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News out of ESS

UW launches the Paros Geohazards Center

The College of the Environment has launched the Paros Geohazards Center, establishing a world-class center of research excellence to understand and mitigate environmental and geologic hazards, with an emphasis on developing new and emerging technologies that can help save lives. The Department of Earth and Space Sciences, including the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, is one of the Center’s core units.

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.

Saturn’s biggest moon might not have a global ocean — but the search for life isn’t over

More than a decade ago, data from the Cassini mission to Saturn suggested that the planet’s largest moon, Titan, had a vast ocean of liquid water below its frozen surface. In a new study, ESS researchers teamed up with NASA scientists to show that the interior is likely composed of slushy layers instead.

UW team from Pacific Northwest Seismic Network installs equipment near Mt. Rainier

In late August at Burley Mountain, a team from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network installed equipment to detect ground movement. This seismic station joined more than 700 others in the network spanning Washington and Oregon monitoring shaking from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Awards and Honors

ESS Professor David Catling elected as a 2026 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.

UW glaciologist Eric Steig featured in CBS Sunday Morning segment on American history and climate change

Professor Eric Steig was interviewed on the February 15 CBS Sunday Morning show. In the segment, Steig showed CBS environmental correspondent David Schechter around his lab. Together they looked at an ice core dating back to 1776, at the start of the American Revolution.

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.

UW ESS in the Media

The search for alien life: Inside University of Washington’s astrobiology program, KIRO7 // The segment featured ESS Profs. David Catling and Dale Winebrenner, and graduate student Danqiu Chen, and their research about conditions for life on Earth and how such conditions translate to planets or moons elsewhere.

25 years after the Nisqually quake, expert warns ‘it will happen again’, KING 5 // The anniversary of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake was marked on February 26 by discussing ongoing contingency plans for another powerful quake. ESS Professor and PNSN Director Harold Tobin is interviewed.

Snowball Earth: Why the planet stayed frozen for 56 million years, Earth.com // 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.

The dirt on dirt: Flood recovery starts from the ground up for Washington farmers, KUOW // The road to recovery for Washington farmers following December’s widespread flooding includes cleaning up and replacing their soil. ESS Professor David Montgomery is quoted.

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