INCREASING NITROGEN IN EARTH'S SOILS MAY SIGNAL GLOBAL CHANGES

A team led by Jason Neff (U.S. Geological Survey) and Alan Townsend found that the rapid increase of nitrogen falling from the sky as a result of fossil-fuel combustion and crop fertilization, combined with carbon stored in Earth's soils, could change atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Team members include INSTAARs Scott Lehman, Jocelyn Turnbull, and William Bowman. The study area was Niwot Ridge 35 miles west of Boulder, administered by INSTAAR and one of 20 Long-Term Ecological Sites in North America funded by the National Science Foundation. The study shows tundra soils are unexpectedly sensitive to added nitrogen, raising further questions about how changes in the nitrogen cycle throughout the world might affect C02 storage areas, or 'sinks,' on land.

Published in the 31 October 2002 issue of Nature. Image: W. Bowman sampling on Niwot Ridge.

CU Press Release

For those with access to Nature:
Abstract and full text

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INSTAAR FEATURED IN UNVERSITY'S ANNUAL REPORT ON SPONSORED RESEARCH

INSTAAR's research on Global Change and Global Warming was featured in the University of Colorado at Boulder's fiscal year 2001-2002 report on Sponsored Research. The printed report highlighted INSTAAR's Global Change research on the cover, accompanied by interviews with Tim Seastedt and graduate student Sarah Principato, entitled "Observing Global Change." A web addition to the report has a section entitled "Explaining Global Warming", with excerpts from Jim White about the Carbon, Climate, and Society Initiative (CCSI), a program that enables CU students from the natural sciences, social sciences, and journalism fields to join forces and explore novel solutions to environmental problems.

Image: Jim White portrait.

CU Research Annual Report 2001-2002

Carbon, Climate, Society

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DIATOMS ON TV

Sarah Spaulding appeared on the Court TV special "Digging for Clues" on December 14, 2002. The American Museum of Natural History teamed up with Court TV for a special program showing how modern scientific techniques can be used to evaluate criminal evidence. Spaulding discussed her research on the biogeographic distribution of diatoms, which are a group of single-celled algae that occur in marine and freshwater habitats. Spaulding explained the historical and ecological factors that determine the distribution of diatom species, and how understanding the distribution of diatoms is used to reconstruct modern and paleo environments.

Image: Scanning electron microscope image of a new species of diatom of the genus Gomphonema from a lake in Tasmania. S. Spaulding.

Digging for Clues: The Story of Forensic Medicine

Diatom Collection

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MARK MEIER RECEIVES GOLDTHWAIT POLAR MEDAL

Mark Meier, one of the world's leading glaciologists, has been named the winner of the Goldthwait Polar Medal in recognition of his outstanding contributions to polar research. The Goldthwait Polar Medal, which was presented to Meier at a ceremony in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 4, is the Byrd Polar Research Center's most prestigious award. Earning his doctorate from the California Institute of Technology in 1957, Meier has conducted a variety of glacier dynamics investigations of both glaciers and snowcover in North America, Europe, Greenland and Antarctica through the U.S. Geological Survey and CU-Boulder. Meier was one of the first scientists to apply remote sensing techniques to snow and ice, to pioneer the study of glacial surges and iceberg-calving tidewater glaciers and to spearhead a new "scaling" technique to estimate the rapid loss of glacier mass worldwide over the past century.

Image: Mark Meier portrait.

CU Press Release

Mini-biography

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JOHN ANDREWS HONORED WITH SPECIAL SESSIONS AT GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA ANNUAL MEETING

The Geological Society of America honored John Andrews' tremendous impact on the Quaternary sciences at the annual meeting with two special sessions entitled "Quaternary Sciences from Land to Sea: In Honor of John T. Andrews." The sessions honor Andrews' career through papers that reflect his many scientific contributions in ice sheet, solid earth, and ocean interactions. Andrews' former students Peter U. Clark (Oregon State University) and Gifford H. Miller organized the oral and poster presentations, which were cross listed under Quaternary Geology, Geomorphology, Paleoclimatology, and Paleoceanography. For an overview of John's career (up to 1998), see the AMQUA link to the right.

Image: John Andrews portrait.

