SALMON POPULATION: A new theory by UW researchers that the temperature of sea water at various depths, more than local management, has been the deciding factor in salmon abundance or shortage, got play in a number Northwest newspapers after being circulated by Associated Press. Quoted was Atmospheric Sciences Professor Nathan Mantua, who said, “Fisheries management actions and harvest practices are not the only drivers of salmon production. It may be that it’s easy to manage fisheries when the ocean factors are going your way and it’s hard when the ocean’s against you. Maybe you don’t want to pat yourself on the back too hard when things are good and you don’t want to take all the blame when things are bad.”

DILBERT RULES: When Dilbert started showing up in 3-D video on the Internet, the press was quick to pick up on it. Asked to comment by the Associated Press, Computer Science Professor David Salesin said it is another sign the computer industry is successfully invading the traditional territory of television networks and newspapers. Said Salesin, “You can see this as a guerrilla attack on the networks by another superpower, Intel.”

WEATHER CYCLE: Move over, El Nino. Scientists have discovered a longer term weather cycle called the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO). Widely reported by AP, the story about the phenomenon includes a quote from Atmospheric Sciences Professor David Battisti, who said “This phenomenon explains much of what is happening in regional climate change, and if we could predict the PDO, we would have much more reliable forecasts.” PDO appears to take 20 to 30 years to shift between warm and cold phases.

COLLIDING GALAXIES: When images from the Hubble Space Telescope showing colliding galaxies were released recently, they held astronomers’ attention as a significant development in the study of the universe’s origins. Until recently, scientists had to rely on computer models to theorize about such collisions, but the images give them something more concrete to go on. Contacted by the Washington Post for a comment, Astronomy Professor Bruce Margon said “There was no real ‘smoking gun’ observational evidence of the importance and nature of the process. These Hubble observations have changed this.”

ICY JOURNEY: The SHEBA project to study the arctic ice was described in a widely circulated story by AP. Quoted was APL researcher and director of the project Richard Moritz, who said. “More than half of the Arctic pack ice melts and refreezes each year, but even the most sophisticated computer models cannot simulate this change. SHEBA’s hallmark is to gather a comprehensive data set documenting all the variables and processes at work.”

Newsmakers is a periodic column reporting on the coverage of the University of Washington by the national press and broadcasting services. ¶