UW Earth & Space Sciences

IU professor awarded Geological Society of America’s prestigious Donath Medal for pioneering earth science research Julia Kelson, Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS) in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington, is the recip...

ESS alumna and Indiana University Bloomington Assistant Prof. Dr. Julia Kelson was awarded the Geological Society of America's prestigious Donath Medal (Young Scientist Award) for pioneering Earth science research. Kelson got her PhD from ESS in 2019, advised by Prof. Kate Huntington.

A photo of Troy Bolton putting a "T" necklace on Gabriella Montez. Gabriella asks ""T as in Troy?" and Troy answers in pure disgust "No Gabriella. "T" as in tsunamis have hot Washington before and they will hit Washington again, which is why we celebrate Tsunami Awareness Day and you should go to dnr.wa.gov to prepare."

Still waiting for someone to get me some tsunami awareness jewelry 👀

I guess I will just keep scrolling dnr.wa.gov/tsunamis while I wait

Using light to hear the whales  - News Novel research trial uses Distributed Acoustic Sensing technology to monitor Puget Sound’s orca population.

💡UW Bothell researchers are repurposing fiber-optic cables to monitor orcas in Puget Sound. Led by Shima Abadi, with ESS co-PIs Drs. Brad Lipovsky and Marine Denolle, this work could transform global cable networks into tools for marine conservation. 🐋

www.uwb.edu/news/2025/10...

A person stands next to the skeletal remains of a coral boulder.

Over 600 years ago, a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northeastern Caribbean. Flooding scattered coral boulder across the island. The corals died but their skeletons remain. Scientists are learning that these skeletons hold clues about tsunami history.
www.washington.edu/news/2025/10...

a historic tall ship in the ocean

If you're in #Seattle on Friday and want to get on board a historic tall ship, come visit us at Pier 66! We'll be aboard the Statsraad Lehmkuhl during One Ocean Week Seattle. Come see the boat, learn about ocean science, and say hi to us from #UWEnvironment!

Register: https://bit.ly/4o3TKpS

It's time! Where ever you are DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON. Take part with people all over the world in the Great ShakeOut and practice your earthquake safety!

The University of Washington mascot, Dubs the husky, sits under a table. Text on screen reads Drop! Cover! Hold on!, and the logos for the PNSN, UW, and ShakeOut are at the top of the image.

Did you DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON yet today? If not, don't worry - it's never too late to practice earthquake safety! Try doing your own drill at your home, office, or school and take part in the #GreatShakeOut alongside millions of others.

PNSN is back at the ball park for game four of the ALCS! Root for the @mariners and watch our live seismogram streaming from T-Mobile Park.
Here: mariners.pnsn.org
#SeizeTheMoment

Coral skeletons left by a medieval tsunami whisper warning for Caribbean region A new collaborative study led by scientists at the University of Washington and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science proposes that a tsunami struck the Caribbean island of...

A new study proposes that a tsunami struck the Caribbean island of Anegada between 1381 and 1391, carrying huge coral boulders inland and leaving behind a valuable record of geologic and climatic history.

https://bit.ly/4nUN90N

@uwess.bsky.social @uwnews.uw.edu

Recent @Mariners games have been shaking things up enough for our seismometers to notice but those waves are all in good fun. It's a great reminder that real quakes can happen anytime. Join us tomorrow (10/16) for @ShakeOut and practice what to do when the ground really moves.

Seismogram showing ground motion at T-Mobile Park for game-winning single by Seattle Mariner Jorge Polanco, JP Crawford scores!

MLB poster for PostSEAson 2025 that reads Seis the Moment with a small seismogram between the Seis and the The. Has website for PNSN seismograms of the game. mariners.pnsn.org

You feel that Seattle?! Check out that Polanco P-Wave! Polanco Game Winning Single, Crawford Scores, MARINERS WIN!! @Mariners are Toronto Bound! @Tmobilepark @FoxSports
#SeisTheMoment #SeizeTheMoment

Image with Dubs the Husky and PNSN Team Member doing a drop cover and hold on drill. Text about ShakeOut noting date (October 16, 2025) and link (shakeout.org). Bottom part of image shows cartoon Drop, Cover, Hold On panels.

Dubs is ready to #ShakeOut... Are you?
We’re just ONE WEEK away from the Great ShakeOut earthquake drill on October 16! Join Dubs in practicing Drop, Cover, and Hold On.
Register your participation and explore all the ways you can boost awareness for this event at shakeout.org.

Light rises over a planet

A ring of light in space

An icy planet

Analysis of data from the Cassini space probe has identified organic compounds within jets of water ice erupting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Some of the compounds have never before been identified on another world beyond Earth.
More: www.washington.edu/news/2025/10...

Discovery of organic compounds bolsters case that Saturn’s moon Enceladus could support life A new analysis of data from the Cassini space probe has identified organic compounds within jets of water ice erupting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Some of the compounds, which likely originated in.....

New Cassini data reveal organic compounds, some never before identified on a world beyond Earth, in jets of water ice from Saturn’s moon Enceladus — findings by UW postdoc Fabian Klenner and colleagues strengthen the case that Enceladus could support life. 🔬🪐
@uwenvironment.bsky.social

How a Graham farm helped detect a swarm of earthquakes at Mount Rainier Private properties, schools, fire departments and others play a key part in monitoring temblors in the Pacific Northwest.

