THE WYOMING SURVEY FOR H{alpha}. III. A MULTI-WAVELENGTH LOOK AT ATTENUATION BY DUST IN GALAXIES OUT TO z {approx} 0.4

We report results from the Wyoming Survey for H{alpha} (WySH), a comprehensive four-square degree survey to probe the evolution of star-forming galaxies over the latter half of the age of the universe. We have supplemented the H{alpha} data from WySH with infrared data from the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic Survey and ultraviolet data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer Deep Imaging Survey. This data set provides a multi-wavelength look at the evolution of the attenuation by dust, and here we compare a traditional measure of dust attenuation (L(TIR)/L(FUV)) to a diagnostic based on a recently developed robust star formation rate (SFR) indicator, [Ha{sub obs}+24{mu}m]/Ha{sub obs}. With such data over multiple epochs, the evolution in the attenuation by dust with redshift can be assessed. We present results from the ELAIS-N1 and Lockman Hole regions at z {approx} 0.16, 0.24, 0.32, and 0.40. While the ensemble averages of both diagnostics are relatively constant from epoch to epoch, each epoch individually exhibits a larger attenuation by dust for higher SFRs. Hence, an epoch-to-epoch comparison at a fixed SFR suggests a mild decrease in dust attenuation with redshift.