Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science

The National Academy of Sciences announced this week that a University of Washington atmospheric scientist and biologist have been elected as new members, in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. 

Schmidt Science Fellows was established in 2018 to help researchers expand their work across areas of study and build a community of interdisciplinary thinkers dedicated to solving the world’s biggest challenges. 

 
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. 

Emeritus Professor Marcia Baker’s paper “The influence of entrainment on the evolution of cloud droplet spectra: I. A model of inhomogeneous mixing” and Chris Bretherton’s paper “On large-scale circulations in convecting atmospheres” are selected by Chief Editors from the Royal Meteorological Society to be featured in their 150th Anniversary Quarterly Journal. 

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The new records of climate change, record temperatures, and heat waves every year are prompting scientists to alleviate the situation. Read more about it in The New York Times. 

AI analysis of historical satellite images show USSR collapse in 1990s increased methane emissions, despite lower oil and gas production. But new University of Washington research uses early satellite records to dispute that assumption. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has put Fairbanks in its “serious” category for persistently violating Clean Air Act standards for PM2.5 levels and has threatened sanctions. The community for years has tried a variety of methods to improve air quality in the portion of the Fairbanks North Star Borough failing to meet air quality standards. 

A study co-led by Professor Jeff Riffell (BIO) and Professor Joel Thornton (ATMS) suggested that the presence of nitrate radicals (NO3) degrades common wildflowers’ scent molecules, reducing the flowers’ attractiveness to pollinating insects. 

Professor Mike Wallace (Left) received the Japan Prize in the Fields of Resources, Energy, the Environment, and Social Infrastructure along with Professor Sir Brian Hoskins (Right) from the UK. Their research established a scientific foundation for understanding and forecasting extreme weather and climate events that the world is experiencing.