Research
This week, INSTAAR PhD student Advyth Ramachandran is presenting preliminary findings at a conference in Baltimore. His work seeks to understand the cooling effects of various urban tree species in Boulder.
Linda Holubar Sanabria has donated a 476-acre wildlife and research reserve to ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú´«Ã½ÎÄ»¯×÷Æ·. INSTAAR will manage research and education programs at the site, with Timothy Seastedt stepping up as director.
The Oleksy lab has taken over a 42-year-old monitoring project in Rocky Mountain National Park. Their investigations reveal how remote alpine watersheds are changing in the Anthropocene.
In a Q&A, INSTAAR director Nicole Lovenduski talks about her contributions to a report on the environmental impacts of a hypothetical nuclear war. Lovenduski was tasked with modeling impacts in the world's oceans, which could be global and long-lasting.
Geist-Sanchez is following his life-long love of nature to develop new methods for preserving Colorado natural areas and rangelands. As a sixth-generation Coloradoan, he hopes his research can help keep grasslands sustainable as the West heats up.
In a Boulder Reporting Lab op-ed, Nancy Emery argues for the importance of the Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research Program. With over 45 years of uninterrupted data, scientists at Niwot Ridge provide unmatched data and insights into changing alpine ecosystems.
New INSTAAR faculty Zhi Li chats with ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú´«Ã½ÎÄ»¯×÷Æ· Today about flood modeling research. He explains why current flood warnings can leave communities unprepared — and how high-resolution forecasting and better risk communication could save lives.
In an op-ed in the Nepali Times, Alton Byers outlines his work with a remote Himalayan community to identify a potentially dangerous glacial lake. Byers recommends management actions both locally and regionally.
Bella Olesky and others in INSTAAR's mountain limnology lab are saddling up pack mules to investigate the causes of algal blooms in remote alpine lakes. Their results will help land managers understand and support these fragile and complex ecosystems.
A report from INSTAAR's mountain hydrology group in collaboration with federal agencies reveals rapid spring snowmelt across the Mountain West in 2025. The analyses forecast potential drought conditions in the coming months, especially in the Pacific Northwest.