Associated Institutes and Centers

The Energy and Minerals Applied Research Center (EMARC) was established to develop an integrated program of teaching and faculty-directed graduate research in directions that are: 1) basic to an understanding of the geology and occurrence of energy and mineral resources, and 2) may have application to the interpretation of, search for, or development of such resources. EMARC is housed in the Department building, is the most recent Department-affiliated entity to come into being (1989), and currently has 12 affiliated teaching or research faculty from the Department, CIRES, INSTAAR, and the Museum.

The primary mission of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), is is to facilitate interdisciplinary research leading to a predictive understanding of the biological, chemical, and physical interactions that regulate global change and the earth system in arctic, alpine, and other regions. INSTAAR, located on the East Campus, also operates the Mountain Research Station 25 miles (40 km) west of Boulder at 9,450 feet (2880 m) in the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies.

Research programs at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) are aimed at understanding a variety of basic and applied problems associated with the physics and chemistry of the solid earth and its atmosphere, cryosphere and oceans. The Center for the Study of Earth from Space (CSES), a part of CIRES, focuses on the use of remote sensing techniques to understand the Earth and its biosphere. CIRES is located on the Main Campus, close to the Department building.

Research scientists at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) conduct fundamental research in the atmospheric and planetary sciences, develop space instrumentation, and create computer information systems for space operations. LASP has two main locations: in the Duane Physics building on the Main Campus, and in the Space Technology Building in the CU Research Park.

The University of Colorado Museum houses collections and conducts research in a variety of fields, including anthropology, botany, entomology, geology, osteology, and zoology. The Museum also offers an interdisciplinary Masters program leading students to obtain theory and practice in Museum work. Research strengths of the Geology Section are focused on paleontology, especially Paleogene vertebrate and molluscan evolution in the Rocky Mountain region.

The Center for Geochronological Research (CGR) promotes fundamental research in the development and application of geochronological methods and geochemical tracers that will lead to an improved understanding of processes controlling environmental change, and the rates at which those processes act. CGR facilities are primarily located in the INSTAAR building on the East Campus

UNAVCO, a non-profit, membership-governed consortium, is based in Boulder and supports and promotes Earth science by advancing high-precision techniques for the measurement and understanding of deformation. The primary tool supported by UNAVCO has been GPS. However, UNAVCO is moving toward including support for other techniques useful for studying deformation. Borehole strainmeters, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) are expanding the spatial and temporal signals that can be investigated with geodetic techniques.

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