Valerie Morris, in puffy fur-lined parka, carries a section of the GISP2 ice core in a wooden tray at the NSF Ice Core Facility.

Old core, new data: Students unlock knowledge about past Arctic climates

June 27, 2024

Tyler Jones, Brad Markle, and Valerie Morris are leading a group of students in resampling the Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two (GISP2) core to investigate mechanisms of abrupt climate change and extreme events of the past. The original measurements (e.g., water isotopes) numbered a few thousand while the new measurements will create millions of data points.

Roth looks down at a lake core, sheathed in a plastic case, that she is holding. Behind her, more cores are stacked on metal shelves.

INSTAAR’s Outstanding PRA Award goes to Wendy Roth

June 14, 2024

INSTAAR is pleased to announce that Wendy Roth has received its 2024 Outstanding PRA Award. This new award recognizes a professional research assistant (PRA) who has demonstrated excellence in their role and within the larger communities of INSTAAR and the University.

Photo of Tina Geller.

Tina Geller garners INSTAAR Graduate Student Community Award

June 6, 2024

INSTAAR is pleased to announce that Tina Geller is the recipient of the INSTAAR Graduate Student Community Award for 2024.

This enhanced-color image shows a 45-meter-diameter crater on the surface of Mars, appearing as a glistening sphere on a rusty red background. Glistening material is interpreted as water ice slowly subliming. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Modeling ice and snow on planets

May 16, 2024

A new model makes better predictions of the behavior of ice on Mars—and any other rocky planet with an atmosphere.

Katie Gannon

Q&A with Katie Gannon, Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship winner

May 6, 2024

Incoming PhD student Katie Gannon (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) has garnered this year’s Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship. She will investigate greenhouse gas emissions from seasonally ice-covered lakes, working with advisor Bella Oleksy.

Peyton Thomas (center) with Cassandra Brooks (left) in Alaska.

Peyton Thomas wins Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship for Faculty Diversity

April 5, 2024

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.

Noah Molotch shows analyses of snow-water equivalent for California at NASA JPL. Photo copyright by and courtesy of PIER GAGNÉ, Radio-Canada.

A new look at western water

April 4, 2024

The Mountain Hydrology Group will be developing a new snowpack data set to inform water supply management in the western United States, thanks to grant funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Katie Gannon

Katie Gannon is awarded the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship

April 2, 2024

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.

Simon Pendleton and Giff Miller collect ancient plant remains melted out of the edges of the ice cap on Baffin Island. Photo by Matt Kennedy, Earth Vision Trust.

Kirk Bryan Award goes to a team of INSTAARs, colleagues

Oct. 19, 2023

A team of researchers that included several INSTAAR scientists received the prestigious Kirk Bryan Award from the Quaternary Geology & Geomorphology Division of the Geological Society of America (GSA). The prestigious award honors the authors of a recent paper that advances the science of geomorphology.

A view of from above of Sky Pond in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Look carefully and you'll see researchers in a small inflatable boat, taking lake measurements and samples.

Why lakes turn green: Researchers will take a deep dive into the health of North America’s freshwater lakes

Oct. 3, 2023

Supported by a new five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, a group of researchers at five universities will examine how rapidly warming temperatures and shorter winters can influence the growth and toxicity of lake algae. Isabella Oleksy, who studies aquatic ecosystems and recently joined INSTAAR, is leading the Colorado contingent at CU Boulder.

Pages