Research news

The acidity of the Antarctic, or Southern, Ocean could double by the end of the century, finds a study led by INSTAAR Cara Nissen. This could have detrimental effects on the icy ecosystem’s smallest inhabitants, like plankton and krill, that are the base of the food web in the ocean.

A groundbreaking multi-year research initiative launched at Chico State in the aftermath of the Camp Fire examined the presence of contaminants, including metals, in nearby watersheds. Joined by researchers from CU Boulder and the USGS, the research, recently published in the prestigious Journal of Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts, sheds light on the alarming impact of wildfires on stormwater runoff.

Nikki Lovenduski is featured in this two-minute video, discussing how the Antarctic Ocean could become too acidic for many animals to survive by the end of the century without drastic measures to curb emissions from fossil fuels. She references a recent publication led by Cara Nissen and including herself and Cassandra Brooks as well as three colleagues from the Alfred Wegener Institute.

Tim Higgins, a PhD candidate in the department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, is investigating the impacts of climate change on atmospheric rivers and extreme precipitation events that affect the western United States. With his fellowship funds, Higgins traveled to the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) Open Science Conference in Kigali, Rwanda to present his research.

The acidity of Antarctica’s coastal waters could double by the end of the century, threatening plankton and all marine life that inhabits the Southern Ocean, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. Cara Nissen is first author of the study. Coauthors include additional INSTAARs Nikki Lovenduski and Cassandra Brooks as well as three colleagues from the Alfred Wegener Institute.

Video interview with Noah Molotch about how remote sensing technology is helping forecast water availability in the Rocky Mountains. Watch this two-minute, well-edited interview, interspersed with clips of fieldwork and explanatory illustrations.

The 2023 winter brought record snowfall to California, but getting accurate snow depth data over a wide area is not easy. Read a feature story by the The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) about the challenges of garnering snow data and the tools behind the data. Among the experts consulted is Karl Rittger (INSTAAR Fellow & NSIDC Affiliate), who leads the Snow Today project, visualizing and analyzing snow conditions across the Western US.

If there's a place that embodies climate extremes and their impacts on agriculture, it may be California. After years of drought, last spring devastating floods hit the state of the West Coast. Noah Molotch weighs in on the hydrology. (French language broadcast.)

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.

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.