Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research

What can and can't remote sensing do, when it comes to tracking harmful algae blooms?

A new paper from the University of Vermont, INSTAAR and City of Boulder OSMP has the answers. Read more from UVM's Water Resources Institute.

The promise and pitfalls of monitoring harmful algal blooms with remote sensing show the image caption close caption Wonderland Lake in Boulder County, Colorado—one of the four field sites. Photo by Keith Jennings. The promise and pitfalls of monitoring harmful algal blooms with remote sensing By comparing remote sensing products to field data, the researchers examined the su...

Shrubs are making a play for more space. Not just in the arctic, but in the alpine too.

INSTAAR research associate Sarah Elmendorf and Mariana García Criado highlight an important new paper in a review for Global Change Biology.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.70922?saml_referrer

Nancy Emery kicked off the Mountain Research Station summer seminar series last night with a talk on the Niwot Ridge LTER and plant community ecology.

Join us at the station every Wednesday evening from now through August 26. Or sign up for a guided walk on mycology, natural history, orchids and more!

See upcoming seminars and guided walk signup on the Mountain Research Station website: https://www.colorado.edu/mrs/

👍🏽 for this summary of the Colorado River situation & its potential impacts on the Front Range. Written by Allen Best and featuring Jeff Lukas, whose decades of climate change work include the Western Water Assessment (NOAA/CIRES) and being a dendrochronologist at INSTAAR back in the day.

Colorado River's dire state demands action from urban water users, experts say — few are - Sentinel Colorado Denver Water and Aurora Water have imposed stage-one drought watering restrictions, but others have not.

What happens when the world loses its disaster memory?

INSTAAR affiliate Albert Kettner is co-author on an open letter calling for support of EM-DAT, a global database of disasters and their impacts.

Read more from Carbon Brief:

EM-DAT: Trump aid cuts could close database storing ‘world’s memory of disasters’ - Carbon Brief The world’s most comprehensive disaster database is at risk of closing as a result of cuts to US foreign aid by the Trump administration

Most science is incremental. Occasionally, though, researchers uncover a relationship that reframes an entire system.

A new study by Bradley Markle and Eric Steig investigates a fundamental principle governing Antarctic temperature change. Read more in our latest story.

Scientists discover a fundamental principle of Antarctic climate After a decade of work, INSTAAR fellow Bradley Markle and a collaborator published a study revealing how the greenhouse effect governs temperature changes

Why are the rockies so, well... rocky?

That's the question behind a recent investigation from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and INSTAAR. Suzanne and Robert Anderson are coauthors.

Topography, erosion, and forest structure control where and why the Rockies are rocky CIRES-led study uses drones and airborne imagery to dig into the transition between soil- and rock-dominated surfaces

Himalayan glaciers are melting rapidly, creating new risks to ecosystems and downstream communities.

Listen to the BBC's latest feature on the issue, including insight from INSTAAR fellow Alton Byers on how mountain communities are working to mitigate flood risk.

BBC Audio | The Inquiry | Are the Himalayan glaciers at a tipping point? Melting Himalayan glaciers are increasing the risk to communities and the ecosystem

Science writer Marissa Grunes brings CU Boulder engineering students to INSTAAR's Stable Isotope Lab each year. This time, she's bringing readers along too.

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the lab’s work — and how researchers use water, ice and air to unravel Earth’s mysteries.

Inside the Stable Isotope Lab: unravelling Earth’s mysteries through water, ice and air Science writer Marissa Grunes takes readers on tour through the diverse research and operations of the Stable Isotope Lab. The lab processes samples from all

And the winners are...

Check out the full report from INSTAAR’s end-of-year awards luncheon. This year, the Institute awarded seven graduate scholarships and fellowships, plus three staff and student honors (one of which came with jelly donuts). 🍩

INSTAAR’s 2026 student and staff awardees honored at end-of-year celebration And the winner is… INSTAAR presented awards and fellowships at the annual spring celebration luncheon last week. Recipients were selected for impactful work at