Congratulations Class of 2026!

On Friday, June 12, we gathered on the UW Seattle campus to celebrate our graduates in the UW Department of Earth and Space Sciences Graduation Ceremony. See the full graduation program.

Meet the Class of 2026

News out of ESS

UW earthquake sensors capture World Cup excitement

As the world arrives in Seattle for five weeks of thrilling World Cup matches, the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network will be using the same seismometers that provide early warning for earthquakes to track the excitement and energy of the crowds.

ESS undergrad researcher studies some of Earth’s oldest ice

Undergraduate student Hailey Smith got to work with 5 million-year-old ice from Antarctica as part of a College of the Environment mentorship program that connects undergraduate students interested in research with graduate student mentors in the geosciences.

Planets need more water to support life than scientists previously thought

In a new study, Haskelle White-Gianella and Joshua Krissanen-Totton 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, the geologic carbon cycle, that keeps water on the surface.

Earthquake scientists reveal how overplowing weakens soil at experimental farm

In a new study, UW 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.

Highlights from the 2026 ESS Research Symposium and Gala

This year’s Gala, held during the first week of Spring Quarter, showcased over 30 student presentations, 17 posters, a department-wide photo contest and an awards reception.

ESS Annual Awards and Scholarships Ceremony

The 2026 UW Department of Earth and Space Sciences Awards Ceremony was held on Friday, May 8, hosted by ESS Chair David Schmidt. There were numerous honors, awards and scholarships given during this ceremony before adjourning to a reception in the Johnson Hall Courtyard. Read more about the awardees and supporting funds.

More ESS News

UW study suggests that major Seattle fault earthquakes may be less frequent than previously thought, Daily UW // A new study conducted by UW researchers suggests that the Seattle fault zone may produce its largest earthquakes less frequently than scientists previously estimated. Published in the journal Geology, the study, led by ESS Research Scientist Elizabeth Davis and co-author ESS Associate Professor Juliet Crider, found evidence that only one major earthquake of roughly magnitude 7.5 has occurred on the Seattle fault zone in the past 11,000 years.

With ShakeAlert installations complete, researchers explore offshore expansion, UW News // PNSN has been hard at work expanding the ShakeAlert seismic monitoring network since the Washington/Oregon launch in 2021. Now, with all planned installations complete, researchers are celebrating a huge milestone while continuing to explore opportunities. This story describes how including offshore, ocean bottom sensors in the network could improve warning time for a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.

Researchers assess probability of rare landslide hazard in PNW, Daily UW // A UW study, led by ESS graduate student Paul Morgan and co-author ESS Associate Professor Alison Duvall, published April 16 develops a workflow to map dam susceptibility at a regional scale, using stream width and landslide volume to project susceptibility within the Oregon Coast Range.

Near-miss tsunami in Alaska during tourist season last year highlights increasing environmental instability, UW News // UW Research Scientist Mira Berdahl, along with ESS Professors Eric Steig and Gerard Roe, helped develop a modeling approach showing that the glacier retreat that enabled the Alaska landslide was driven entirely by human-caused climate change rather than natural processes. Berdahl is interviewed.

Decades of satellite data show Himalayan rivers migrating rapidly in response to climate change, UW News // Featured in the UW News May research highlights, a new study published in Science shows that rivers in the Tibetan Plateau moved twice as much from 2000 to 2020 as they did from 1980 to 2000. The international team, including co-author and ESS Professor David Montgomery, attributes their observations to climate change, which is driving temperatures up faster here than many other places.

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