Tessera

Tiny fossilized foraminifera shells may hold the key to reconstructing past temperatures in the deep-ocean. Thanks to the Martha and John Andrews Scholarship, INSTAAR PhD candidate Trisia Tellez will spend the summer putting that idea to the test.

Trisia Tellez brings deep-sea fossils to the lab with support from the Martha and John Andrews Scholarship

Trisia Tellez is the recipient of the inaugural Martha and John Andrews INSTAAR Graduate Scholarship. She will use the funding to reconstruct deep-sea ocean

colorado.edu

What makes Colorado Wildflowers so special? They're not just pretty, they're also pretty ecologically important! Learn more in the latest "CUriosity" article and accompanying video.

CUriosity: What makes Colorado wildflowers so special?

Sam Ahler, doctoral candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology and avowed fan of watching grass grow, discusses what makes Colorado's wildflowers distinctive

colorado.edu

What happens when tens of thousands of tourists travel through a remote mountain region each year? In Nepal's Khumbu region, the answer is a waste management issue. A diverse team, including INSTAAR fellow Alton Byers, has developed a plan to help protect "the gateway to Everest."

Cleaning up Mt Everest top to bottom

A model for sustainable waste management in the Himalaya

nepalitimes.com

Chris Ray's research on the American pika is front and center at the Boulder Environmental/Nature/Outdoors Film Festival this year. Check out the Boulder Daily Camera's event preview for the July 16-19 festival at the Dairy Arts Center.

This Boulder film fest unites climate action with nature — and the adorable American pika

For an animal that looks like a stuffed baked potato, sounds like a squeaky toy and spends much of its life heckling hikers from a pile of rocks, the American pika makes a surprisingly effective…

dailycamera.com

The MRS is bustling with public events all summer! Check out last weeks Mountain Ear Podcast for a sneak preview of the MRS Open House and summer seminar series. Open House tickets will go on sale soon. Keep updated on our website.

Inside CU's world-class alpine research center

Podcast Episode · The Mountain-Ear Podcast · June 26 · 32m

podcasts.apple.com

Brooke Chase is wrapping up a month long stint at the Juneau Icefield Research Program thanks to the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship. Read more from INSTAAR news.

Brooke Chase sets foot on her first glacier, thanks to the Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship

The Sarah Crump Memorial Fellowship sent PhD student Brooke Chase to Alaska this month. This hands-on experience with a modern glacier will complement her focus

colorado.edu

Three more days until the National Geographic Museum of Exploration opens in Washington, D.C. When it does, attendees will find INSTAAR fellow Alton Byers' old crampons on display. These trusty spikes kept him secure on the ice during field research on glacier hazards and alpine ecosystems.

National Geographic Museum of Exploration

Welcome to an unprecedented destination for the Explorer in all of us. Share in the exciting mission work of National Geographic at the Museum of Exploration.

moe.nationalgeographic.org

For decades, cheatgrass has remained one of the most notorious invasive plants in the American West. But here in the foothills of Colorado's Front Range, the story may be more complicated. New research suggests native species can slowly reclaim territory without intervention.

Herbicide spraying for cheatgrass not always necessary, new research shows (CU Boulder Today)

A new study from INSTAAR suggests that native species may be able to outcompete cheatgrass in Colorado's Front Range. The findings could inform future efforts

colorado.edu

What can and can't remote sensing do, when it comes to tracking harmful algae blooms? A new paper from the University of Vermont, INSTAAR and City of Boulder OSMP has the answers. Read more from UVM's Water Resources Institute.

The promise and pitfalls of monitoring harmful algal blooms with remote sensing

My UVM

uvm.edu

NSIDC@nsidc.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Check out the latest from Snow Today, a collaboration between NSIDC and INSTAAR

Snow-covered area across the West was 49 percent of average for May, ranking last in the 26-year satellite record. Snow water equivalent remained well below average in most states, confirming a worrisome outlook for the summer. Read NSIDC's Snow Today: https://bit.ly/3Q20sRs

Shrubs are making a play for more space. Not just in the arctic, but in the alpine too. INSTAAR research associate Sarah Elmendorf and Mariana García Criado highlight an important new paper in a review for Global Change Biology. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Extensive Alpine Shrubification Revealed by Systematic Resampling Across Europe

The shift from herbaceous-dominated to woody-dominated landscapes has the potential to transform ecosystems.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Nancy Emery kicked off the Mountain Research Station summer seminar series last night with a talk on the Niwot Ridge LTER and plant community ecology. Join us at the station every Wednesday from now through August 26. Or sign up for a guided walk on mycology, natural history, orchids and more!

CIRES@cires.colorado.edu · 2mo ago

👍🏽 for this summary of the Colorado River situation & its potential impacts on the Front Range. Written by Allen Best and featuring Jeff Lukas @lukasclimate.bsky.social, whose decades of climate change work include being a dendrochronologist at INSTAAR back in the day.

