CONTAMINATED WATER FROM ABANDONED MINES CONSTRAINS COLORADO SKI AREAS

Andrew Todd, Diane McKnight, and colleague Lane Wyatt (Northwest Council of Governments) found that the ability of several of Colorado's prime ski areas to respond to winter drought is constrained by acidic runoff from abandoned mines. Waterways that are contaminated with acid-rock drainage, such as the Snake River, are less desirable for snowmaking than pristine streams. When the snow melts, the water can run into streams not previously polluted, further spreading the contamination.

Published in the Sept. 23rd issue of Eos (American Geophysical Union). Image: Contaminated water flows into a stream. A. Todd

CU Press Release

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PATRICK BOURGERON AWARDED THE PRESTIGIOUS FRENCH CHAIRE BLAISE PASCAL

Patrick Bourgeron received the Chaire Blaise Pascal, an international visiting research chair that funds collaboration for one year with members of a number of French and European Commission research and teaching institutions. His activities as Chair fit under the umbrella of the International, US, and European Long Term Ecological Networks, funded respectively by the National Science Foundation and the European Commission. Activities included research into the interrelationships between global change, rapid demographic pressure, land use patterns, and sustainability of heavily populated areas. Bourgeron also presented a series of lectures, developed new proposals, and guided visits of students and senior scientists to the collaborative French and US institutions.

Taken from a press release by the Ecology Lab ("Biodiversité et fonctionnement des ecosystèmes") of the Ecole Normale Supérieure. Image: P. Bourgeron portrait.

Chaires blaise pascal.org

Ecology Lab-Ecole Normale Supérieure

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SEDIMENT ALONG HYDROLOGICAL PATHWAYS: ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCES

James Syvitski edited a special journal issue entitled "The supply and flux of sediment along hydrological pathways: Anthropogenic influences at the global scale." The issue investigated the increasing human impact on sediment in the global water system. More than 25 scientists contributed 11 papers to the issue, which was sponsored by IGBP, LOICZ, PAGES, and BAHC. The issue played an important contributing role in starting the Global Water Systems Project (GWSP).

Published in Global and Planetary Change 39 (1/2): 1-200. Image: Icelandic waterfall. J. Syvitski.

For those with access via Science Direct:
Global & Planetary Change

GWSP web site

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ARTIFACTS IN MELTING GLACIERS

E. James Dixon, William Manley, Craig Lee, and colleagues continued their search in southeast Alaska to pinpoint rapidly melting glaciers and ice fields that hold prehistoric human artifacts, before exposure triggers their decomposition. As global warming continues to melt glaciers and ice fields at a rapid rate, discarded or lost tools that were frozen in glaciers are being released from the ice. Among their most significant finds this season were wooden arrow shafts, one with red ochre paint, and a stone point still lashed to its wooden shaft. They also found a birch bark container or basket recently thawed from the ice.

Image: Dart head still retaining the sinew used to lash it to a wooden shaft. C. Lee.

CU Press Release

Boulder Daily Camera

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ALAN TOWNSEND PENNED SCIENCE COLUMN

Alan Townsend wrote seven columns in 2003 about "The Changing World" for the Boulder Daily Camera. Townsend's column was focused on the environment, with topics ranging from the effects of fertilizer to developments in motor vehicle technology.

Image: A. Towsend portrait.

Boulder Daily Camera

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GLOBAL WARMING THREATENS ALPINE PLANTS

Vera Markgraf was an invited lecturer at a week-long international summer school concentrating on “Climate Change: Impacts on Terrestrial Ecosystems.” Discussion included the past, present, and future effects of global warming on alpine vegetation, including European vegetation attempting to shift north-, east-, and upwards. The summer school provides young scientists with the opportunity to learn from some of the world’s leading climate researchers. Seventy PhD students and Post-Docs from around the world are selected from applications. The school focuses on a different climate topic each year. The program is sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Image: Alpine flowers on Niwot Ridge, Colorado. W. Bowman.

SwissInfo

2003 Climate Summer School

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MORT TURNER RECEIVED AMERICAN POLAR SOCIETY SPECIAL AWARD.

Mort Turner has been awarded the American Polar Society Special Award, the first of its kind. The award recognizes Turner's tremendous service over the years on polar research, administration and management. The award ceremony took place during the American Polar Society Symposium 2003 at the Byrd Polar Research Center, the Ohio State University.

Image: M. Turner portrait.

INSTAAR CONTRIBUTING TO NEW NASA-FUNDED CU-BOULDER STUDY OF EARTH'S GLACIER SYSTEMS

Mark Dyurgerov is participating in a large CU-Boulder study - led by Richard Armstrong (National Snow and Ice Data Center) - to compile an online database of the world's glaciers. Accelerated glacier melting over the last two decades has contributed to rising sea levels and to stressed water resources. But global monitoring of the response of glaciers to climate change has been difficult; in part because volume change measurements have been made on only a few hundred of the world's approximately 160,000 glaciers. The study will expand existing knowledge by combining historical data sets with new and existing high-resolution satellite imagery.

