News & Events
INSTAAR News
Apples in Atebes: Cultivating climate resilience in an Ethiopian village
April 4th, 2014Tsegay Wolde-Georgis, of the INSTAAR program Consortium for Capacity Building (CCB), is leading a project to introduce the cultivation of apple trees irrigated by water-filled, buried clay pots to the mountainous, dry region of Atebes, a village of 4000 people in northern Ethiopia. Over the last 30 years, land degradation and climate change have exacerbated existing constraints of drought, soil erosion, deforestation, poor food supply consisting entirely of cereal grains, and lack of access to water. The goal of the clay pot project is to improve the resiliency of the community to climate-related hazards through demonstration and capacity building. So far, the project has led not only to the cultivation of high-value fruits and vegetables, but to erosion control and improved water supplies.
John Andrews named Honorary Member by the Quaternary Research Association
April 2nd, 2014INSTAAR Senior Fellow and Geological Sciences Professor Emeritus John T. Andrews was named an Honorary Member by the Quaternary Research Association (QRA) at its recent meeting in London.
Uintah Basin ozone study is ‘ACS Editor’s Choice’
March 28th, 2014The American Chemical Society (ACS) has selected a new study that looks at air quality impacts from fracking emissions as an “Editor’s Choice.” The paper, by the scientists of INSTAAR’s Atmospheric Research Lab, has been made available to the public for free as an open-access paper.
Methane leaks from palm oil wastewater are a climate concern, INSTAAR lab team says
March 3rd, 2014An analysis published Feb. 26 in the journal Nature Climate Change shows that the wastewater produced during the processing of palm oil is a significant source of heat-trapping methane in the atmosphere. But the researchers also present a possible solution: capturing the methane and using it as a renewable energy source.
INSTAAR-led study says Bering Land Bridge area likely a long-term refuge for early Americans
February 27th, 2014A new study bolsters the theory that the first Americans, who are believed to have come over from northeast Asia during the last ice age, may have been isolated on the Bering Land Bridge for thousands of years before spreading throughout the Americas. The theory, now known as the “Beringia Standstill,” was first proposed in 1997, but gained little traction outside of the genetics community after it was proposed and has been seen by some scientists outside of the field as far-fetched. But the new paper by INSTAAR researcher John Hoffecker and co-authors Scott Elias of Royal Holloway, University of London, and Dennis O’Rourke of the University of Utah adds credence to the Beringia Standstill idea by further linking the genetics to the paleoecological evidence.
Astrid Ogilvie awarded Nansen Professorship
January 8th, 2014Astrid Ogilvie is on her way to Iceland as the new Visiting Nansen Professor in Arctic Studies at the University of Akureyri. Ogilvie was awarded the twelve-month appointment by representatives from the University of Akureyri and the Icelandic and Norwegian ministries of foreign affairs.