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New study definitively links western Antarctic ice melt to human-caused climate change | New York Daily News
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
As scientists watch the world's ice melt away, predict sea level rises, and sound the alarm about climate change, they have been struggled to demonstrate a direct link between that and human activity, at least when it comes to the western Antarctic ice sheets -- until now. Eric Steig, professor of Earth and space sciences at the UW, is quoted. Read More -
First evidence of human-caused climate change melting the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Monday, August 12, 2019
An aerial view of Getz ice shelf in West Antarctica taken from a helicopter in January 2018 after using radar on the ice to measure ocean-driven ice shelf melt.Pierre Dutrieux
A new study reveals the first evidence of a direct link between human-induced global warming and melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. A research team led by the British Antarctic Survey that included the University of Washington found that curbing greenhouse gas emissions now could reduce this region’s future contribution to global sea level rise.
Ongoing ice loss in West Antarctica has increased over the past few decades. Scientists previously found that ice loss in this region is caused by ocean-driven melt, and that varying winds in the region cause transitions between relatively warm and cool ocean conditions around key glaciers. But until now it was unclear how these naturally occurring variations in the winds could cause ongoing ice loss.
The study by U.S. and U.K. scientists published Aug. 12 in Nature Geoscience finds that in addition to the natural variations, which last about a decade, there has been a longer-term change in the winds that can be linked with human activities. Continued ice loss in this region could cause global oceans to rise tens of inches by the year 2100.
"These results solve a long-standing puzzle,” said co-author Eric Steig, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences. “We have known for some time that varying winds near the West Antarctic Ice Sheet have contributed to the ice loss, but it has not been clear why the ice sheet is changing now.”
“Our work with ice cores drilled in the Antarctic Ice Sheet have shown, for example, that wind conditions have been similar in the past,” Steig said. “But the ice core data also suggest a subtle long-term trend in the winds. This new work corroborates that evidence and, furthermore, explains why that trend has occurred."
The researchers combined satellite observations and climate model simulations to understand how winds over the ocean near West Antarctica have changed since the 1920s in response to rising greenhouse gas concentrations. They found that human-induced climate change has caused a long-term change in the winds, and that as a result, warm ocean conditions have gradually become more prevalent.
A view of Dotson ice shelf in West Antarctica taken in January 2009 aboard the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer after deploying an autonomous underwater vehicle under Pine Island ice shelf.Pierre Dutrieux
“The impact of human induced climate change on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is not simple,” said lead author Paul Holland at the British Antarctic Survey. “This is the first evidence for a direct link between human activities and the loss of ice from West Antarctica. Our results imply that a combination of human activity and natural climate variations have caused ice loss in this region, accounting for around 4.5 centimeters [1.8 inches] of sea level rise per century."
Previous research from Steig and co-author Pierre Dutrieux, a research assistant professor at Columbia University and former UW research scientist, had established the connection between the ocean currents, winds and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
"We knew this region was affected by natural climate cycles lasting about a decade, but these didn't necessarily explain the ice loss,” Dutrieux said. “Now we have evidence that a century-long change underlies these cycles, and that it is caused by human activities."
The team also looked at model simulations of future winds, and found that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, the winds will continue to shift in a way that increases the rate of ice loss. But if greenhouse gas emissions are controlled, the winds remain in their current state and prevent greater warming to the underside of the ice sheet.
Other co-authors are Thomas Bracegirdle and Adrian Jenkins at the British Antarctic Survey. The research was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
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For more information, contact Steig at steig@uw.edu.
Adapted from a British Antarctic Survey press release.
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Soundbites/B-roll: UW hosts student robotics 'moon landing' challenge
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
For journalists
Soundbites and b-roll are available for download here.
A robotics challenge July 20th at the UW featured twenty-eight middle and high school teams from Forks to Walla Walla and from Bellingham to Olympia. The event marked a half-century since the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon and two U.S. astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walked its surface.
Each team flew a drone that attempted to drop and retrieve a lunar module designed by the group on a high-resolution map of the moon’s surface. Lego Mindstorms EV3 robots were programmed to explore the surface and retrieve rock samples. The goal is to prepare the next generation of scientists for the “next giant leap”, and broaden the pipeline for future aeronautics careers.