Image: Unnamed glacier near Penny Ice Cap, Baffin Island. G. Miller.

CU Press Release

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INSTAAR PARTICIPATES IN NEW CU-BOULDER CERTIFICATE PROGRAM FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY

Diane McKnight is one of 17 CU-Boulder faculty members from a variety of departments participating in a new program offering a certificate in Science and Technology Policy. All CU-Boulder graduate students are eligible. The program addresses society's growing need for expertise when faced with decisions involving science and technology. Three proposed new courses are among the 18 hours of required coursework for the certificate: "Science and Technology Policy," "Science, Technology and Society" and "Methods of Policy Analysis and Research." Three more courses are selected from a list of approved electives. The certificate is coordinated by the university's Center for Science and Technology Policy Research.

Image: Logo for Science and Technology Policy program.

CU Press Release

Center for Science and Technology Policy Research

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FUNGAL METABOLISM IN TUNDRA SOILS AT NIWOT RIDGE HIGHER IN WINTER THAN SUMMER

A new study of Niwot Ridge tundra soils by Schadt et al. (CU-Boulder, San Diego State) revealed the presence of whole new orders of previously undocumented microorganisms (mostly fungi). These organisms were found to be more active in winter than in summer. The study has implications for carbon dioxide levels in Earth's atmosphere. The research is one of many projects facilitated by the Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research (NWT LTER) program, administered by INSTAAR's Mountain Research Station.

Published in 05 September issue of Science Magazine. Image: View from Niwot Ridge. T. Riggs and D. Underwood.

CU Press Release

NSF Press Release

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Mountain Research Station

CHANGING GLOBAL NITROGEN CYCLE IMPACTING HUMAN HEALTH

Alan Townsend, Cory Cleveland and colleagues studied how human influence on the global nitrogen cycle affects our health. Humans now convert more nitrogen to reactive forms than all natural processes combined. While beneficial for increasing crop growth, human-induced changes appear to pose a growing health risk. The authors believe that the greatest net health benefits come from using nitrogen at moderate levels. Using nitrogen at higher levels does not lead to parallel increases in benefits, while greatly exacerbating health and environmental problems.

Published in the June 2003 issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Image: Cover of FEE.

CU Press Release

Frontiers in Ecology

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INSTAAR HOSTED OPEN HOUSE FOR 164 MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

Bill Manley, Bruce Vaughn and Diane McKnight led an organizing committee that hosted the entire 8th grade class of Southern Hills Middle School on April 18. The students were divided into groups to participate in lab tours, lectures, and stream sampling activities. The students learned how materials such as bones and soils are radiocarbon dated, how to excavate an archeology site in the Arctic, how climate is recorded in ice and sediment cores, and how green house gases are affecting our atmosphere. They also learned how glaciers work by manipulating 10-foot-high 3-D digital images of Alaska's landscape. In addition, the students studied stream ecology by collecting water and insects while measuring streamflow. Other INSTAAR participants included Vicky Nelson, John Ortega, John Hoffecker, Astrid Ogilvie, Jason Briner, Wendy Roth, and a team of graduate students and professional scientists.

Image: Student wears special goggles to look at 3-D image of Alaskan glaciers. J. Marbach.

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GIFT FROM MOORES FAMILY HELPED COMPLETE SCIENCE LODGE

Anthony, Liz, and Melissa Moores donated +$300,000 to finish the Science Lodge at INSTAAR'S Mountain Research Station. This generous gift funded work on the interior, completing prior work on the building's shell, funded by the National Science Foundation. The Science Lodge now provides accommodations and conference space for thirty-two people throughout the year, even during the winter months when the Station was previously mostly unavailable to visitors. The Station has started reserving space for all the student groups and researchers who had to be turned away in recent years for lack of space. The Science Lodge will have many visitors including K-12 teachers, environmental classes, and think tanks on ecological and earth system research. INSTAAR sends a hearty "thank you" to the Moores family, Dean Carol B. Lynch, and all others involved!

Image: Science Lodge under construction.

DIANE MCKNIGHT NAMED FELLOW OF AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION

Diane McKnight was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union for her outstanding contributions to the understanding of the biogeochemistry associated with transport metals and organic substances in streams and lakes. Fellowship is bestowed on only 0.1% of the total AGU membership of about 35,000 in any given year and recognizes scientists who have made significant contributions in the geophysical sciences.

Image: D. McKnight portrait.

AGU website

INSTAAR'S AAAR JOURNAL GOES ONLINE

Journal editor Mark Williams and managing editor Connie Oehring completed a project begun last year by Kathleen Salzberg to publish the first full-text online issue of Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (AAAR). All issues starting from the first in 2003 are available in both electronic and paper formats. Our online host is BioOne, a nonprofit aggregation of high-impact bioscience research journals. If your institution or local library is a subscriber to BioOne (e.g., Univ. of Colorado), then you should have access. Please take a look!

