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CU-Boulder postdoctoral researcher Brian Harvey making tree measurements in Yellowstone National Park

Fires, drought linked to climate change affecting high-altitude forests

March 21, 2016

Large, severe fires in the West followed by increasing drought conditions as the planet warms are leading to lower tree densities and increased patchiness in high-elevation forests, according to a new study. The researchers found that the rate of post-fire tree seedling establishment decreased substantially with greater post-fire drought severity.

Antarctica sketch

Warming ocean water undercuts Antarctic ice shelves

March 14, 2016

“Upside-down rivers” of warm ocean water threaten the stability of floating ice shelves in Antarctica, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder’s National Snow and Ice Data Center. The study highlights how parts of Antarctica’s ice sheet may be weakening due to contact with warm ocean water.

An albatross in flight

Hop, skip and a jump: CU-Boulder researchers reveal molecular search patterns

March 6, 2016

Like an albatross scanning for pods of squid in a vast ocean, molecules on solid surfaces move in an intermittent search pattern that provides maximum efficiency, according to new research from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Aerial view of the Mississippi Delta

The Delta Blues: Human activity harming world’s major river systems

Feb. 23, 2016

For the half billion people living on the world’s river deltas and the hundreds of millions of others who rely on them for water, food, shelter, transportation and energy, the news is not good. More than two-thirds of the the world’s 33 major river deltas are sinking and the vast majority have experienced flooding in recent years, primarily a result of human activity.

a clear-cut forest near Eugene, Oregon.

Temperature changes wreak ecological havoc in deforested areas, CU-Boulder study finds

Feb. 21, 2016

The newly-exposed edges of deforested areas are highly susceptible to drastic temperature changes, leading to hotter, drier and more variable conditions for the forest that remains, according to new research from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Gijs de Boer

CIRES researcher Gijs de Boer receives Presidential honor

Feb. 18, 2016

Boulder’s Gijs de Boer, 36 is one of 106 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. The CIRES/NOAA scientist works on remote sensing of environmental changes.

Citizen scientists, community groups awarded grants to study impacts of oil and gas development

Feb. 1, 2016

Five community-led projects from across Colorado will explore air and water quality and sustainable energy development with support from the latest round of grants from the AirWaterGas Sustainability Research Network based at the University of Colorado Boulder. The grants aim to improve understanding of the risks and benefits of oil and gas development as identified by community organizations.

A high-resolution map based on NOAA weather data showing wind energy potential across the United States in 2012

Rapid, affordable energy transformation possible

Jan. 25, 2016

The United States could slash greenhouse gas emissions from power production by up to 78 percent below 1990 levels within 15 years while meeting increased demand, according to a new study by NOAA and University of Colorado Boulder researchers.

Tracking high-elevation snowfall at NSF's Niwot Ridge LTER site in Colorado

Mountains west of Boulder continue to lose ice as climate warms

Jan. 11, 2016

New research led by the University of Colorado Boulder indicates an ongoing loss of ice on Niwot Ridge and the adjacent Green Lakes Valley in the high mountains west of Boulder is likely to progress as the climate continues to warm.

Lake Powell, a reservoir on the Colorado River.

Reservoir evaporation a big challenge for water managers in West

Dec. 28, 2015

Water managers in Colorado and the West scrambling to meet the growing demand for increasingly scarce water supplies caused by large populations far from water resources, climate change and drought need to focus more effort on conserving water, including addressing reservoir evaporation, say University of Colorado Boulder researchers.

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