A tiny site in rural Pierce County is one of ~650 seismic stations operated by @pnsn1.bsky.social to detect and monitor #earthquakes in the #pnw. It was key to detecting a swarm of small earthquakes at @altmtrainier.com last summer.

https://bit.ly/3IQrckf

How oxygen made the deep ocean home to animals, spurring rapid evolution New research shows that deep-ocean oxygenation occurred 100 million years later than previously thought, aligning with the growth and spread of land plants. Once oxygenated, the ocean hosted rapid...

Ocean oxygenation was a gradual process. Shallow areas near the shore were oxygenated first, and inhabited by breathing species. As oxygen permeated deeper and deeper, ocean-dwellers followed, leading to a rapid expansion of jawed vertebrates. @uwess.bsky.social

Penguins walking across sea ice by a large iceberg

For years, researchers have hypothesized that westerly winds were ferrying warm water toward the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, accelerating ice melt. A new @uwess.bsky.social study flips the existing narrative on its head, pointing toward winds from the north instead.
www.washington.edu/news/2025/09...

ESS Assoc. Professor Marine Denolle and PhD student Yiyu Ni are featured in this first episode!

How oxygen made the deep ocean home to animals, spurring rapid evolution New research shows that deep-ocean oxygenation occurred 100 million years later than previously thought, aligning with the growth and spread of land plants. Once oxygenated, the ocean hosted rapid...

🐟 ESS PhD student Kunmanee Bubphamanee co-authored new research showing the deep ocean only became oxygenated about 390M years ago due to the spread of land plants. This shift made the deep sea habitable to animals like early jawed fish, the ancestor to modern vertebrates.

Read the full story 👇

Fund for Science and Technology invests in the UW College of the Environment to further innovation and research related to climate solutions The University of Washington’s College of the Environment will expand its work related to climate solutions thanks to a grant announced today from Fund for Science and Technology, FFST, a new...

@uwenvironment.bsky.social will expand its work related to climate solutions thanks to a grant announced today from Fund for Science and Technology, a new foundation within the Paul G. Allen philanthropic ecosystem.

UW professor on threats to glaciers, impact on western Washington UW Assistant Research Professor TJ Fudge talks about the status of glaciers in the Pacific Northwest and the dangers of shrinking glaciers.

@uwess.bsky.social Assistant Research Professor TJ Fudge talks about the status of glaciers in the Pacific Northwest and the dangers of shrinking glaciers.

www.king5.com/video/tech/s...

#UWEnvironment

“Our whole Earth system depends, in part, on these ice sheets,” said Dominik Gräff. “It’s a fragile system, and if you disturb it even just a little bit, it could collapse. We need to understand the turning points. This requires deep, process-based knowledge of glacial mass loss."

Great job opportunity with the California Geological Survey. @uwess.bsky.social @pnsn1.bsky.social

Mount Rainier looks less snowy as climate change melts glaciers worldwide Views of the Puget Sound region's iconic mountain are darker, showing signs of climate change.

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, @knkx.org reports.

https://bit.ly/4mSxCxF

@uwess.bsky.social

‘Revolutionary’ seafloor fiber sensing reveals how falling ice drives glacial retreat in Greenland A UW-led team of researchers used a fiber-optic cable to capture calving dynamics across the fjord of the Eqalorutsit Kangilliit Sermiat glacier in South Greenland. This allowed them to document —...

UW ESS scientists deployed a fiber-optic cable across a Greenland fjord to capture how calving ice triggers hidden waves that pull warm water up, speeding melting. This key process accelerating glacial mass loss threatens ice sheet stability, ocean currents, and ecosystems. #UWESS #UWEnvironment

Seismologists tapped into the fiber optic cable network to study offshore faults University of Washington researchers showed that they can monitor seismic activity at the ocean floor using fiber optic cables without disrupting telecommunications. They developed this technique in.....

Seismologists tapped into the fiber optic cable network to study offshore faults #UWEnvironment

www.washington.edu/news/2025/07...

@uwnews.uw.edu @uwess.bsky.social @ooi-cabledarray.bsky.social #UWOceanography

What makes a tsunami — and what to do if one comes Several factors help determine whether a given earthquake will generate a dangerous tsunami, but the process is not yet fully understood.

What makes a tsunami — and what to do if one comes.

www.npr.org/2025/07/30/n...

@haroldtobin.bsky.social @pnsn1.bsky.social @uwess.bsky.social #UWEnvironment

@uwenvironment.bsky.social @uwess.bsky.social @uwatmossci.bsky.social @uw-sefs.bsky.social

PNSN Field Techs strapped a GoPro to the skids of a helicopter for a recon flyover of St. Andrews Rock (STAR). The station is hard to spot on the ridge line edge that the helicopter circles. Flying above Mt Rainier really puts into perspective how big this volcano actually is! St. Andrews Rock (STAR) flyover

Happy FieldworkFriday! We strapped a GoPro to the skids of a helicopter for a recon flyover of St. Andrews Rock (STAR). The station is hard to spot on the ridge that the helicopter circles. Flying above Mt Rainier really puts into perspective how big this volcano actually is! youtu.be/PJ242pHcBGU

Valiant Near-Peer Mentoring Program A program for first-generation undergraduate students in the College of the Environment Program purpose The Valiant Mentoring Program is a near-peer mentoring program that supports first generation* u...

Thrilled to announce the new Valiant Near-Peer Mentoring Program. Sponsored by the Valiant Endowment Fund, the program supports first gen undergrads enrolled in an @uwenvironment.bsky.social degree program. Details below. @uwess.bsky.social @uwsafs.bsky.social environment.uw.edu/about/inclus...