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Mountain tourism brings revenues to Nepal but leaves a mess behind. Local and international groups are offering new cleanup strategies. INSTAAR research scientist Alton Byers and his colleague Suzanne OConnell discuss the scope of the problem, pollution from the waste, and solutions for sustainable tourism.

Five questions and answers with Michael Dyonisius, a postdoc with INSTAAR’s Laboratory for AMS Radiocarbon Preparation and Research, a keen investigator of greenhouse gas fluxes, and an occasional ukulele-playing indie pop fan. Read on to learn about Michael’s work, inspirations, and life.

As a student assistant in INSTAAR's front office, Joe has been a beacon: his creative problem-solving and hard work are matched only by his kindness and generosity of spirit. Turns out his degree program (Leeds School of Business) was equally impressed.

After a recent trip to Antarctica, Cassandra Brooks (ENVS/INSTAAR) did a Q&A with The Pew Charitable Trusts about Adélie and Emperor penguins and their need for protection. Topics included climate change threats, population declines, protected areas, and hope for the future.

For Earth Day, CBS interviewed James Balog, environmental photographer, founder of Earth Vision Institute, and INSTAAR Affiliate. Balog has become one of the foremost chroniclers of human-caused climate change, as his cameras have tracked the dramatic effects – vanishing ice, rising seas, fires, and the toll climate change is taking on all living things. As shown in the 6-minute video interview, ~1200 of his prints were recently acquired by the Library of Congress.

INSTAAR researcher Peyton Thomas has been awarded the Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship for Faculty Diversity from CU Boulder. A fish physiologist who studies the impacts of a changing climate on fish growth trajectories, Thomas is a postdoctoral scholar at INSTAAR and in the Environmental Studies program.

INSTAAR is pleased to announce that incoming PhD student Katie Gannon is this year’s recipient of the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship. Gannon will work with advisor Bella Oleksy to explore murky questions around greenhouse gas emissions from seasonally ice-covered lakes.

Confronted with ever alarming impacts of climate change, longtime INSTAARite Bruce Vaughn has found hope and inspiration in the many bright minds who are working on solutions. Read his essay for the non-profit Arctic Arts Project, which seeks to educate and inspire through impactful imagery, backed by the most current science.

The 52nd International Arctic Workshop was a success! ~100 polar scientists gathered on 13-16 March 2024 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to share their latest environmental research on paleoenvironments, climate, oceans, and much more.

Read a great article for kids by INSTAAR alum Emily Monk, INSTAAR researcher Chris Ray, and others in Frontiers for Young Minds, an open-access journal written by scientists and reviewed by a board of kids and teens.