Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research

09/15/2026

🧊 💧Thawing permafrost can leave a lasting mark on Antarctic streams. New research from the McMurdo Dry Valleys by Anna Wright & her team finds that erosion from thawing permafrost shifted stream chemistry, with effects still evident a decade later.

Read the publication at

Permafrost degradation along an Antarctic Dry Valley stream has altered the generation of stream solutes The 2012 degradation significantly shifted long-term average ion concentrations above pre-...

09/01/2026

INSTAAR senior research associate Alton Byers on what happened in Nepal and what should happen now

Himalayan glacier expert Alton C Byers on what happened in Nepal and what should happen now

08/28/2026

Sept 25-27, 2026
🏔️ GREEBs Meeting (Guild of Rocky Mountain Ecologists & Evolutionary Biologists) at the University of Colorado Boulder's Mountain Research Station
• Talks/posters do NOT need to be about Rocky Mtns.
• Relaxed & friendly, students welcome.
• Lodging & meal options.
Info & register: https://www.colorado.edu/conference/greebs/

08/28/2026

A catastrophic flood tore through a glacial valley in the Himalayas this week.

According to INSTAAR senior research associate Alton Byers The world will see "more and more events like this" as climate change progresses.

https://buff.ly/2OMBFPD

As the climate continues to warm, scientists warn that the frequency of disasters like the floods in Nepal will increase.

08/27/2026

👋🏾 ¡Hola a todos! 👋🏾 Join the Spanish Language Lunch table today, Aug 27th at 12pm in the SEEC Café.

We'll have lots of fun while practicing our vocabulary & listening skills. All welcome, no need to be an INSTAARite. Co-hosts: Leanne Lestak & Stef Tasayco
https://calendar.colorado.edu/event/spanish_language_lunch_table

08/24/2026

Colorado's alpine fungi and plants stick together, even when times are tough.

A new study from INSTAAR PhD student Annie Meeder found that symbioses between mycorrhizal fungi and alpine plants remained intact during years with earlier-than-average snowmelt. Read more from CU Boulder Today.

https://buff.ly/XDl5RZ1

A CU Boulder study finds that the symbiotic relationship between alpine plants and underground fungi stays robust to earlier snowmelt driven by warming

08/24/2026

Congrats to Scott Taylor on being elected to lead the American Ornithological Society for the next three years!

Scott is a professor, an avian geneticist, a seasoned field naturalist, a podcaster, a field station director, and an INSTAAR fellow. How does he do it all?!

https://buff.ly/RcIZCTS

08/06/2026

Blood falls in Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys is a striking sight. Rust-colored water cascades from the mouth of the Taylor glacier.

Now, an INSTAAR co-authored study has found that many of the microbes in its iron-rich waters have marine origins, suggesting ancient flooding carried them deep inland.

Despite being over 20 miles from the ocean, it's organisms are pretty salty.

08/05/2026

Not all wildfires burn the same.

In the latest episode of Bill Sutherland's Conservation Concepts, INSTAAR fellow Tim Seastedt explores two common forest types in Colorado's foothills — and why they burn so differently.

What are the consequences of fire suppression and management option...

08/01/2026

🥳 Wed Aug 19th
Join us for our Anniversary Open House at the Mountain Research Station above Boulder!

Guided field trips, hands-on activities, dinner, & seminar by K. Suding. Come for 1 session or stay for the day

The FREE tickets are going fast, sign up asap:

Celebrate the Mountain Research Station’s 106th anniversary and INSTAAR's 75th at a scenic field science outpost in the Indian Peaks.