INSTAAR 🏳️🌈
@instaar.bsky.social
Institute of Arctic & Alpine Research - Earth & environmental science at CU Boulder. Research & education on the past, present, & future of Earth systems in service of a just & thriving world https://www.colorado.edu/instaar/
Pinned
INSTAAR 🏳️🌈
@instaar.bsky.social
· Apr 10
Hi! 👋 We are scientists studying Earth & environmental systems at CU Boulder. Our name = cold/high places, but these days we work from tropics to poles, incl. the world ocean. Follow us for
🧊 Cold regions
⌛ Past climate
🏔️ Earth surface processes
💨 Atmospheric gases
🌱 Ecological change
& lots more!
🧊 Cold regions
⌛ Past climate
🏔️ Earth surface processes
💨 Atmospheric gases
🌱 Ecological change
& lots more!
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️🌈
Check out these maps by @wwanews.bsky.social. Colorado is currently a state divided by excess water and not enough!
Large areas of the region received 150-200% of normal #precipitation in October, with some locations in northern Utah, southeastern Utah, northern Wyoming, and southwestern Colorado receiving 200-400% of normal precipitation.
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in... @cires.colorado.edu
Learn more: wwa.colorado.edu/resources/in... @cires.colorado.edu
November 10, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Check out these maps by @wwanews.bsky.social. Colorado is currently a state divided by excess water and not enough!
🏆 Congrats to postdoc Etienne Rouby for winning a Best Young Researcher Award from the International Society for Ecological Modelling. He was chosen for a novel 2024 modelling study that he led. See more at www.isemworld.org/2025/06/13/t...
November 10, 2025 at 10:15 PM
🏆 Congrats to postdoc Etienne Rouby for winning a Best Young Researcher Award from the International Society for Ecological Modelling. He was chosen for a novel 2024 modelling study that he led. See more at www.isemworld.org/2025/06/13/t...
INSTAAR’s Kevin Rozmiarek uses drones to collect Arctic air samples—helping reveal how the Greenland Ice Sheet and methane-rich thermokarst lakes are changing. He was featured in an article covering drone research and operations at CU Boulder.
(The article is free to read, but requires signup).
(The article is free to read, but requires signup).
At the University of Colorado at Boulder, drones are everywhere: monitoring move-in, doing shows during halftime at football games, and assisting in research across a variety of departments.
The College Where Drones Are Everywhere
Unmanned aerial vehicles have “proliferated themselves completely” at the University of Colorado at Boulder — in research, sports, and campus security.
chroni.cl
November 10, 2025 at 9:56 PM
INSTAAR’s Kevin Rozmiarek uses drones to collect Arctic air samples—helping reveal how the Greenland Ice Sheet and methane-rich thermokarst lakes are changing. He was featured in an article covering drone research and operations at CU Boulder.
(The article is free to read, but requires signup).
(The article is free to read, but requires signup).
See an update on the West’s snowpack and an explanation of how Milankovitch cycles shape the Earth’s climate from journalist @mitchtobin.bsky.social (co-director of WaterDesk.org at CU Boulder) at www.snow.news/p/early-seas...
November 7, 2025 at 9:32 PM
See an update on the West’s snowpack and an explanation of how Milankovitch cycles shape the Earth’s climate from journalist @mitchtobin.bsky.social (co-director of WaterDesk.org at CU Boulder) at www.snow.news/p/early-seas...
🚨 New pika paper!
Chris Ray (INSTAAR & EBIO) & Jasmine Vidrio (EBIO) describe a decline in juvenile captures at Niwot Ridge, Colorado. It's the first observational evidence backing up projected pika population losses due to climate change in the region.
doi.org/10.1080/1523...
Chris Ray (INSTAAR & EBIO) & Jasmine Vidrio (EBIO) describe a decline in juvenile captures at Niwot Ridge, Colorado. It's the first observational evidence backing up projected pika population losses due to climate change in the region.
doi.org/10.1080/1523...
November 6, 2025 at 8:00 PM
🚨 New pika paper!
Chris Ray (INSTAAR & EBIO) & Jasmine Vidrio (EBIO) describe a decline in juvenile captures at Niwot Ridge, Colorado. It's the first observational evidence backing up projected pika population losses due to climate change in the region.
doi.org/10.1080/1523...
Chris Ray (INSTAAR & EBIO) & Jasmine Vidrio (EBIO) describe a decline in juvenile captures at Niwot Ridge, Colorado. It's the first observational evidence backing up projected pika population losses due to climate change in the region.
doi.org/10.1080/1523...
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️🌈
We are celebrating the news that Dr. Will Wieder and colleagues have been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to study how soil fungi influence shrub expansion into tundra ecosystems!
nwt.lternet.edu/news/niwot-r...
nwt.lternet.edu/news/niwot-r...
Niwot researchers receive $1.6M grant from NSF to study how microbes influence shrub encroachment into tundra ecosystems. — Niwot Ridge LTER
Supported by a recent $1.6M grant from the National Science Foundation, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State University will start exploring how plant-soil interactions...
nwt.lternet.edu
October 28, 2025 at 7:37 PM
We are celebrating the news that Dr. Will Wieder and colleagues have been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to study how soil fungi influence shrub expansion into tundra ecosystems!
nwt.lternet.edu/news/niwot-r...
nwt.lternet.edu/news/niwot-r...
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️🌈
🧊 ICYMI permafrost paper
A new study by Kevin Rozmiarek et al. found that volatile organic compounds can signal early methane production deep below Arctic soils, offering a new way to spot emerging climate hotspots before they peak. Read their paper at doi.org/10.3389/fmic...
A new study by Kevin Rozmiarek et al. found that volatile organic compounds can signal early methane production deep below Arctic soils, offering a new way to spot emerging climate hotspots before they peak. Read their paper at doi.org/10.3389/fmic...
November 4, 2025 at 9:40 PM
🧊 ICYMI permafrost paper
A new study by Kevin Rozmiarek et al. found that volatile organic compounds can signal early methane production deep below Arctic soils, offering a new way to spot emerging climate hotspots before they peak. Read their paper at doi.org/10.3389/fmic...
A new study by Kevin Rozmiarek et al. found that volatile organic compounds can signal early methane production deep below Arctic soils, offering a new way to spot emerging climate hotspots before they peak. Read their paper at doi.org/10.3389/fmic...
🌎 Earth science poster symposium 2025
Open to all CU Boulder students & postdocs doing geoscience
• Hosted by Geological Sciences
• Sat Nov 15th 9:00-1:30, Benson Bldg
• Register & submit abstract by Nov 10th
• GSA & AGU posters are OK
www.colorado.edu/geologicalsc...
Open to all CU Boulder students & postdocs doing geoscience
• Hosted by Geological Sciences
• Sat Nov 15th 9:00-1:30, Benson Bldg
• Register & submit abstract by Nov 10th
• GSA & AGU posters are OK
www.colorado.edu/geologicalsc...
November 4, 2025 at 9:04 PM
🌎 Earth science poster symposium 2025
Open to all CU Boulder students & postdocs doing geoscience
• Hosted by Geological Sciences
• Sat Nov 15th 9:00-1:30, Benson Bldg
• Register & submit abstract by Nov 10th
• GSA & AGU posters are OK
www.colorado.edu/geologicalsc...
Open to all CU Boulder students & postdocs doing geoscience
• Hosted by Geological Sciences
• Sat Nov 15th 9:00-1:30, Benson Bldg
• Register & submit abstract by Nov 10th
• GSA & AGU posters are OK
www.colorado.edu/geologicalsc...
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️🌈
For those of you who enjoy the TundraCam, we're happy to announce it's back online after some much-needed TLC.
nwt.lternet.edu/news/the-tun...
nwt.lternet.edu/news/the-tun...
The TundraCam is back Online! — Niwot Ridge LTER
A beloved feature on Niwot Ridge, the TundraCam is back online after a critical camera replacement. The TundraCam went offline a few months ago, and heavy sleuthing by Niwot lead field technician...
nwt.lternet.edu
November 3, 2025 at 7:29 PM
For those of you who enjoy the TundraCam, we're happy to announce it's back online after some much-needed TLC.
nwt.lternet.edu/news/the-tun...
nwt.lternet.edu/news/the-tun...
📢 3 INSTAAR talks start soon
3 Nov, 12-1 pm
SEEC S228 & Zoom
🌊 Freshening in Davis Strait (Canada/Greenland)
Jed Lenetsky
🦠 Freshwater diatoms & tardigrades in Antarctica
Natalie Aranda
🧊 Under-ice oxygen in mountain lakes
Katie Gannon
calendar.colorado.edu/event/instaar-seminar-nov-3rd-2025
3 Nov, 12-1 pm
SEEC S228 & Zoom
🌊 Freshening in Davis Strait (Canada/Greenland)
Jed Lenetsky
🦠 Freshwater diatoms & tardigrades in Antarctica
Natalie Aranda
🧊 Under-ice oxygen in mountain lakes
Katie Gannon
calendar.colorado.edu/event/instaar-seminar-nov-3rd-2025
November 3, 2025 at 6:05 PM
📢 3 INSTAAR talks start soon
3 Nov, 12-1 pm
SEEC S228 & Zoom
🌊 Freshening in Davis Strait (Canada/Greenland)
Jed Lenetsky
🦠 Freshwater diatoms & tardigrades in Antarctica
Natalie Aranda
🧊 Under-ice oxygen in mountain lakes
Katie Gannon
calendar.colorado.edu/event/instaar-seminar-nov-3rd-2025
3 Nov, 12-1 pm
SEEC S228 & Zoom
🌊 Freshening in Davis Strait (Canada/Greenland)
Jed Lenetsky
🦠 Freshwater diatoms & tardigrades in Antarctica
Natalie Aranda
🧊 Under-ice oxygen in mountain lakes
Katie Gannon
calendar.colorado.edu/event/instaar-seminar-nov-3rd-2025
Local videographer Shelley Schlender joined Tim Seastedt for a walk through the new Spruce Gulch Wildlife and Research Reserve recently.
Spruce Gulch was gifted to CU earlier this year by a private donor. Tim is spearheading research and education on the property.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfli...
Spruce Gulch was gifted to CU earlier this year by a private donor. Tim is spearheading research and education on the property.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfli...
CU Students Explore Alpine Ecologies at New Spruce Gulch Wildlife Reserve
University of Colorado students research alpine and arctic ecosystems on 500 acres of Boulder County wilderness donated to the school. The Local Colorado’s Shelley Schlender took a walk through the…
www.youtube.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Local videographer Shelley Schlender joined Tim Seastedt for a walk through the new Spruce Gulch Wildlife and Research Reserve recently.
Spruce Gulch was gifted to CU earlier this year by a private donor. Tim is spearheading research and education on the property.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfli...
Spruce Gulch was gifted to CU earlier this year by a private donor. Tim is spearheading research and education on the property.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfli...
🧊 🌊 🐧 CCAMLR, an international governing body for conservation in Antarctica, has offered its support of an NSF-funded research and coordination network for the Ross Sea!
INSTAAR fellow Cassandra Brooks leads the steering committee.
INSTAAR fellow Cassandra Brooks leads the steering committee.
Global Leaders Unite To Protect Ross Sea - Tasmanian Times
Emperor Penguins Cape Washington Ross Sea - Image John Weller
tasmaniantimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:03 PM
🧊 🌊 🐧 CCAMLR, an international governing body for conservation in Antarctica, has offered its support of an NSF-funded research and coordination network for the Ross Sea!
INSTAAR fellow Cassandra Brooks leads the steering committee.
INSTAAR fellow Cassandra Brooks leads the steering committee.
Cassandra Brooks and Zephyr Sylvester are in Australia, where they just presented to the CCAMLR, the international body that governs conservation in Antarctica.
The duo shared early results identifying ecological hotspots in the Antarctic Ocean. 🌊 🦭 🧊
The duo shared early results identifying ecological hotspots in the Antarctic Ocean. 🌊 🦭 🧊
October 30, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Cassandra Brooks and Zephyr Sylvester are in Australia, where they just presented to the CCAMLR, the international body that governs conservation in Antarctica.
The duo shared early results identifying ecological hotspots in the Antarctic Ocean. 🌊 🦭 🧊
The duo shared early results identifying ecological hotspots in the Antarctic Ocean. 🌊 🦭 🧊
👏🏽 Congrats to our CU Boulder colleagues in GEOL & EBIO + their co-authors for a very interesting study on microbes in permafrost.
