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In the News
Water stress in the Naryn River Basin
June 23rd, 2017INSTAAR grad student Alice Hill led a new study that analyzed water chemistry from the Naryn River Basin to find changes in the contribution of mountain headwaters to river discharges that flow downstream to agricultural areas in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Hill discusses some of the geologic, climatological, and historical context of the work.
Scientist skis into the Rockies to collect flasks of air: Samples part of long-term carbon record
June 22nd, 2017Each week, Jennifer Morse of the Mountain Research Station ventures high in the Colorado Rockies to Niwot Ridge. She often makes the trip on skis, and after the first few miles, it can get challenging. The conditions can be tough, but Morse has an important job. At Niwot Ridge, she pumps air into glass flasks, and then carefully brings them back down the slopes. Her samples add to a critical, long-term global record of atmospheric carbon pollution. The data helps scientists project future climate change.
CU Boulder scientists on skis gather snowpack data
June 15th, 2017Each spring, a team of researchers from CU Boulder heads to a glacier where the city of Boulder gets its drinking water and measures the depth of snowpack. The data are used to help forecast water supplies and estimate wildfire danger for the coming year. The survey helps maintain an unbroken record of environmental data to measure climate change.
Boulder’s climate researchers wary of White House budget, Paris Accord exit
June 8th, 2017Colorado Public Radio: For decades, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has depended on a small but dedicated group of people to collect carbon dioxide data. Jen Morse is one of them: she heads up to Niwot Ridge on foot or skis each week to collect air samples. Long-term CO2 data is the scientific backbone for international climate change research. In a world where federal policy in the Trump administration can shift as quickly as the wind, she and other climate scientists are concerned about the future of the basic monitoring that lets us know what climate changes we have already committed to.
Parts Unknown and Anthony Bourdain visit Antarctica
June 5th, 2017Anthony Bourdain and the Parts Unknown visit McMurdo Station and the Dry Valleys with CU and INSTAAR scientists and field crews. Episode aired 4 June 2017.
Welcoming a celebrity chef to the bottom of the world
June 4th, 2017Cold-regions scientist Mike Gooseff talks about the experience of hosting Anthony Bourdain and the crew of CNN's Parts Unknown at their research site in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica.