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UW Researchers Use New Method to Map Hundreds of Wetlands

For two University of Washington researchers, the real test came as they walked across a barren-looking field.

17 Mar 2016

Researchers Identify New Species of Bacteria that Uses Dual Enzymes to Breakdown Plastic

Researchers have identified a species of bacteria that uses just two enzymes to break down plastic. Poly(ethylene terephthalate), or PET, is a type of polymer used in plastic that is highly resistant to biodegradation.

11 Mar 2016

Wastewater Treatment Facilities Ineffective at Removing Certain Chemicals

Farmers in drought areas are especially concerned by this question. As fresh water resources become scarce, one option for water-conscious farmers is to water crops with treated wastewater.

3 Mar 2016

Warm Water Causes Aquatic Animals to Suffer from Fatal Respiratory Distress

Until now, the link between rising water temperatures and higher mortality rates in aquatic animals was a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation.

1 Mar 2016

ICES Journal of Marine Science Announces Publication of Special Issue on Ocean Acidification

Today, the ICES Journal of Marine Science publishes a special issue on ocean acidification, the most-studied single topic in marine science.

1 Mar 2016

Increased Levels of Dissolved Salts can be Toxic to Aquatic Invertebrates

Aquatic life can suffer when high concentrations of dissolved salts enter freshwater ecosystems, a process known as salinization.

26 Feb 2016

Scientists Discover Genetic Diversity Enhances Productivity Yields of Switchgrass

Going down in history we find that even before farmers could settle down in the Midwestern United States and plant crops, there existed the root systems of prairie grasses, including strong-stemmed and tall switchgrass species that improved the quality of the soil, thus developing millions of acres of top-quality farmland.

25 Feb 2016

High Concentration of CO2 in Soil Can Change Community of Organisms Living in Soil

A high concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the soil can change the community of organisms living in the soil in the long term. At the same time it changes processes in this ecosystem like the subterranean carbon cycle and carbon storage.

24 Feb 2016

Plants and Decomposing Material in Soil Emit More CO2 than Fossil Fuels

In the concrete jungle at the core of a city, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are dominated by the fossil fuels burned by the dense concentrations of cars and buildings.

24 Feb 2016

Shipwrecks could be Used to Monitor Health of Deep-Ocean Ecosystems

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill significantly altered microbial communities thriving near shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico, potentially changing these diverse ecosystems and degrading the historically and culturally significant ships they live on, according to new research being presented here. The findings are also revealing how decades-old, or even centuries-old, shipwrecks could be used to monitor the health of deep-ocean ecosystems, and the effects of oil and gas activity in the Gulf, according to the researchers.

23 Feb 2016