The Apollo 50 Next Giant Leap Student Challenge, or ANGLeS Challenge, has attracted 4,000 students from across the country since it launched in January. UW is the regional host for Washington state as well as the national hub for 15 similar events taking place this week across the country. The twenty-eight teams from across Washington qualified for the finals.
The challenge event is the latest outreach effort by NASA’s Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pipeline (NESSP), which seeks to attract underrepresented students into space careers.
More information at https://www.washington.edu/news/2019/07/17/uw-hosts-student-robotics-challenge-friday-to-mark-50th-anniversary-of-apollo-11-moon-landing/
Kiyomi Taguchi, UW News video producer: ktaguchi@uw.edu
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Video: UW hosts student robotics 'moon landing' challenge
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
A robotics challenge July 20th at the UW featured twenty-eight teams of middle and high schoolers from Forks to Walla Walla and from Bellingham to Olympia. The event marked a half-century since the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon and two U.S. astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walked its surface.
Each team flew a drone that attempted to drop and retrieve a lunar module designed by the group on a high-resolution map of the moon’s surface. Lego Mindstorms EV3 robots were programmed to explore the surface and retrieve rock samples. The goal is to prepare the next generation of scientists for the “next giant leap”, and broaden the pipeline for future aeronautics careers.
The Apollo 50 Next Giant Leap Student Challenge, or ANGLeS Challenge, has attracted 4,000 students from across the country since it launched in January. UW is the regional host for Washington state as well as the national hub for 15 similar events taking place this week across the country. The twenty-eight teams from across Washington qualified for the finals.
The challenge event is the latest outreach effort by NASA’s Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pipeline (NESSP), which seeks to attract underrepresented students into space careers.
More information at https://www.washington.edu/news/2019/07/17/uw-hosts-student-robotics-challenge-friday-to-mark-50th-anniversary-of-apollo-11-moon-landing/
Kiyomi Taguchi, UW News video producer: ktaguchi@uw.edu
Read More -
Soundbites/B-roll: UW hosts student robotics 'moon landing' challenge
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
For journalists
Soundbites and b-roll are available for download here.
A robotics challenge July 20th at the UW featured twenty-eight middle and high school teams from Forks to Walla Walla and from Bellingham to Olympia. The event marked a half-century since the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon and two U.S. astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walked its surface.
Each team flew a drone that attempted to drop and retrieve a lunar module designed by the group on a high-resolution map of the moon’s surface. Lego Mindstorms EV3 robots were programmed to explore the surface and retrieve rock samples. The goal is to prepare the next generation of scientists for the “next giant leap”, and broaden the pipeline for future aeronautics careers.
The Apollo 50 Next Giant Leap Student Challenge, or ANGLeS Challenge, has attracted 4,000 students from across the country since it launched in January. UW is the regional host for Washington state as well as the national hub for 15 similar events taking place this week across the country. The twenty-eight teams from across Washington qualified for the finals.
The challenge event is the latest outreach effort by NASA’s Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pipeline (NESSP), which seeks to attract underrepresented students into space careers.
More information at https://www.washington.edu/news/2019/07/17/uw-hosts-student-robotics-challenge-friday-to-mark-50th-anniversary-of-apollo-11-moon-landing/
Kiyomi Taguchi, UW News video producer: ktaguchi@uw.edu
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Kids re-enact moon landing in robot challenge at UW -- and win trips to NASA sites | GeekWire
Friday, July 26, 2019
Middle and high school students from across Washington state competed in a robotics challenge last week at the University of Washington to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. Robert Winglee, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences, is quoted. Read More -
UW 'M9 Project' has bad news for Seattle, Bellevue | Q13
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
The latest study from the M9 Project says many buildings in the Seattle area are at risk when a large earthquake hits nearby. Marc Eberhard, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Erin Wirth, affiliate assistant professor of Earth and spaces sciences, are interviewed. Read More -
Student robotics competition at UW celebrates Apollo 11 anniversary | KING 5
Monday, July 22, 2019
Twenty-eight teams of 5-12th graders from across Washington state converged on the University of Washington Friday to show off their piloting, robotics, coding, and rock identification skills during the Apollo Next Giant Leap Student Challenge. Robert Winglee, professor of Earth and space sciences at the UW, is quoted. Read More -
Students compete in 'moon landing' challenge | KOMO Radio
Monday, July 22, 2019
Young students across the state took part in a "moon landing" challenge at the UW using drones and robots. Robert Winglee, professor of Earth and space sciences at the UW, is interviewed. Read More -
UW hosts student robotics challenge Friday to mark 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 moon landing
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
A Lego Mindstorms robot, with a plastic astronaut strapped to the front, approaches the lunar lander. Student teams will program the robot to explore the moon’s surface.Dennis Wise/University of Washington
This Saturday will mark a half century since the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon and two U.S. astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walked its surface. At the University of Washington, the NASA-funded Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pipeline, or NEESP, is marking the occasion with a robotics challenge for middle and high school students from across the state.
