Category: Earth Tones

Earth Tones is a limited weekly podcast covering groundbreaking environmental research by University of Washington students, faculty, and affiliates. Hosts Alanna Greene and Rachel Fricke explore the intricacies of human interactions with the natural world through science storytelling with guest aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric scientists.

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The Big One

Chatter about the big earthquake destined to destroy the West Coast has seen an uptick in the past few years thanks to an article published by the New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one). To deconstruct the story and figure out how concerned West Coast resident should be about the The Big One, we chat with Erik Fredrickson of UW’s Oceanography Department. Erik’s work focuses on understanding deep sea subduction zones and seafloor dynamics, particularly in relation to the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

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Ground Zero for Landslides

The Oso Landslide of 2014 devastated a community near the Stillaguamish River in Washington, leaving lawsuits and deaths in its wake. This disastrous event raised important questions regarding landslide prediction, mitigation, and future land use. Now, current technology allows researchers like UW’s Sean Lahusen to dig beneath the surface to find hidden clues left from landslides in years past, which can reveal a region’s vulnerability to future landslides. You can read about Sean’s research here: https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/44/2/111/132007/Surface-roughness-dating-of-long-runout-landslides

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Clever Crows – Why They’re Smarter Than You Think

In urban and suburban neighborhoods, it seems like crows are everywhere – retrieving food from our garbage cans, digging up our lawns, even pooping on us. These clever corvids have a long history of interacting with humans, and possess an incredible intellectual capacity for identifying those they can trust. Here we talk to Loma Pendergraft of UW’s Avian Conservation Lab to learn more about crow cognition and understand why he has to disguise himself while studying crows in the field. You can learn more about Loma’s work on his website (https://www.lomapendergraft.com/).

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What’s With All These Wildfires?

Inhabitants of the American West are well-acquainted with wildfires (news clip courtesy ABC, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r906ikuszjA&t=118s). These large infernos are particularly associated with California, and the state has weathered many of its most destructive fires on record in only the past few summers. In this episode, we chat with Michelle Agne to learn more about wildfire disturbances and their implications for forests and human communities. You can learn more about Michelle on the Harvey Lab website (https://depts.washington.edu/bjhlab/lab-members/) and follow her latest discoveries on Twitter (https://twitter.com/michelle_agne).

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Stressed-Out Shellfish: Climate Change and Aquaculture


We’re kicking off the show by reviewing some of the major findings from the federal government’s Fourth National Climate Assessment released this last year. Then, Yaamini Venkataraman takes us on a deep dive into oysters and their underlying defense mechanisms against ocean acidification, and discusses her sources of hope in the midst of global change. You can learn more about Yaamini at her website and get the latest updates on her research through Twitter @YaaminiV. 

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