Department of Earth and Space Sciences

A new study conducted by UW researchers suggests that the Seattle fault zone may produce its largest earthquakes less frequently than scientists previously estimated. Published in the journal Geology, the study, led by ESS graduate studend Elizabeth Davis, found evidence that only one major earthquake of roughly magnitude 7.5 has occurred on the Seattle fault zone in the past 11,000 years.

University of Washington Provost Tricia R. Serio announced that Joel Thornton, a professor and chair of the College’s Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science, will serve as the next Maggie Walker Dean of the College of the Environment. Thornton has served as interim dean since last July, filling the position vacated by Maya Tolstoy. Thornton is an atmospheric chemist who studies the impacts…

A research team, led by UW Biology Professor and ESS Adjunct Professor Gregory Wilson Mantilla, has identified a new species in the Cimolodon genus from a fossil the team discovered at a research site in Baja California.

Recent ESS Colloquium speaker Assistant Professor Ching-Yao Lai (Stanford University) is interviewed.

A new study authored by Maleena Wjeratna Kidiwela, with mentorship from ESS Associate Professor Marine Denolle, indicates that a difference between the northern and central areas of the Cascadia Subduction Zone may create variability in how earthquakes rippling out of the fault could spread.

A swarm of offshore earthquakes near the Pacific Northwest poses no threat to land, says ESS Professor and PNSN Director Harold Tobin.

Two disciplines in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences ranked in the top 10 nationwide in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Graduate Schools released April 6. Earth sciences tied for 9th, and Geophysics remained in a three-way tie for 9th (ranked in 2024).

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Underwater waves triggered by falling icebergs are playing a bigger role in Greenland's ice loss than previously thought. ESS postdoc Dominik Gräff is lead author on the study.

Professor David Catling of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences has been elected as a 2026 Geochemical Fellow of the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry. This international award is bestowed upon outstanding scientists who have made a major contribution to the field of geochemistry.