Session details

GSA

Mini-biography

1998 AMQUA Distinguished Career Award

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FIRST DEPTH MEASUREMENT OF COLORADO'S LARGEST GLACIER

Tad Pfeffer, Nel Caine, and colleagues measured the depth of the Arapaho Glacier west of Boulder at 22 meters (about 72 feet), in a study relevant to water use and environmental change in the Front Range. The measurement helps determine the total volume of ice in the city's watershed and its seasonal waxing and waning: Annual snowmelt may create most of the water the city draws from its watershed, but during drought years such as 2002, it's glacial melt that keeps regional streams flowing late summer. Scientists have determined that the Arapaho and smaller glaciers nearby are shrinking, with the melt particularly noticeable in the last three years. The results from Pfeffer and Caine's research appeared in a Boulder Daily Camera report by Katy Human.

Image: Arapahoe Glacier. T. Pfeffer.

Boulder Daily Camera article

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INCREASED STRENGTH IN ASIAN SOUTHWEST MONSOON DURING LAST FOUR CENTURIES MAY BE RESULT OF NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WARMING

David Anderson and his colleagues published results showing that the Asian southwest monsoon, which affects the livelihood of millions of people, appears to have increased in intensity during the last four centuries, perhaps as a result of warming in the Northern Hemisphere. The study used sediment cores from the Arabian Sea near Oman to indicate that the wind strength of the monsoon has increased. The authors hypothesize the southwest monsoon strength will continue to increase during the coming century as greenhouse gases rise and northern latitudes continue to warm.

Published in the 26 July 2002 issue of Science magazine. Image: Map of sea surface temperature in the Arabian Sea.

CU Press Release

NOAA Paleoclimatology summary

For those with access to Science:
Abstract and full text

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WILDFIRES WILL HURT COLORADO WATER QUALITY AND ECOSYSTEMS

Mark Williams, Graduate Student John Gartner (Advisor: Nel Caine), and their colleagues have been researching water quality and erosion issues related to wildfires. Williams predicts that Colorado's record-setting wildfire season will leave behind potentially harmful conditions in water supplies. These conditions include a potentially cancerous compound called trihalomethane (THM) in areas that drain burned regions. In a separate study, Graduate Student John Gartner has found at least three reservoirs likely to be contaminated by erosion in burned regions.The South Platte watershed and Cheesman Reservoir, one of Denver's important water sources, will be affected by erosion from the Hayman fire, while the Missionary Ridge fire could affect the Vallecito and Lemon reservoirs.

Image: Forest fire.

CU Press Release--Williams

CU Press Release--Gartner

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SEA-LEVEL CHANGES: HOW ALASKA AFFECTS THE WORLD

Mark Meier and Mark Dyurgerov have written a commentary for Science magazine that discusses the contributions of glacier melting in Alaska to global sea level rise. They highlight a report in the same issue that shows how Alaskan glacier melting has been underestimated. They conclude that future sea level rise may be higher than expected.

Published in the 19 July2002 issue of Science magazine. Image: Painting of South Cascade Glacier by M. Meier.

For those with access to Science:
Full text and PDF

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CU-BOULDER RESEARCHERS EXCAVATE MAMMOTH SKULL

James Dixon and his colleagues excavated the skull and tusks of a mammoth that died more than 10,000 years ago at Lamb Spring, an archeological site that was once a freshwater spring near Roxborough State Park, Douglas County, Colorado. The CU-Boulder researchers, including graduate students in the University's Museum and Field Studies program, raised the ancient skull out of the ground in late July. The skull was transported to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science where it is being conserved and cast. The cast will be placed on exhibit at Lamb Spring in the summer of 2003 as part of a long range plan to develop a museum and research facility at the site. 

Image. Illustration of a mammoth. S. Elias.

CU Carillon Article

CU Press Release

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INSTAAR MEMBER KEY PLAYER IN CU UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

Mark Williams is co-director of CU-Boulder's Undergraduate Academy, which focuses on expanding the education of top students outside the classroom. The Academy seeks to build a sense of intellectual community and help prepare students for post-graduate opportunities. The Academy also helps administer Boettcher Scholarships, which are considered to be the most prestigious merit-based scholarships available to graduating high school seniors in the state. Sixteen Boettcher Scholars at the University of Colorado at Boulder received enrichment grants in summer 2002 to conduct projects in locations ranging from campus laboratories to an aboriginal medical clinic in Australia.

Image: Class at CU-Boulder. CU-Boulder web site.

CU Carillon Article- Boettcher Scholars

CU Carillon Article - Undergraduate Academy

CU Press Release_Boettcher Scholars

Undergraduate Academy homepage

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ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES IN COLORADO ALPINE LAKES

Diane McKnight, together with several graduate and undergraduate students, and colleagues studied a high alpine lake in the Colorado Rockies which shows increased algal growth thought to be caused by changing climate and atmospheric nitrogen deposition from auto emissions and agricultural activity on the heavily populated Front Range, including Denver. Since about 1940, increased algal growth in Green Lake 4, has caused the accumulation of organic sediment and shifts in the dominant algal species. McKnight and her associates studied algal species distribution in water samples, a sediment trap and a small sediment core in the lake on a weekly to biweeklysummer basis since 1998.

