The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) is a scientific institute that is part of the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

. Its research mission is to " evelopscientific knowledge of physical and

biogeochemical Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment (including the biosphere, the cryosphere, th ...

environmental processes at local, regional and global scales, and appl this knowledge to improve society's awareness and understanding of natural and anthropogenic environmental change." INSTAAR is affiliated with multiple departments and programs at CU-Boulder, including Anthropology, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Certificate in Oceanography, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geography, Geological Sciences, and Hydrologic Sciences. Most INSTAAR scientists and all graduate students performing research at INSTAAR are also rostered in a CU department or program. James W. C. White is the current director of INSTAAR.

Activities

INSTAAR's traditional research focus has been on polar and alpine regions, where effects of global change are especially pronounced. In recent decades, research has broadened to include environmental challenges that span local, regional, and global scales and environments around the globe. Topics include

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million year ...

and modern environments, human and

ecosystem ecology Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of living ( biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework. This science examines how ecosystems work and relates this to their components ...

biogeochemistry Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment (including the biosphere, the cryosphere ...

, landscape evolution,

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynami ...

, and climate. Field sites are located across all seven continents and the world's oceans. Several research programs are conducted through INSTAAR, including the

Niwot Ridge Niwot Ridge is an alpine ecology research station located 65 km north-west of Denver in north-central Colorado. It is on the Front Range of the southern Rocky Mountains and lies within the Roosevelt National Forest. Niwot Ridge is high. Chara ...

and McMurdo Dry Valleys sites of the

Long Term Ecological Research Network The Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTER) consists of a group of over 1800 scientists and students studying ecological processes Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of living ( biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of ecosyst ...

and the Boulder Creek site of the

Critical Zone Observatory Critical Zone Observatories (CZO) is an interdisciplinary collaborative research project across nine institutions with the purpose of understanding the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes that both shape the surface of Earth ...

. INSTAAR operates the Mountain Research Station, a field research facility near Niwot, Colorado. The institute publishes ''

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research ''Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (University of Colorado Boulder). It covers research on all aspects of Arctic, Antarctic, and alpine environme ...

,'' a peer-reviewed journal. It hosts the International Arctic Workshop in alternate years.

History

Inaugurated in 1951, INSTAAR is the oldest research institute at the University of Colorado. Its origins extend back further, to CU's mountain camps and labs of the early 20th century. In 2019

Merritt Turetsky Merritt Turetsky is an American ecosystem ecologist and a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. She currently serves as the Director of Arctic Security for the University of Colorado. She served as the first woman Director of the Insti ...

was the first woman to be appointed Director of INSTAAR.

References

External links

* {{Authority control University of Colorado Boulder 1951 establishments in Colorado Antarctic research Arctic research