whale swimming in ocean

Marine protection falls short of the 2020 target to safeguard 10% of the world’s oceans

Dec. 14, 2020

Global leaders pledged to protect 10% of the oceans by 2020. We’re nowhere close, but a U.N. treaty and lessons from Antarctica could help. Assistant Professor Cassandra Brooks and a colleague share on The Conversation.

WHOTS buoy off the coast of Hawaii

Impacts of COVID-19 emissions reductions remain murky in the oceans

Dec. 10, 2020

While greenhouse gas emissions dropped significantly in the first half of 2020, new research finds ocean acidification remains unchanged—yet the world's oceans can respond quickly in other ways to reduced emissions.

Cargo ship in the ocean

How commercial vessels could become tsunami early-warning systems

Dec. 10, 2020

If a tsunami formed along the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the coast of Oregon, residents might have just 20 to 30 minutes to get to safety. Scientists have proposed a new forecasting system that could provide seaside towns with critical early warnings.

Vaccines in syringes

Who should get the first COVID-19 vaccines? Global study provides insights

Dec. 10, 2020

With vaccines beginning to roll out, policymakers face tough decisions on whom to bring to the front of the line. New research shows prioritizing people older than 60 will save the most lives, but prioritizing young adults works best to reduce spread. And some regions may want to ask those who've already had the virus to offer up their place in line.

An image showing people as data points on a graph

Making better use of big data in marketing

Dec. 9, 2020

Leeds School Assistant Professor Rico Bumbaca and colleagues at other institutions created a new algorithm that scales extraordinarily large data sets and streamlines targeted marketing efforts with unrivaled precision.

An image of a solar flare

Building artificial intelligence to study the sun

Dec. 9, 2020

CU Boulder researchers are leading a $496,000 grant to design an artificial intelligence system to better forecast solar magnetic eruptions on the sun.

Parker Solar Probe circles in front of the sun in this artist rendering.

Researchers get a look at the sun's dusty environment

Dec. 9, 2020

Scientists say that the way that dust moves and transforms around the sun may give them new insights to how Earth and its neighboring planets formed more than 4.5 billion years ago.

A woman smelling a flower

How a simple smell test could curb COVID-19 and help reopen the economy

Dec. 9, 2020

A new mathematical modeling study by CU Boulder scientists suggests a simple scratch-and-sniff test could play an important role in screening for COVID-19. An alumnus has already invented a 50-cent test that interfaces with a smartphone app, and more research is underway.

Niwot Ridge

Colorado mountains bouncing back from ‘acid rain’ impacts

Dec. 8, 2020

Niwot Ridge in the Rocky Mountains is slowly recovering from increased acidity caused by vehicle emissions in Colorado’s Front Range, suggesting that alpine regions across the Mountain West may be recovering. This is good news for the wildlife and wildflowers of Rocky Mountain National Park and for water sources that supply the Front Range and the Mountain West.

Flare erupts from the surface of the sun

Researchers reveal new clues on what makes the sun’s atmosphere so hot

Dec. 7, 2020

Why is the sun's atmosphere millions of degrees hotter than its surface? New research provides tantalizing hints.

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