Image: Green Lake, Colorado. Niwot Ridge LTER web site.

CU Press Release

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ARCHEOLOGY OF ALASKA GLACIERS AND SNOWFIELDS

James Dixon, William Manley, and colleagues are generating excitement about the archaeological potential of glaciers and snowfields by using Geographic Information System (GIS) models to predict the locations of well-preserved artifacts exposed by recent melting in Alaska. Artifacts range from gold- rush era horse hoof trimmings to an antler arrowhead, possibly 1,000 years old. Numerous paleontological specimens, including the remains of caribou, carnivores, rodents and even birds, are also being discovered. Dixon and Manley’s research was noted in the April 19th issue of Science magazine and by Rita Colwell, Director of the National Science Foundation, at The Arctic Forum in May.

Image: GIS visualization of glaciers (blue) and predicted artifact locations (red dots). W. Manley.

CU Carillon Article

CU Press Release

For those with access to Science Magazine:
Article on melting of glaciers and release of ancient relics

Colwell's keynote address: The Arctic as a Biocomplex System

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CAUSES OF GLOBAL SEA LEVEL RISE

Mark Meier and CU colleague John Wahr wrote a commentary on the causes of sea-level rise for a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (Vol. 99, Issue 10, 6524-6526, 2002). Meier and Wahr detail the current understanding of sea-level rise from a wide range of geophysical sciences and conclude that further study of both the steric and eustatic components of sea-level rise is needed before confident projections for the 21st century can be made.

Image: Republic of Kiribati , central Pacific. B. Vaughn.

For those with access to Proceedings of the NAS:
Online Article

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ARCTIC AND ALPINE: IMPRESSIONS OF A LANDSCAPE

An art exhibit featuring photography by Tad Pfeffer and paintings by Mark Meier ran at the Macky Gallery (Macky Auditorium) on the CU Boulder Campus, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of INSTAR and the International Year of the Mountain. The show ran from 3 April to 8 May, 2002. "Both of us have spent a lot of time in arctic and alpine environments," said Pfeffer, "My initial attraction to the landscape was aesthetic more than scientific, but it ultimately was the reason I became a glaciologist." Meier commented on their approach, "This exhibit is unusual because it combines art and science...the images are not by artists collaborating with scientists, but by two researchers melding their science with their art.

Images: Photo by T. Pfeffer and painting of South Cascade Glacier by M. Meier.

CU Press Release

INSTAAR Glaciology (choose the Photos link)

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ABORIGINAL CLIMATE CHANGE

Gifford Miller was interviewed while doing fieldwork in Australia by INSTAAR affiliate Daniel Grossman for stories aired on National Public Radio and Radio Netherlands in March 2002. Miller's studies indicate that Aborigines in Australia may have actually contributed to widespread climate change some 50,000 years ago (when the continent dried dramatically, fires raged and almost every species of animal larger than a bull dog disappeared). If proven, it would be the first solid evidence that technologically-primitive humans could alter the environment. Others speaking on the shows include Rod Wells and John Kutzbach. "Aboriginal Climage Change" (NPR) and "Australia's Lost Giants" (RN) were both produced by Daniel Grossman and are available for listening on your computer with RealAudio.

Image: Map of Australia with location of Wolfe Creek Crater.

NPR website with RealAudio link. (7.5 min show). If you have audio problems, try NPR's Audio Help.

Radio Netherlands website with RealAudio link (29 min show).

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GLOBAL SEA LEVELS LIKELY TO RISE HIGHER IN 21ST CENTURY THAN PREVIOUS PREDICTIONS

Mark Meier and Mark Dyurgerov calculated that global sea levels likely will rise more by the end of this century. Their predictions are higher than those made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2001. The additional sea-level rise is due to a revised estimate of the ice melt from glaciers. New data show that the world's glaciers and ice caps have exhibited significant ice loss in the 20th century, which has accelerated since 1988.

Images: Republic of Kiribati , central Pacific. B. Vaughn. Columbia Glacier, T. Pfeffer.