@cubouldearth.bsky.social @tacaro.bsky.social @kopflab.bsky.social @isotopes.bsky.social + others
@cubouldearth.bsky.social @tacaro.bsky.social @kopflab.bsky.social @isotopes.bsky.social + others
Trapped for thousands of years, ancient microbes buried in Arctic permafrost are stirring back to life. 🧊
A new CU Boulder College of Arts and Sciences study reveals they may still be capable of forming thriving colonies.
https://bit.ly/3WCNvNP
A new CU Boulder College of Arts and Sciences study reveals they may still be capable of forming thriving colonies.
https://bit.ly/3WCNvNP
Researchers wake up microbes trapped in permafrost for thousands of years
Across the Arctic, bacteria and other microorganisms have become trapped underground in frozen soil and ice. A new study finds that these ancient microbes may
bit.ly
October 29, 2025 at 9:47 PM
👏🏽 Congrats to our CU Boulder colleagues in GEOL & EBIO + their co-authors for a very interesting study on microbes in permafrost.
@cubouldearth.bsky.social @tacaro.bsky.social @kopflab.bsky.social @isotopes.bsky.social + others
@cubouldearth.bsky.social @tacaro.bsky.social @kopflab.bsky.social @isotopes.bsky.social + others
Shrubs are covering more and more ground in the alpine tundra — but the underlying cause is opaque.
A new NSF-funded research project, led by Will Wieder, will investigate the influence of mycorrhizal fungi on shrub expansion on Niwot Ridge. 🌿🔬
A new NSF-funded research project, led by Will Wieder, will investigate the influence of mycorrhizal fungi on shrub expansion on Niwot Ridge. 🌿🔬
Niwot researchers receive $1.6M grant from NSF to study how microbes influence shrub encroachment into tundra ecosystems. — Niwot Ridge LTER
Supported by a recent $1.6M grant from the National Science Foundation, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State University will start exploring how plant-soil…
nwt.lternet.edu
October 29, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Shrubs are covering more and more ground in the alpine tundra — but the underlying cause is opaque.
A new NSF-funded research project, led by Will Wieder, will investigate the influence of mycorrhizal fungi on shrub expansion on Niwot Ridge. 🌿🔬
A new NSF-funded research project, led by Will Wieder, will investigate the influence of mycorrhizal fungi on shrub expansion on Niwot Ridge. 🌿🔬
🐰 Pikas squeak to warn others of impending danger, shoo away neighbors that stray too far into their turf, and attract potential mates.
One day soon, these squeaks could unlock a revolutionary new method for monitoring pika populations.
One day soon, these squeaks could unlock a revolutionary new method for monitoring pika populations.
Researchers aim to identify pika calls through 'acoustic fingerprinting'
Chris Ray has studied pika populations in the West for nearly four decades. Today, she is collaborating with PhD student Rachel Mae Billings on a project that
www.colorado.edu
October 29, 2025 at 12:00 AM
🐰 Pikas squeak to warn others of impending danger, shoo away neighbors that stray too far into their turf, and attract potential mates.
One day soon, these squeaks could unlock a revolutionary new method for monitoring pika populations.
One day soon, these squeaks could unlock a revolutionary new method for monitoring pika populations.
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️🌈
On Wed., Nov. 12 from 7-8:30 PM MT, NSF NCAR scientists Kristen Krumhardt and Alice DuVivier will discuss how Earth System Models are used to investigate polar ecosystem change for the next Explorer Series lecture. Join us virtually or in-person at the Mesa Lab!
www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?id...
www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?id...
October 27, 2025 at 9:25 PM
On Wed., Nov. 12 from 7-8:30 PM MT, NSF NCAR scientists Kristen Krumhardt and Alice DuVivier will discuss how Earth System Models are used to investigate polar ecosystem change for the next Explorer Series lecture. Join us virtually or in-person at the Mesa Lab!
www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?id...
www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?id...
🧪Science + 🎨Art Collider
Wed Nov 5th 3-5pm
Dairy Arts Center, Boulder
Join us for an informal gathering of scientists & artists to share ideas and make connections calendar.colorado.edu/event/scienc...
Wed Nov 5th 3-5pm
Dairy Arts Center, Boulder
Join us for an informal gathering of scientists & artists to share ideas and make connections calendar.colorado.edu/event/scienc...
October 28, 2025 at 8:41 PM
🧪Science + 🎨Art Collider
Wed Nov 5th 3-5pm
Dairy Arts Center, Boulder
Join us for an informal gathering of scientists & artists to share ideas and make connections calendar.colorado.edu/event/scienc...
Wed Nov 5th 3-5pm
Dairy Arts Center, Boulder
Join us for an informal gathering of scientists & artists to share ideas and make connections calendar.colorado.edu/event/scienc...
