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instaar.bsky.social
INSTAAR 🏳️‍🌈
@instaar.bsky.social
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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/
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instaar.bsky.social
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!
instaar.bsky.social
Diane McKnight & Mike Gooseff have spent decades studying ecosystems in one of the world’s most hostile environments with the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research Program @mcm-lter.bsky.social

Read about their efforts in this CU Boulder Today story: www.colorado.edu/today/2026/0...
'Hiding in plain sight': Scientists reflect on years studying life in Antarctic desert
Researchers at the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research Program have spent more than three decades studying ecosystems in one of the world’s most
www.colorado.edu
February 12, 2026 at 12:07 AM
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️‍🌈
polarsecco.bsky.social
U.S.-based scientists are invited to apply for PSECCO Conference Travel Grant funding by March 15, 2026. Learn more about who is eligible to apply and how here: psecco.org/news/psecco-...
PSECCO logo and text that says 'Apply for a PSECCO Conference Travel Grant. Find more information about how to apply on the ‘News’ page of the PSECCO website; deadline is March 15, 2026.' on top of a purple background. A photo of five people gathered at a conference in front of twinkle lights is shown in the middle.
February 10, 2026 at 6:49 PM
instaar.bsky.social
2026 UNDERGRAD SUMMER FIELD COURSES at CU Boulder's Mountain Research Station @colorado.edu
📓 Natural history
🦅 Birds
🌱 Flora
🦌 Animals
🚣‍♀️ Lakes+streams
🌲 Forests+fire
Each ecology focused, ~2 wks, 3 transferable credits, 15 students, lodging&food included w tuition
www.colorado.edu/mrs/2026/01/...
Nine people, many holding butterfly nets, stand shoulder to shoulder in a grassy summer meadow surrounded by conifer trees. Accompanying text says CU Boulder Mountain Research Station summer field courses Flyer for the Summer 2026 field courses at the CU Mountain Research Station. Images and illustrations of mountains, students in the field, birds, tundra, forests, and moose. Field courses span a range of topics and emphasize learning through experiential work in a natural setting. Students from ANY institution can register. Natural history of the southern rockies, Field ornithology, Flora of the mountains, Feeding ecology of animals, Lake and stream ecology, Forest and fire ecology
February 10, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️‍🌈
csdms.bsky.social
Shoreshop3 Model Intercomparison workshop to be held Oct. 20-22, 2026 at the University of Colorado, Boulder. A collaborative workshop and model intercomparison project addressing coastal dynamics. Details: shoreshop3.netlify.app/about
February 10, 2026 at 5:14 PM
instaar.bsky.social
🙏🏽 Thanks to the many attendees of Diane McKnight's talk on her research journey to the Antarctic Dry Valleys. Kudos to the grad student poster presenters too.

What a great way to start celebrating INSTAAR's 75th anniversary in 2026! See more #INSTAAR75 events at www.colorado.edu/instaar/abou...
With a large seated audience in the foreground, Michael Gooseff stands at a lectern on a stage. Behind him is a picture of Diane McKnight on a big screen. Gooseff is introducing McKnight before her INSTAAR 75th anniversary talk on her 27 field seasons of research in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Photo: Marisa Seitz With a large seated audience in the foreground, Diane McKnight stands at a lectern on a stage. She is giving a special evening talk on her research journey to Antarctica's Dry Valleys as part of INSTAAR's 75th anniversary celebration. The slide behind her is titled "Life is small in this ecosystem". Photo: Marisa Seitz Diane McKnight giving a special evening talk on her research journey to Antarctica's Dry Valleys as part of INSTAAR's 75th anniversary celebration. The slide behind her shows photos of her talking to then Senator Al Gore in 1988 while in Antarctica. Text on the slide says "Explaining the importance of dissolved organic matter and algal growth to Senator Gore in 1988". Photo: Irina Overeem. Grad student Sydney Carr discusses her poster on climate change signals in snow water resources with a small group of people. Behind them are additional students, posters, and people crowding a hallway. The posters were part of an INSTAAR 75th anniversary celebration event.Photo: Marisa Seitz
February 9, 2026 at 9:21 PM
instaar.bsky.social
Shout out to Karl Rittger, leader of Snow Today, and his team collaborating between NSIDC and INSTAAR. They have provided daily snow surface properties for the western US since 2020
🗺️ Daily maps
📉 Daily time series plots
📰 Occasional data analysis articles like this one 👇🏽
cires.colorado.edu CIRES @cires.colorado.edu · 6d
"Snow-covered area in January across the western United States was 66 percent below average, at 401,000 square kilometers (155,000 square miles) of snow cover, ranking last in the 26-year satellite record."' #SnowDrought

Read more in @nsidc.bsky.social's Snow Today: nsidc.org/snow-today/m...
February 6, 2026 at 11:43 PM
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️‍🌈
csdms.bsky.social
Sediment Transport by Greenland Icebergs (ice-rafted debris) contribute about 1/3 of the Greenland's total sediment output. See research by Ethan Pierce, Dartmouth and Irina Overeem, CU, Boulder published in Nature Communications: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

www.colorado.edu/instaar/2026...
February 5, 2026 at 10:39 PM
instaar.bsky.social
❄️ INSTAAR's Mountain Hydrology Group has begun reporting approx every 2 weeks on estimated snow-water equivalent (SWE) at 500m resolution. Reports are released within a week of satellite image acquisition

Western US
www.colorado.edu/instaar/rese...

