3 . 2024 Seattle Marathon’s Summer Events

The Seattle Marathon Association (SMA) is a non-profit organization proud of providing a quality running event in the Pacific Northwest. Join us for our annual family-friendly run at Seward Park with views of Lake Washington and Mount Rainier. Dogs welcome! Choose your distance: 5k, 10k or Half Marathon! Kids are welcome to participate in the Kids Fun Run, a quick 1k run with specially provided snacks waiting at the end.

At 3:00 PM, June 21 — Early Packet Pickup

At 7:00 AM, June 22 — Event Day Registration & Packet Pickup

All finishers will receive an event me dal and a technical fabric shirt.

●Top 3 overall men & women participants in the 5k (must come in under 25min), 10k (must come in under 45min) and Half Marathon (must come in under 1hr 30min) races will receive cash prizes at the finish line.

●In addition, in the week following the race, non-cash awards will be emailed to the top three runners in each age division. Age divisions are as follows: 14 and under,15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, 80-89 and 90+.

We offer free entries for athletes who can prove qualifying time(s) within the last 2 years. Please note that we only offer free registration and do not cover any transportation, accommodation, food or visa fees. Please contact us with proof of your qualifying time(s) within the last 2 years for a free entry to the race.

4 . New research from the University of Portsmouth has shown a marked increase in shipping in the North East Atlantic. Scientists now warn that more monitoring is required to help protect sea life.

Researchers at the University of Ponsmouth have discovered that rates (率) of shipping in the North East Atlantic area rose by 34 per cent in a five-year period. The research is the first detailed survey of shipping activity in the North East Atlantic. Researchers used data from over 530 million vessel (船) positions recorded by Automatic Identification System(AIS). They looked at the change in shipping between 2013 and 2017 across ten different vessel types. In total the study area covered 1.1 million km², including waters off Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany,Iceland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal. Spain, and the UK.

Lead author, James Robbins said: “This change is likely to put more pressure on the marine (海洋的) environment, and may influence the protection of at-risk species. Renewed monitoring effort is needed to make sure that protective measures are enough to save species under threat in a changing environment.”

Some of the greatest shipping increases were found in areas close to the Spanish coast. The Espacio Marino de la Costa da Morte saw a rise of 413 percent in vessel activity. It is an area used to protect seabirds.

Dr. Sarah Marley, Visiting Researcher at the University of Portsmouth, said: “Shipping is the most widespread human activity in our oceans, carrying a set of threats-from unnoticeable effects like underwater noise pollution to serious results when ships hit whales.”

Professor Alex Ford. from the University’s Institute of Marine Sciences, said: “Given the well-documented effects that shipping can have on the marine environment, it is necessary that this situation continues to be monitored-particularly in areas used to protect vulnerable (脆弱的) species which may already be under pressure.”

6 . A new study suggests that smoke from wildfires can change how clouds store water and could lead to less rainfall. The research comes as western parts of the United States are currently experiencing drought conditions after several years of intense wildfire activity.

Clouds contain a collection of water droplets (微滴) that form from vapor in the atmosphere. When these droplets condense (凝结) onto each other within a cloud，they become heavier and eventually fall as rain. But the water condensation process requires a solid substance for the vapor to attach to. Different kinds of particles rising up from the Earth’s surface can reach clouds and make this process possible.

The new study found that smoke from wildfires contains small particles that affect the way droplets form in clouds. The main effect was the number of water droplets formed. The team reported that smoky clouds contained about five times the number of droplets as non-smoky clouds. But data also showed that the droplets in smoky clouds were much smaller, about half the size of those in the clouds without wildfire smoke.

It is that size difference, the researchers say, that could reduce the amount of rainfall. This is because small droplets are less likely to grow and eventually fall to the ground as rain. “Because of their small droplet sizes, these smoky clouds are expected to reflect more light and produce less rain than clouds in clean air,” the study states.

The findings could mean that active wildfire seasons in the western U. S. may in fact lead to less rain and more drought, the researchers said. “We were surprised at how effective these primarily organic particles were at forming cloud droplets and what large impacts they had on the microphysics (微观物理) of the clouds,” said Cynthia Twohy, leader of the new study.

Twohy also noted that different kinds of clouds behave differently. The current study examined changes in small cumulus clouds. Other kinds that sit much higher in the atmosphere can cause heavy storms, she said. Twohy added, “I am hoping these results will lead to detailed regional modeling studies that will help us understand the actual impact of smoke on clouds and climate.”

8 . Rainforests provide much of the world’s oxygen. People have been trying to protect them for years. But another type of forest, the cloud forest, is just as important to humans.

These forests are at the tops of mountains, generally near the equator (赤道). These wet, wooded mountaintops are mainly in African and Central and South American countries. They are called “cloud forests” because their height allows for the formation of clouds among the trees. The trees in these forests pull water out of the clouds. The water gathers on the leaves and falls into small rivers below, which flow into towns at the bottom of the mountain. The yearly rainfall in these areas is about 180 centimetres. Cloud forests can pull in up to 60 percent of that. The water is important to the plants and the people in the area. It helps them survive.

Cloud forests are also home to countless species of plants that can’t be found anywhere else. One small cloud forest has as many types of plants as there are in all of Europe. In fact, there are so many that scientists haven’t made a complete list of them yet.

These forests are being destroyed at an increasing speed. Trees are being cut down, and roads are being built in their place. Some people have a goal to get government money to protect the forests. But they have had little success so far. Another way is to take the place of the destroyed plants with new ones. That, too, has been difficult because the plants are so special. There’s plenty of work to be done, but saving the cloud forests is still possible with creative solutions.