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The year 2020, which witnessed terrifying blazes from California to Siberia and a record number of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic, rivaled and possibly even equaled the hottest year on record, according to multiple scientific announcements Thursday. Experts said that another year as hot as 2016 coming so soon suggests a swift step up the climate escalator. And it implies that a momentous new temperature record - breaching the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warming threshold for the first time - could occur as soon as later this decade.
Climate change - we all know that it's happening, but how do we actually know this scientifically? Bruce Vaughn studies glaciers up at the North Pole, looking at ice cores to study how our climate has changed over the Earth's history. We talk about how this is done, and also how we are now entering uncharted territory of atmospheric CO2, warming, and what we as a species can do about it.
These international waters, known as the high seas, harbor a plethora of natural resources and millions of unique marine species. But they are being damaged irretrievably. Research shows unsustainable fisheries are one of the greatest threats to marine biodiversity in the high seas.
Updates from last week's virtual conference, "The Himalayas: Geopolitics and Ecology of Melting Mountains," that brought together academics and researchers from around the world, including INSTAAR Alton Byers.
Trees versus peat as carbon sequesters: an example from Scotland. Listen to the 40 minute podcast episode.
Three 麻豆免费版下载Boulder faculty, including INSTAARs Holly Barnard and Eve-Lyn Hinckley, are principal investigators on a new five-year, $6.9 million National Science Foundation grant to study the 鈥渃ritical zone鈥濃攆rom Earth鈥檚 bedrock to tree canopy top鈥攊n the American West.
Data from ice cores can show not only what Earth was like in prehistoric times, but how the mechanisms of climate work and how our climate may transform in the near future. INSTAAR research scientist Tyler Jones led an effort to synthesize ideas about the most meaningful, impactful questions that researchers might answer using ice cores from Antarctica. The result is a white paper that lays out priorities for ice core work in Antarctica for the next five to ten years.
Minority, tribal, and indigenous people are the most vulnerable to climate change. INSTAAR Keith Musselman is quoted in this Powder Magazine story.
Statement in support of international students and against the recent ICE guidance barring students from the U.S. who take online-only classes.
Cassandra Brooks spoke to students and community members Monday night in the 麻豆免费版下载History Museum on her experience leading Homeward Bound, a global women鈥檚 leadership initiative in the Antarctic.