Sierra Nevada
www.colorado.edu/instaar/rese...
2026-02-01 Estimated SWE and % of Average SWE across the Western U.S. SWE amounts across the entire Western region of the United States (left) and percent of long-term average (2001-2025) by five regions (right).
February 5, 2026 at 11:01 PM
instaar.bsky.social
TONIGHT! #INSTAAR75 75th anniv. seminar + grad student poster showcase

🏔️ Life at the bottom of the world: A research journey to the Antarctic Dry Valleys
Diane McKnight
Thur Feb 5th 5-7pm MT
CU Boulder East Campus & Zoom

FREE event but must register at calendar.colorado.edu/event/diane-...
Advertisement for Diane's McKnight's presentation on Feb 5th, 2026. In the photo, Diane McKnight stands on sediment accumulated on the Cotton Glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, 2011 (Chris Jaros).
February 5, 2026 at 5:21 PM
instaar.bsky.social
🌡️ A sediment record millions of years old revealed that the tropical Andes heated up dramatically when atmospheric CO2 levels were similar to today’s www.colorado.edu/today/2026/0...

Lina Pérez-Angel (now at Brown U) & Julio Sepúlveda led the team.
Some tropical land may experience stronger-than-expected warming under climate change
A sediment record millions of years old revealed that the tropical Andes heated up dramatically when atmospheric CO2 levels were similar to today’s.
www.colorado.edu
February 4, 2026 at 11:24 PM
instaar.bsky.social
Ethan Pierce, Irina Overeem, and Bent Hasholt have unlocked an important clue in a long-standing scientific mystery.

Their new paper describes how icebergs export nutrients from Greenland into the Atlantic Ocean, a process that is being amplified by a warming climate.
Breaking ice, moving earth: Greenland will release more sediment into the ocean as the climate warms
A new paper from Irina Overeem and Ethan Pierce describes how icebergs export Greenlandic sediment into the Arctic Ocean — and how that process might change in
www.colorado.edu
February 3, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️‍🌈
instaar.bsky.social
🏔️ Life at the bottom of the world: A research journey to the Antarctic Dry Valleys
Diane McKnight
Thur Feb 5th 5-7pm MT
CU Boulder East Campus (JSCBB A115) & Zoom

#INSTAAR75 75th anniv. seminar + grad student poster showcase

FREE event but must register at calendar.colorado.edu/event/diane-...
Advertisement for Diane's McKnight's presentation on Feb 5th, 2026. In the photo, Diane McKnight stands on sediment accumulated on the Cotton Glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, 2011 (Chris Jaros).
January 29, 2026 at 9:52 PM
instaar.bsky.social
SATURDAY MORNING WINTER PROGRAMS
Mountain Research Station @colorado.edu
🦅 Feb 14 Winter birding
❄️ Mar 14 SNOTEL tour
🐇 Apr 04 Mammals

Open to the public. ~45 minutes from Boulder. Each program runs from 10am to noonish and only has space for 20.

Reserve your spot now www.colorado.edu/mrs/
Crippled krumholz trees partly buried by snow drifts near treeline on a windy day (William Bowman). CU Boulder & INSTAAR's Mountain Research Station Sarah Padula works on a chickadee nesting box while wearing snowshoes. CU Boulder & INSTAAR's Mountain Research Station A group of people gather around a small meteorological station in a coniferous forest with snow underfoot. CU Boulder & INSTAAR's Mountain Research Station Pika on a boulder (William Bowman). CU Boulder & INSTAAR's Mountain Research Station
January 30, 2026 at 8:13 PM
instaar.bsky.social
Snow cover across the Western U.S. hit a record low earlier this month, as warm temps caused winter precipitation to fall as rain.

Insights courtesy of Karl Rittger's Snow Today website, which processes and visualizes data from the MODIS tool on NASA's Terra satellite.