Follow the challenge on Twitter at #ApolloNextGiantLeap
In a UW “Apollo Retrospective,” Robert Winglee and other UW community members reflected back on the 1969 moon landing
The Seattle Times interviewed five Washington state astronauts, including opening speaker Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, a UW alumna
The Apollo 50 Next Giant Leap Student Challenge, or ANGLeS Challenge, has attracted 4,000 students from across the country since it launched in January. UW is the regional host for Washington state as well as the national hub for 15 similar events taking place this week across the country. Twenty-eight teams from across Washington have qualified for the finals.
Opening ceremonies will begin Friday at 8:30 a.m. in Kane Hall 130, featuring Rickey Hall, UW’s vice president for Minority Affairs & Diversity, and UW alumna Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, a retired NASA astronaut.
Teams will complete the challenge throughout the day in Kane Hall 130, while using Mary Gates Hall as a warmup space. The five-member teams of 5th– through 12th-grade students hail from Forks to Walla Walla, and from Bellingham to Olympia. The day’s activities also include a STEM career panel and lab tours. All the events are open to the public.
The challenge event is the latest outreach effort from the NESSP, which seeks to attract underrepresented students into space careers.
“We provide outreach to students across the country so that they will be inspired to contribute to future developments on the ground and into space,” said NESSP director Robert Winglee, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences. “As in the Apollo era, innovations being developed for spaceflight have major benefits, often unforeseen at the time, for society.”
During Friday’s events, teams will recreate the events of July 20, 1969. Each team will fly a remote-controlled drone from a starting line to land on an 8-by-10-foot map of the moon’s surface in the same spot where Apollo 11 touched down. They will then use a Lego Mindstorms EV3 robot they have programmed to explore the lunar surface, bring back a rock sample and leave a culturally significant object. Each team has built a replica of the 1969 lunar lander, and high-school aged teams will also use the drone to retrieve their lunar module and bring it back to the starting line.
A flying drone carries a lunar lander above a map of the moon’s surface. The landing spot is the actual site of the Apollo 11 landing. Other craters that teams will explore are circled in red.Dennis Wise/University of Washington
Teams have also designed a mission patch and uniform to wear to the challenge. Students will get points both for how accurately they can complete the challenge and for their overall participation in event activities.
“The landing itself is etched in my mind -- even after so many years -- because it demonstrated that extraordinary things could be achieved if people had big visions and worked together,” Winglee said.
Winners are scheduled to be announced at 6 p.m. The top-performing team at each location will get to visit a NASA space center later this summer.
Founded in 2016, NESSP is an outreach and education program that brings hands-on science activities to middle and high school students and educators across the Northwest region.
“The ANGLeS Challenge is a way to diversify STEM by having the communities identify themselves in a creative way, while celebrating the Apollo 11 mission,” said NESSP associate director Juan-Carlos Chavez. “The dream is to have these amazing engineers and scientists who are fully prepared to take on the positions at NASA and other industries that are hungry for local students to participate.”
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For more information, reporters can contact communications officer Chris Wallish at 206-221-7743 or cwallish@uw.edu.
Photos are available at http://bit.ly/Apollo50Challenge, and event photos and video will be added Friday.
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