Climate & Environment

Creating climate solutions requires connections, partnerships and cross-disciplinary approaches. At CU Boulder, we lead across all fields of climate research: adaptation and innovation, policy, natural hazards, human impacts, and climate science.听Stay up to date on our groundbreaking research and technological advancements.

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Arctic sea ice 2020 minimum is second lowest in 42 years

Sept. 24, 2020

Arctic sea ice has likely reached its minimum extent for the year, at 3.74 million square kilometers (1.44 million square miles), according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. This is the second lowest extent in the nearly 42-year satellite record.

Stacked photo of fireflies flashing in a forest.

In the Smoky Mountains, thousands of fireflies flash in unison; researchers want to know how

Sept. 23, 2020

Ever wonder why some fireflies flash in harmony? New research sheds light on this beautiful phenomenon and strives to understand how relatively simple insects manage to coordinate such feats of synchronization.

Scientists identify gene family key to unlocking vertebrate evolution

Sept. 16, 2020

New CU Boulder-led research finds the traits that make vertebrates distinct from invertebrates were made possible by the emergence of a new set of genes 500 million years ago.

The Slink Fire burning east of Modesto, California, in September 2020. (Photo: U.S. Forest Service)

Humans behind almost all fires threatening homes

Sept. 15, 2020

People are starting almost all the wildfires that threaten U.S. homes, according to an innovative new analysis combining housing and wildfire data.

Ash covers rooftops in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta.

Volcanic ash may have a bigger impact on the climate than we thought

Sept. 10, 2020

Volcanic ash shuts down air traffic and can sicken people. But a new study suggests it may also be more important for Earth's climate than once thought.

New grant supports interdisciplinary research on 鈥榯he critical zone鈥� and the future of Western water

Sept. 2, 2020

Three CU Boulder baby直播app 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.

Ash and black trunks remain after the Hayman Fire.

Forests scorched by wildfire unlikely to recover, may convert to grasslands

Aug. 25, 2020

A new study of 22 burn areas across 710 square miles found that forests are not recovering from fires as well as they used to, and many regions will be unsuitable for ponderosa pine and Douglas fir in the coming decades.

A panoramic image of the Arctic Sea ice and researchers at night

Into the Polar Night: CU Boulder releases planetarium show about first months of epic expedition

Aug. 19, 2020

Viewers from Baltimore to Berlin can now step out onto an ice floe in the middle of the Arctic Ocean and watch and listen as scientists race the fading light to set up one of the most ambitious international climate collaborations ever, MOSAiC.

Agriculture replaces fossil fuels as largest human source of sulfur in the environment

Aug. 10, 2020

New research identifies fertilizer and pesticide applications to croplands as the largest source of sulfur in the environment鈥攗p to 10 times higher than the peak sulfur load seen in the second half of the 20th century, during the days of acid rain.

Waning attention to climate change amid pandemic could have lasting effects

Aug. 4, 2020

Attention to climate change has rapidly declined in recent months. That's concerning, say study authors who found that simply directing one's attention to an environmental risk鈥攅ven briefly and involuntarily鈥攎akes people more concerned and willing to take action.

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