate Professor Marine Denolle about the Cascadia fault and earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest.

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UW Earth and Space Sciences alumna Annie Bauer and Tara Smiley named 2026 Sloan Fellows

Two University of Washington alumna have been awarded early-career fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The new Sloan Fellows are Dr. Annie Bauer (UW B.S. 2011), an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, and Dr. Tara Smiley (UW B.S. 2007), an assistant professor at Stony Brook University.

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The search for alien life: Inside University of Washington’s astrobiology program

The segment on KIRO7 featured ESS Profs. David Catling and Dale Winebrenner, and graduate student Danqiu Chen, and their research about conditions for life Earth and how such conditions translate to planets or moons elsewhere. The University of Washington Astrobiology Program is the longest-running program of its kind in the world.

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25 years after Nisqually quake, expert warns 'it will happen again'

The anniversary of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake was marked on Thursday, 2/26 by discussing ongoing contingency plans for another powerful quake. ESS Professor and PNSN Director Harold Tobin is interviewed.

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Associate Research Professor Michelle Koutnik featured at Greenland Roundtable

The Greenland Roundtable, hosted by the UW Center for Canadian & Arctic Studies, brought together experts to explore the ongoing emergency from Inuit, environmental, EU, and NATO perspectives. Featured experts included Associate Research Professor Michelle Koutnik.

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Stress-testing the Cascadia Subduction Zone reveals variability that could impact how earthquakes spread

A new University of Washington 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. ESS Associate Professor Marine Denolle is a co-author.

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Snowball Earth: Why the planet stayed frozen for 56 million years

A new study led by ESS graduate student and planetary scientist Trent Thomas finds intensified seafloor weathering was the decisive factor that allowed one planet-wide ice age to last 56 million years. This result overturns a long-standing assumption that carbon vented from volcanoes controls the duration of Snowball Earth glaciations. Thomas is interviewed.

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ESS Professor David Catling named interim director of the UW Astrobiology Program

David Catling has been named interim director of the UW Astrobiology Program, an interdisciplinary group that spans four UW colleges, including the College of the Environment. Catling, a professor of Earth and space sciences, is an astrobiologist and planetary scientist who studies what characteristics of Earth help it support life, and whether what we think of as life might be found on other planets.

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