Department of Earth and Space Sciences

Using a powerful research telescope, astronomy and physics major Max Frissell identified a never-before-seen comet. Now he’s hooked.

Volcanoes spewing carbon dioxide 250 million years ago heated the climate so much that extreme El Niño events became the norm, pushing most life on Earth past its limits. Peter Ward, professor of Earth and space sciences and of biology at the UW, is quoted.

A newly discovered species of whale — found preserved in ancient rock on the Oregon coast — has been named for a University of Washington paleontologist.