News | Department of Earth and Space Sciences

Oct 1, 2025 | Between Spheres Magazine

A New Era of Engagement

In 2024, as the Department of Earth and Space Sciences celebrated its 130th anniversary, we also looked ahead to the future. Recognizing the need for strategic guidance, outside perspectives and strong advocates, the department established a new Advisory Board to help navigate the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Oct 1, 2025 | Student Spotlight

ESS undergraduate Dahlia Gietka sparks climate conversations on UW Campus

This past spring, undergraduate Dahlia Gietka (B.S. Earth & Space Sciences, graduating March 2026) brought together community leaders and students for a campus-wide climate forum, the first of its kind at UW. Timed around Earth Day, the event offered a space for cross-disciplinary dialogue focused on policy at the local, state, and national levels. The event aimed to give students a deeper understanding by providing a foundation for future conversations about climate policy and sustainability.

Sep 30, 2025 | In the News

Major climate change indicators broke records in 2024

Physics Today reports on the BAMS Annual State of the Climate report many broken records for temperature, humidity, glacier melt, and a section written in part by, and quoting Prof. Robert Holzworth's work on lightning climatology.

How a Graham farm helped detect a swarm of earthquakes at Mount Rainier

Explore the crucial role of the Garrison Hill seismic station. PNSN field technician and seismology lab coordinator Doug Gibbons shares how it not only records local earthquake data but also transmits signals from the STAR station on Mount Rainier to the UW PNSN server.

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

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. ESS Professor Eric Steig and graduate student Gemma O'Connor are quoted.

An earthquake warning in your hand

Rumblings started underground - and phones lit up. For the first time ever in Washington, ShakeAlert sent real-time warnings just seconds before the shaking began. PNSN Director Harold Tobin is quoted.

Mount Rainier looks less snowy as climate change melts glaciers worldwide

On clear days, when Mt. Rainier is visible from Seattle and Tacoma, locals say "The mountain is out." But lately, melting glaciers have made that iconic view look rockier and less snowy. ESS Associate Research Professor TJ Fudge is quoted.

Read the story on KNKX

An illustration of a large, jawed fish, reimiscent of early deep-ocean dwellers.

Aug 27, 2025 | Publications, In the News

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

New research shows deep-ocean oxygenation supported animal evolution, but only after 390 million years when above-ground plants increased woody biomass, altering atmospheric and aquatic oxygen levels. This trend closely correlates with the rise of modern vertebrates. ESS Graduate student Kunmanee "Mac" Bubphamanee is lead author.

UW ESS researchers help build resilience along Cascadia's coast

UW ESS researchers play a central role in the Cascadia CoPes Hub—a multidisciplinary effort funded by the NSF—to help coastal communities from northern California to the Salish Sea better understand and prepare for hazards like earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and sea-level rise.

Miles Dimick standing on a platform with Mount St. Helens in the background.

Aug 25, 2025

An aspiring volcanologist visits UW ESS

Six-year-old Miles Dimick visited UW ESS this winter to meet with volcanologists George Bergantz and Michelle Muth. During the visit, Miles and his sister Nora explored volcanic rock samples and got a close look at thin sections under the microscope.