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️🌈
A troubling trend for marine life 🐬
The lifespan of female common dolphins in the North Atlantic has dropped by 7 years, with many caught in commercial fishing nets.
@instaar.bsky.social researchers share what this means for marine ecosystems.
https://bit.ly/3WahEDS
The lifespan of female common dolphins in the North Atlantic has dropped by 7 years, with many caught in commercial fishing nets.
@instaar.bsky.social researchers share what this means for marine ecosystems.
https://bit.ly/3WahEDS
North Atlantic dolphins are dying younger, new study shows
The longevity of female common dolphins has decreased by seven years in the last two decades in regions of the North Atlantic, with many getting caught in
bit.ly
October 23, 2025 at 4:52 PM
A troubling trend for marine life 🐬
The lifespan of female common dolphins in the North Atlantic has dropped by 7 years, with many caught in commercial fishing nets.
@instaar.bsky.social researchers share what this means for marine ecosystems.
https://bit.ly/3WahEDS
The lifespan of female common dolphins in the North Atlantic has dropped by 7 years, with many caught in commercial fishing nets.
@instaar.bsky.social researchers share what this means for marine ecosystems.
https://bit.ly/3WahEDS
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️🌈
Grab your capes, superheroes! 🦸♀️ Super Science Saturday is coming up in #BoulderCO, and it’s sure to be a day of science and fun for the whole family! Big thank you to @ucarscied.bsky.social for hosting this event!
October 20, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Grab your capes, superheroes! 🦸♀️ Super Science Saturday is coming up in #BoulderCO, and it’s sure to be a day of science and fun for the whole family! Big thank you to @ucarscied.bsky.social for hosting this event!
📸 Nice pics! And what a helpful base of operations at the INSTAAR-managed Mountain Research Station. Learn about the station at www.colorado.edu/mrs/
Pictures from the GEOG 4003-001: UAS for Earth Observation (aka the Drone class) field trip to the Mountain Research Station where students got to fly the LiDAR and Multispectral drones.
October 21, 2025 at 9:49 PM
📸 Nice pics! And what a helpful base of operations at the INSTAAR-managed Mountain Research Station. Learn about the station at www.colorado.edu/mrs/
👏🏽 Congrats to INSTAAR & Environmental Engineering trio of Lauren Magliozzi, Sabre Duren & Diane McKnight on their new paper. Magliozzi is currently a postdoc at Colorado State Univ (USGS/NASA).
New paper! 🎉 Abandoned mines aren't just leaching trace metals, they're also releasing REEs with systematic diel cycling. Our wetland study revealed distinct light-driven patterns for different REEs. Understanding these processes matters for both ecological risk assessment & remediation planning. 🧪⚒️
Potential photochemical controls on trace metals and rare earth elements in an acid mine drainage impacted wetland - Biogeochemistry
Recent climate trends in the Colorado Mineral Belt have intensified acid mine drainage (AMD) impacts, increasing the importance to understand trace metal and rare earth element (REE) cycling in affect...
link.springer.com
October 21, 2025 at 9:15 PM
👏🏽 Congrats to INSTAAR & Environmental Engineering trio of Lauren Magliozzi, Sabre Duren & Diane McKnight on their new paper. Magliozzi is currently a postdoc at Colorado State Univ (USGS/NASA).
🌱 "Adaptation and specialization in changing environments"
Join us for Nancy Emery's Monday noon talk at INSTAAR:
• Free event
• Oct 20th 12pm
• SEEC rm S228 & on Zoom
More info: calendar.colorado.edu/event/instaa...
Join us for Nancy Emery's Monday noon talk at INSTAAR:
• Free event
• Oct 20th 12pm
• SEEC rm S228 & on Zoom
More info: calendar.colorado.edu/event/instaa...
October 17, 2025 at 9:11 PM
🌱 "Adaptation and specialization in changing environments"
Join us for Nancy Emery's Monday noon talk at INSTAAR:
• Free event
• Oct 20th 12pm
• SEEC rm S228 & on Zoom
More info: calendar.colorado.edu/event/instaa...
Join us for Nancy Emery's Monday noon talk at INSTAAR:
• Free event
• Oct 20th 12pm
• SEEC rm S228 & on Zoom
More info: calendar.colorado.edu/event/instaa...
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️🌈
