Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science

“NASA announced on Thursday last week that both the University of Washington STRIVE team and the UW-affiliated EDGE team were selected to lead satellite missions to better understand Earth and improve capabilities to foresee environmental events and mitigate disasters.” The STRIVE (Stratosphere Troposphere Response using Infrared Vertically-resolved light Explorer) mission is led by Professor Lyatt Jaeglé from the Department, and the EDGE (Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer) mission is led by Helen Amanda Fricker at the University of California, San Diego. 

“Methane stays in the atmosphere for approximately 10 years before it is removed. Researchers need to know how much methane is removed to gauge what percentage of emissions are accumulating in the atmosphere, but the methane removal process is difficult to measure. 

“In October 2025, after 18 months of detailed atmospheric observations from Australia’s southernmost state, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility wrapped up the Cloud And Precipitation Experiment at kennaook (CAPE-k) in Tasmania. 

Professor Dale Durran was interviewed by New York City’s Channel 5 News about AI weather forecasting. The segment also features Professor Amy McGovern from the University of Oklahoma.
The segment starts at 7:16, watch the interview here. 

New research out today in Nature Communications helps explain recent surges in global warming. The study, led by Knut von Salzen, Professor Sarah Doherty, and Professor Robert Wood, shows that reducing air pollution has inadvertently diminished the brightness of marine clouds, which are key regulators of global temperature. 

Atmospheric and Climate Science alum and University of Wisconsin–Madison Associate Professor Ángel F. Adames Corraliza has been awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, also known as the “genius grant. Adames Corraliza got his Ph.D. 

Christopher Kenseth, a NSF AGS Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science, was selected as the recipient of the 2025 James R. Holton Award by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). 

Durran group was featured in the recent EOS Research Spotlight, showcasing their creation of DLESyM (Deep Learning Earth System Model), an AI-powered climate model capable of generating a 1000-year climate simulation in just 12 hours on a single processor—far faster than traditional Earth-system models. 

Former graduate student Aodhan Sweeney and Prof. Qiang Fu’s research paper, “Recent Warming of the Southern Hemisphere Subtropical Lower Stratosphere and Antarctic Ozone Healing,” is featured on EOS Editor’s Highlight. Less than 2% of all AGU papers are selected to be featured this way! 

As Dr. Joel Thornton takes on the role of interim dean for the College of the Environment, Dr. Becky Alexander will serve as the Department’s interim/acting chair. Welcome aboard, Dr. Alexander!