CU Press Release

Article in NewScientist

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EXCAVATIONS IN EASTERN EUROPE REVEAL ANCIENT HUMAN LIFESTYLES

John Hoffecker, Steven Forman (former INSTAAR), and Russian colleagues have unearthed evidence indicating that anatomically modern humans - who had migrated out of Africa 40,000 to 50,000 years ago - were developing new technologies for survival in the cold central East European Plain about 30,000 to 40,000 years ago. Ongoing excavations at two open-air sites at Kostenki about 250 miles south of present-day Moscow have yielded bone and ivory needles with eyelets that are 30,000 years old and large quantities of fox and hare remains. These point to new technologies in the form of tailored fur clothing and trapping devices that must have been critical to life in these environments during the last glacial period.

Image: Excavation of Kostenki. J. Hoffecker.

CU Press Release

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32nd ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ARCTIC WORKSHOP HELD AT INSTAAR

John Andrews, Wendy Roth, David Lubinski, Anne Jennings, Bill Manley, Astrid Ogilvie, Jason Briner, Sarah Principato, and others organized the latest Arctic Workshop, held at INSTAAR on 14-16 March, 2002. More than 100 people from nine countries participated, including students from a number of institutions. All abstracts are searchable on the web. The Workshop was dedicated to John Andrews in appreciation for his hard work in organizing and maintaining the Arctic Workshop for 32 years and counting.

Image: Workshop logo.

2002 Arctic Workshop Website

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DESOLATE LANDSCAPES: ICE-AGE SETTLEMENT OF EASTERN EUROPE

John Hoffecker argues in his new book that the Eastern European settlement record reveals a stark contrast between Neanderthals and modern humans with respect to technology and social organization, both of which are tied to the development of language and the use of symbols. Desolate Landscapes brings readers up to date with the rich archaeological record in this significant region and its contribution to understanding one of the most important events in human evolution—the rise of modern humans and the extinction of the Neanderthals. (Rutgers University Press).

Image: Book cover.

Rutgers Univ Press

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ICE AGE REARRANGEMENT OF OCEAN pH

David Anderson and David Archer (Univ Chicago) have reconstructed carbonate-ion concentration—and hence pH—of the glacial oceans, using the extent of calcium carbonate dissolution observed in foraminifer faunal assemblages. They find no evidence for a shift in the whole-ocean pH as previously inferred from boron isotopes. Instead they find a rearrangement of ocean pH, probably due to changing ocean circulation from glacial to present times. The Anderson and Archer results are significant in revealing the ocean's role in the large natural cycles in atmospheric carbon dioxide that occurred during the Quaternary ice ages.

Published in the 07 March 2002 issue of Nature. Image: Foraminifera Globigerinoides sacculifer. A. Hayes.

For those with access to Nature:
Abstract and full text

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ANTARCTIC CLIMATE COOLING AND TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE

A team led by Peter Doran (Univ of Illinois at Chicago) - including INSTAAR scientist Diane McKnight and INSTAAR affiliates Andrew Fountain and Gary Clow - discovered that continental Antarctica has generally cooled during the last 35 years. This cooling is unique among the Earth's continental landmasses, according to a paper published in the online version of Nature. Continental Antarctic cooling, especially the seasonality of cooling, poses challenges to models of climate and ecosystem change.

Published in the 13 January 2002 online issue of Nature. Image: Emperor penguins near Mirny observatory, East Antarctica. M. Dyurgerov.

COMMUNITY SEDIMENT MODEL WORKSHOP

James Syvitski and colleagues hosted a NSF-supported workshop at INSTAAR on 19-22 February, 2002 to develop both the concept of a "Community Sediment Model" (CSM) and a plan for its creation. At its most basic, a CSM may be defined as a community-built and freely available suite of integrated, ever-improving software modules predicting sedimentary basin and landscape evolution over a broad range of time and space scales. Participants included 60 researchers representing fields as diverse as glaciology, sedimentary geology, geomorphology, engineering, and geophysics. Following the workshop, they will develop a compelling science plan to launch what they hope will be a new era in quantitative modeling of the Earth's surface.

Image: Workshop in action.

MASS BALANCE OF MOUNTAIN AND SUBPOLAR GLACIERS

Mark Dyurgerov and editors Mark Meier and Richard Armstrong (NSIDC) recently released the most complete glacier regime dataset for worldwide mountain and subpolar glaciers as INSTAAR Occasional Paper No. 55. This paper is not only a data collection, but a global analysis of glacier regime in connection with present-day climate, water balance, sea-level rise, and other environmental issues. These data will provide valuable inputs to models in hydrology, geomorphology, climatology and paleoclimatology. This publication is one of INSTAAR's contributions to the United Nations "International Year of Mountains, 2002".

Image: Fedtchenko Glacier research station ,~4200 m a.s.l., surrounded by the largest glacier in central Asia. M. Dyurgerov.