The report's stories cover a wide swath of the our recent basic and applied research accomplishments, and showcase how we transition knowledge and material products to operational use.

News from the National Snow and Ice Data Center has drawn attention in spring 2026. When a previous record low maximum was observed in 2017 APL-UW polar scientists discussed seasonal weather effects and the long-term trends for Arctic sea ice. Watch the YouTube video.

Laboratory researchers are team members planning next-generation NASA missions. EDGE will be the first swath-mapping laser altimeter, providing coverage and resoltuion of the Earth's surface features greater than ever before.

A research group at APL-UW led by Sarah Webster contributed to a successful, collaborative program to demonstrate long-range, long-endurance ocean exploration with a Wave Glider and Seaglider employing one-way travel time inverted ultra-short baseline positioning to navigate. Visit NOAA Ocean Exploration.

Two teams led by APL-UW engineers are developing low-cost, air-deployable profiling floats that could be dropped in large numbers to achieve sufficient density to study small-scale, upper ocean dynamics. Read the NOPP release.