Image: Cover of AAAR Journal.

AAAR website

First issue of AAAR on BioOne

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LONG-TERM NORTH ATLANTIC OCEANOGRAPHIC VARIABILITY AND SOLAR FORCING

John Andrews led a six-person team to reconstruct a high-resolution paleoceanographic history off North Iceland for the past 12,000 years. Team members included INSTAAR's Joe Stoner and Greta Kristjansdottir, INSTAAR alumni Jorunn Hardadottir (Iceland Energy Authority), Michael Mann (U Virginia), and Nalân Koç (Norsk Polar Institute).The team found links between variations in grain-size, magnetic concentration, and solar forcing that appear to be controlled by changes in the relative advection of Atlantic and polar waters. This conclusion may have implications for global ocean circulation, in part because present advection changes on the North Iceland margin are associated with variations in deep convection in the Greenland and Iceland Seas.

Published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, V. 210, 3-4 2003, Pages 453-465. Image: Portion of a evolutive spectrum through the time series.

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Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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JOHN BEHRENDT ELECTED TO AAAS

John Behrendt was elected a Fellow of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science for 2002. He was cited for his distinguished contributions to the understanding of crustal controls in the Antarctic Ice Sheet and for efforts to protect and manage Antarctica for the scientific benefit of all nations. He was presented with an official certificate and a pin on Feb. 15 at the Fellows Forum being held during the 2003 AAAS annual meeting in Denver.

Image: J. Behrendt portrait.

CU Press Release

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MELTING GLACIERS AND PERMAFROST HOLD POTENTIAL FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES

E. James Dixon recorded an interview with National Public Radio (NPR) in January about the research that he and William Manley are conducting on the archaeological potential of snow and ice. A small portion of that interview was broadcast on NPR's All Things Considered, discussing the fantastic preservation of artifacts recovered from frozen contexts. Dixon and Manley’s research has recently come to the fore of public attention through front-page stories in major newspapers such as the LA Times, Vancouver Sun, Miami Herald, Charlotte Observer, and Seattle Times.

Image: Helicopter survey of an unnamed glacier in Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska. R. Ivan.

NPR website with photos and RealAudio link. (3.5 min show). If you have audio problems, try NPR's Audio Help.

LA Times article text

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ABRUPT CHANGES IN ASIAN MONSOON OVER LAST 11,000 YEARS LINKED TO NORTH ATLANTIC CLIMATE

Anil Gupta (Indian Institute of Technology), David Anderson (INSTAAR & NOAA Paleoclimatology), and Jonathan Overpeck (U of Arizona) developed a new centennial-scale proxy record of the southwestern monsoon winds spanning the Holocene period (last ~11,000 years). The foraminifer-based record showed repeating intervals of weaker summer monsoon winds that coincide with cold periods documented in the North Atlantic region. Older records from the last ice age previously showed that the southwest monsoon exhibited abrupt changes that were closely correlated with millennial-scale climate events in the North Atlantic region. Thus, the link between these distant regions appears to be a persistent aspect of global climate on different timescales. The significance of this work lies in documenting a linkage between climate of high and low latitudes, and in revealing the amplitude of natural variability in monsoon climate.

Published in the Jan. 23rd issue of Nature. Image: Core site in the Arabian Sea, with July wind direction arrows.

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Comment: Zahn

NOAA press release

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POSTGLACIAL FLOODING OF THE BERING LAND BRIDGE: AN ANIMATION

William Manley used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to create a movie showing how the Bering Land Bridge evolved after the Last Glacial Maximum, about 21,000 years ago. Global sea level at that time was approximately 120 m (400 ft) lower than today. The Land Bridge existed as a vast tundra plain connecting Asia and North America. As the world's glaciers and ice sheets melted over the following thousands of years, rising sea level flooded the Land Bridge - blocking migration routes for animals and humans. The visualization was created in the INSTAAR Quaternary GIS lab and is based on the best available digital information; it reveals large-scale patterns of shifting coastlines and environments as the land bridge evolved.

Image: Map of land bridge with lowered sea level. W. Manley.

Animation page

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AMERICA'S FIRST INHABITANTS MAY HAVE USED THE COASTAL ROAD

E. James Dixon was interviewed for a Nature News Feature on the explosion of interest in studying the climatic, environmental and geological conditions that prevailed along the Pacific Coast during the past 35,000 years or so. In the article, Dixon notes an ongoing paradigm shift toward finding physical traces of early coastal migrants. Existing traces include a man-made tool that Dixon and colleagues have radiocarbon dated to about 10,300 years ago in a cave on Prince of Wales Island, southeast Alaska.

Published in the 06 March 2003 issue of Nature. Image: Alaska coastline. S. Croll.

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