The UW College of the Environment hosted a July 13 virtual talk and Q&A with Professor Cecilia Bitz at PNW Climate Week 2026. Watch the full replay above.

Sea ice, a bedrock of Arctic communities and the bellwether of climate change, is under threat — but new research is providing a way forward.

​Bitz, who holds the Jerome M. Paros Endowed Chair in Atmospheric and Climate Hazard Research, is one of the world’s leading experts on Arctic climate change. At the July 13 event, she talked about the importance of sea ice in protecting coastline communities and cooling the planet, and how it can be saved.