News

From Dec. 11-15, tens of thousands of people from 100+ countries will gather in San Francisco for the 2023 meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Scientists from CU Boulder, including INSTAARs Anne Jennings, Ben Li, and Nicole Lovenduski, are tagged as Earth science experts in this CU Boulder Today resource on the conference.

INSTAAR and ENVS Postdoc Peyton Thomas not only does great science, she's an activist runner sponsored by Patagonia. Earlier this year, she and a group of volunteers organized Patagonia's first EARTH running event (Equitable Action Run Towards Health) to help a Mississippi community discuss and address impacts of the wood pellet industry on health and environmental justice.

A “Reverse Science Fair” in Northglenn is flipping the traditional format, challenging University of Colorado Boulder grad students and postdocs to present their research to high school student evaluators. Organizer Alex Rose is interviewed, with cameos by INSTAAR postdocs Kristýna Kantnerová and Edgart Flores.

The Journal of Ecology has announced Katharine Suding as their Eminent Ecologist award recipient for 2023. Awards are given to those considered hugely influential within their fields of research and to have made outstanding contributions not just to Journal of Ecology, but to ecology in general. For the award, Suding assembled a virtual journal issue, wrote a blog post, and was interviewed.

Tim Seastedt discusses how low-cost landscape restoration actions in Colorado can foster a more diverse and absorbent environment. These actions can rebuild soils and recharge soil water storage, increasing the ability of plants to perform evapotranspiration. Such changes provide many environmental benefits.

A team of researchers that included several INSTAAR scientists received the prestigious Kirk Bryan Award from the Quaternary Geology & Geomorphology Division of the Geological Society of America (GSA). The prestigious award honors the authors of a recent paper that advances the science of geomorphology.

Anne Jennings and her colleagues spent two months on a ship off the coast of Greenland drilling sediment cores deep below the ocean floor. They were searching for clues that will help predict melting patterns of major ice sheets in our warming world.

Supported by a new five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, a group of researchers at five universities will examine how rapidly warming temperatures and shorter winters can influence the growth and toxicity of lake algae. Isabella Oleksy, who studies aquatic ecosystems and recently joined INSTAAR, is leading the Colorado contingent at CU Boulder.

Julia Moriarty (INSTAAR & ATOC) was named a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Early Career Researcher, receiving multiyear funding. The program helps support the next generation of U.S. STEM leaders. She will be working to improve predictability of water quality following floods in coastal urban systems.

Diane McKnight has been an integral figure in the Long-Term Ecological Research Program for decades. She was instrumental in launching the McMurdo LTER, spearheaded restructuring network coordination, and served as Chair of the LTER Network Executive Board. She’s mentored dozens of students and developed too many projects to count. The LTER Network Office sat down with Diane to chat about her life in the Network and her dreams for the LTER moving forward.