“I think Front Range cities will be asked, whether nicely or not, to reduce their Colorado River diversions,” said Jeff Lukas, a water consultant and former @wwanews.bsky.social and CIRES scientist. sentinelcolorado.com/metro/colora...

Mitch Tobin @mitchtobin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

What happens when the world loses its disaster memory? INSTAAR affiliate Albert Kettner is co-author on an open letter calling for support of EM-DAT, a global database of disasters and their impacts. Read more from Carbon Brief:

EM-DAT: Trump aid cuts could close database storing ‘world’s memory of disasters’ - Carbon Brief

The world’s most comprehensive disaster database is at risk of closing as a result of cuts to US foreign aid by the Trump administration

carbonbrief.org

Not to sound like a broken record, but this snow drought really has been record-breaking. Two recent updates from scientists drive home just how abysmal the West’s 2025-2026 snow season has been, with the snowpack hitting new lows in some datasets. www.snow.news/p/2026-snow-...

How this snow drought rewrote the record books

Plus, San Juan Mountains aerial photos reveal season's dwindling snowpack

snow.news

Most science is incremental. Occasionally, though, researchers uncover a relationship that reframes an entire system. A new study by Bradley Markle and Eric Steig investigates a fundamental principle governing Antarctic temperature change. Read more in our latest story.

Scientists discover a fundamental principle of Antarctic climate

After a decade of work, INSTAAR fellow Bradley Markle and a collaborator published a study revealing how the greenhouse effect governs temperature changes

colorado.edu

Why are the rockies so, well... rocky? That's the question behind a recent investigation from @cires.colorado.edu and INSTAAR. Suzanne and Robert Anderson are coauthors.

Topography, erosion, and forest structure control where and why the Rockies are rocky

CIRES-led study uses drones and airborne imagery to dig into the transition between soil- and rock-dominated surfaces

cires.colorado.edu

Western Water Assessment @wwanews.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Himalayan glaciers are melting rapidly, creating new risks to ecosystems and downstream communities. Listen to the BBC's latest feature on the issue, including insight from INSTAAR fellow Alton Byers on how mountain communities are working to mitigate flood risk. www.bbc.com/audio/play/w...

BBC Audio | The Inquiry | Are the Himalayan glaciers at a tipping point?

Melting Himalayan glaciers are increasing the risk to communities and the ecosystem

bbc.com

WWA's latest rapid assessment is on the 2025-2026 extreme #snowdrought in CO, UT, and WY. The assessment covers the magnitude of extreme low snow-water equivalent (SWE) conditions in early 2026, likely causes of the snow drought, and more. wwa.colorado.edu/resources/ha... @cires.colorado.edu

2025-2026 Extreme Snow Drought in the Intermountain West rapid assessment cover

@terrawonderer.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Happy to say that Dr. Josie Arcuri successfully defended her PhD Thesis yesterday. Thesis is not called "River Ice Matters" - but that is what her research revolved around. Josie picked up some field skills on the way, but hydraulic and morphodynamic river modeling is her jam. Huge congrats!

CIRES @cires.colorado.edu · 3mo ago

Science writer Marissa Grunes brings CU Boulder engineering students to INSTAAR's Stable Isotope Lab each year. This time, she's bringing readers along too. Take a behind-the-scenes look at the lab’s work — and how researchers use water, ice and air to unravel Earth’s mysteries.

Inside the Stable Isotope Lab: unravelling Earth’s mysteries through water, ice and air

Science writer Marissa Grunes takes readers on tour through the diverse research and operations of the Stable Isotope Lab. The lab processes samples from all

colorado.edu

TONIGHT — Earth on tap: Fire and ice, featuring CIRES Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow Kyle Manley 🗓️: Tonight, May 11 🕠️: 5:45 - 7:30 pm 📍: Rayback Collective, Boulder, CO cakeclimate.org/event-pages/...

Earth on tap: Fire and Ice. Come learn about: fires and public land recreation; sea ice and polar climate engineering. At the Rayback Collective, Monday, May 11, 5:45 - 7:30 pm. Featuring two local earth scientists as speakers: Dr. Kyle Manley and Dr. Molly Wieringa. Graphic behind text shows a tap with a flame on it in front of a blue background with icicles.

And the winners are... Check out the full report from INSTAAR’s end-of-year awards luncheon. This year, the Institute awarded seven graduate scholarships and fellowships, plus three staff and student honors (one of which came with jelly donuts). 🍩

INSTAAR’s 2026 student and staff awardees honored at end-of-year celebration

And the winner is… INSTAAR presented awards and fellowships at the annual spring celebration luncheon last week. Recipients were selected for impactful work at

colorado.edu