As carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere, the Earth will get hotter. But exactly how much warming will result from a certain increase in CO2 is under study. The relationship between CO2 and warming, known as climate sensitivity, determines what future we should expect as CO2 levels continue to climb. New research led by the University of Washington analyzes the most recent ice age, when a large swath of North America was covered in ice, to better understand the relationship between CO2 and global temperature.
Read more at UW News »New report ‘braids’ Indigenous and Western knowledge for forest adaptation strategies against climate change
A report co-led by the University of Washington outlines a new approach to forest stewardship that “braids together” Indigenous knowledge and Western science to conserve and restore more resilient forestlands.
Read more at UW News »Marine Cloud Brightening Program studies clouds, aerosols and pathways to reduce climate risks
Clouds play a particularly powerful role in the climate system since they can change rapidly and have a strong effect on Earth’s reflectivity. That’s why researchers are working to better understand clouds, and how both inadvertent and possibly intentional changes to atmospheric particles affect clouds.
Read more »AI analysis of historical satellite images show USSR collapse in 1990s increased methane emissions, despite lower oil and gas production
The collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991 had social, political and economic effects worldwide. Among them was a suspected role in slowing human-generated methane emissions. But new University of Washington research uses early satellite records to dispute that assumption.
Read more at UW News »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. A critical question is how warmer oceans might cause glaciers to break apart more quickly.
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