🛰️ ❄️ 🛰️
The West Faces Snow Drought - NASA Science
Very wet—but very warm—weather in the western U.S. has left many mountainous regions looking at substantial snowpack deficits.
science.nasa.gov
January 30, 2026 at 4:16 PM
instaar.bsky.social
🏔️ Life at the bottom of the world: A research journey to the Antarctic Dry Valleys
Diane McKnight
Thur Feb 5th 5-7pm MT
CU Boulder East Campus (JSCBB A115) & Zoom

#INSTAAR75 75th anniv. seminar + grad student poster showcase

FREE event but must register at calendar.colorado.edu/event/diane-...
Advertisement for Diane's McKnight's presentation on Feb 5th, 2026. In the photo, Diane McKnight stands on sediment accumulated on the Cotton Glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, 2011 (Chris Jaros).
January 29, 2026 at 9:52 PM
instaar.bsky.social
Two conferences. One community.
53rd Int'l Arctic Workshop + NE Glaciology Mtg
March 18-21, 2026 at the Univ. at Buffalo
Abstracts due February 20

The conferences will run in parallel, with sessions in adjoining halls and shared meals. More info: arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/geological-a...
Geologists conduct field research on glacial deposits in Greenland, taking notes beside a large boulder with a red helicopter and Arctic mountains in the background. Photo: Jason Briner.
January 29, 2026 at 9:32 PM
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️‍🌈
mitchtobin.bsky.social
NASA: Western U.S. snow cover is tracking at record-low levels for January, based on satellite observations dating back to 2001.

science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-...
January 29, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️‍🌈
aaarjournal.bsky.social
For our collection "Mountain Hydrology in a Changing World: Building on the Diverse Contributions of Mark “Snobear” Williams", Rue & McKnight published a #newarticle of field studies quantifying acid rock drainage to a watershed in the Colorado Rockies: doi.org/10.1080/1523...
January 27, 2026 at 4:29 PM
instaar.bsky.social
🌊 20th Annual Hydrologic Sciences Student Symposium: Water Quality vs Water Quantity
• CU Boulder E Campus (SEEC S228) & online
• Apr 2-3, 2026
• Abstracts due Mar 16
Abstracts encouraged from @colorado.edu grad & undergrad students, researchers, faculty, & others.
www.colorado.edu/program/hydr...
Graphic for the 20th Annual Hydrologic Sciences Student Symposium at CU Boulder April 2-3, 2026
January 27, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️‍🌈
colorado.edu
Did you know Colorado’s mountain streams are home to rare earth metals? Scientists at CU Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (@instaar.bsky.social) are researching eco-friendly ways to extract them, supporting a cleaner environment.
https://bit.ly/3Ny3ifk
Precious waterways: How contaminated mountain streams could power American-made technology
Diane McKnight and Tom Marchitto are collaborators on a new project looking for a way to extract rare earth metals from contaminated Colorado streams. The goal
bit.ly
January 27, 2026 at 6:07 PM
instaar.bsky.social
Meet Colorado's high altitude scientists!

These four researchers spend their summer months collecting data in the subalpine and alpine around the Mountain Research Station. Their work spans plants, mammals, insects and lake chemistry.
Rapid researcher Q&A: Billings, Sklenar, St Laurent, and Ross
The Mountain Research Station supports an incredible breadth of science, from alpine plants to animal acoustics to moth evolution. We spoke with Rachel
www.colorado.edu
January 26, 2026 at 4:16 PM
instaar.bsky.social
🐚 Marine fossils offer a clue to the past and the future of the Atlantic ocean.

Tom Marchitto is a collaborator on a new paper led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

www.whoi.edu/press-room/n...
Critical Atlantic Ocean currents remained active during the last ice age
The study shows that deep ocean water in the North Atlantic was much warmer during the last ice age than scientists once believed.
www.whoi.edu
January 24, 2026 at 12:00 AM
instaar.bsky.social
Update: New venue for this INSTAAR 75th anniversary seminar

🏔️ Life at the bottom of the world: A research journey to the Antarctic Dry Valleys
Diane McKnight
Thur Feb 5th 5-7pm MT
CU Boulder East Campus (JSCBB A115) & Zoom

FREE event but registration required calendar.colorado.edu/event/diane-...
Advertisement for Diane's McKnight's presentation on Feb 5th, 2026. In the photo, Diane McKnight stands on sediment accumulated on the Cotton Glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, 2011 (Chris Jaros).
January 23, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Reposted by INSTAAR 🏳️‍🌈
csdms.bsky.social
Registration now open!!! CSDMS 2026 Annual Meeting, "Modeling Landscapes in Motion", May 19-21, 2026 in Minneapolis, MN. Details and register: csdms.colorado.edu/wiki/Form:An...
January 22, 2026 at 8:34 PM
instaar.bsky.social
🏔️ Life at the bottom of the world: A research journey to the Antarctic Dry Valleys
Diane McKnight
Thurs Feb 5th 5-7pm MST
CU Boulder East Campus (AERO 114) & Zoom

All are welcome to this FREE INSTAAR 75th anniversary seminar but please register in advance calendar.colorado.edu/event/diane-...
Advertisement for Diane's McKnight's presentation on Feb 5th, 2026. In the photo, Diane McKnight stands on sediment accumulated on the Cotton Glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, 2011 (Chris Jaros).
January 21, 2026 at 4:59 PM