Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research

🥳 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:

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

The methane detectives are back at it.

A series of investigations from INSTAAR's stable isotope lab and NOAA's global monitoring laboratory have elucidated the sources of rising methane emissions. As the Earth warms, wetlands are playing a larger role.

https://buff.ly/P63lTU1

What can artists bring to alpine research?

A new residency from NEST Studio and INSTAAR's Mountain Research Station enables artists to engage with scientists, creating new ways to explore and share mountain environmental research at the University of Colorado Boulder

New CU Boulder residency turns alpine research into creative practice A new partnership between CU Boulder's NEST Studio for the Arts and the Mountain Research Station makes interdisciplinarity a daily practice, bringing artists

Winter snowpack is about more than just ski conditions. It shapes the hydrology and ecology of mountain landscapes long after the snow has melted.

Learn more from UC Irvine's feature on new research by INSTAAR postdoctoral scholar MJ Farruggia and collaborators.

As Snowpack Shrinks, Sierra Nevada Mountain Ponds Undergo Dramatic Change - Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences Christine Bonadonna sampling invertebrates at a pond near Yosemite National Park. Photo credit: Celia Symons Irvine, Calif., July 14, 2026 — On a summer afternoon in the Sierra Nevada, a […]

When a flash flood surprised then 10-year-old Zhi Li at a swimming hole, it kickstarted a career-long passion for understanding flood risk.

Today, INSTAAR fellow Zhi Li is using AI to develop next-generation flood prediction and alert tools. Read more from CU Engineering.

Downstream data Researcher using AI to improve and personalize flood prediction

Tiny fossilized foraminifera shells may hold the key to reconstructing past temperatures in the deep-ocean.

Thanks to the Martha and John Andrews Scholarship, INSTAAR PhD candidate Trisia Tellez will spend the summer putting that idea to the test.

Trisia Tellez brings deep-sea fossils to the lab with support from the Martha and John Andrews Scholarship Trisia Tellez is the recipient of the inaugural Martha and John Andrews INSTAAR Graduate Scholarship. She will use the funding to reconstruct deep-sea ocean

What makes Colorado Wildflowers so special?

They're not just pretty, they're also pretty ecologically important! Learn more in the latest "CUriosity" article and accompanying video.

CUriosity: What makes Colorado wildflowers so special? Sam Ahler, doctoral candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology and avowed fan of watching grass grow, discusses what makes Colorado's wildflowers distinctive

What happens when tens of thousands of tourists travel through a remote mountain region each year?

In Nepal's Khumbu region, the answer is a growing waste management issue. A diverse team, including INSTAAR fellow Alton Byers, has developed a plan to help protect "the gateway to Everest."

Cleaning up Mt Everest top to bottom A model for sustainable waste management in the Himalaya

Chris Ray's research on the American pika is front and center at the Boulder Environmental/Nature/Outdoors Film Festival this year.

Check out the Boulder Daily Camera's event preview for the July 16-19 festival at the Dairy Arts Center.

This Boulder film fest unites climate action with nature — and the adorable American pika For an animal that looks like a stuffed baked potato, sounds like a squeaky toy and spends much of its life heckling hikers from a pile of rocks, the American pika makes a surprisingly effective ambassador for climate science.

The MRS is bustling with public events all summer!

Check out last weeks Mountain Ear Podcast for a sneak preview of the MRS Open House and summer seminar series. Open House tickets will go on sale soon. Keep updated on our website.

Inside CU's world-class alpine research center Podcast Episode · The Mountain-Ear Podcast · June 26 · 32m