News

A new study led by Giff Miller suggests that the 500-pound Genyornis newtoni laid the eggs marked by cooking fires in Australia, and not a smaller bird. The study could shed light on an even bigger scientific mystery, of why megafauna went extinct shortly after the advent of humans on the continent.

New research from the University of Colorado Boulder is the first to show that agricultural sulfur has a unique fingerprint that can be traced from application to endpoint. Led by Eve-Lyn Hinckley, who is transitioning her research team from INSTAAR to CIRES, the study paves the way to protect waterways downstream from unintended impacts of anthropogenic sulfur application.

25 students from diverse backgrounds are in SEEC completing the CSDMS Spring School, a week-long coding camp designed to build students’ cyberinfrastructure skills needed in Earth science careers.

INSTAAR’s first cohort of Summer Scholars has been announced. Sáde Cromratie Clemons and Christina Geller will each be awarded a stipend for the summer months to continue their research projects.

Jim White, acting dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and INSTAAR researcher, has accepted the position of dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. White will remain at CU Boulder through June 30.

On May 3, members of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and Colorado congressional delegation joined leaders and scientists from CU Boulder, including INSTAAR Director Merritt Turetsky, to showcase university research and federal partnerships.

Keith Musselman was interviewed for this CBS Denver news story on the effects of climate change on deep snowpack.

As climate change fuels the spread of wildfires across the West, researchers want to know how the dual effect might disrupt water supplies. Noah Molotch is among those interviewed.

200 students from Angevine Middle School criss-crossed INSTAAR space this morning, engaging in hands-on science activities. Students touched and smelled permafrost, looked at algae through microscopes, tested water pollution in local streams, investigated soil texture, learned about chickadees, and checked out weather and climate measurements in fast-paced, hands-on activities.

Algae in the ocean, water on Mars, and supercharged apple orchards are research topics for three INSTAAR scientists awarded RIO seed grants. The grants are designed to foster new areas of research with high impact and future funding potential.