Thwaites Glacier

The threat from Thwaites: The retreat of Antarctica’s riskiest glacier

Dec. 14, 2021

Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier is retreating rapidly as a warming ocean slowly erases its ice from below, leading to faster flow, more fracturing and a threat of collapse. The glacier is the size of Florida or Britain and currently contributes four percent of annual global sea-level rise.

icebreaker

How to park a ship in ice

Sept. 25, 2019

Loaded with research equipment and CU Boulder scientists, the RV Polarstern icebreaker is steaming towards the central Arctic, searching for the perfect parking spot next to an ice floe.

CIRES researcher Matthew Shupe talks Thomas Krumpen from the Alfred Wegener Institute

Epic climate science mission begins

Sept. 20, 2019

Hundreds of researchers from 19 countries are launching a yearlong journey to study Arctic climate.

Greenland

Greenland’s growing ice slabs intensify meltwater runoff

Sept. 18, 2019

Thick, impenetrable ice slabs are expanding rapidly on the interior of Greenland's ice sheet, sending meltwater spilling into the ocean.

A plume of smoke rising into the air

Wildfire smoke provides clues on nuclear war, geoengineering

Aug. 8, 2019

Wildfire smoke can persist for months in the stratosphere, giving scientists an opportunity to fine-tune models of climate change, nuclear winter and geoengineering.

columbia

Earth Lab students bring data analytics to environmental challenges

June 24, 2019

Now in its second year, the Earth Lab Data Analytics Graduate Certificate gives students the tools to study environmental topics such as air pollution, glaciers and flooding.

sweat on human skin

How sweat leaves your skin and builds up on your wall

May 3, 2019

A CIRES study reveals the fate of indoor chemical emissions, including the unexpected buildup of lactic acid from human sweat.

Boulder flatirons

Untangling methane emissions

March 22, 2019

Using cutting-edge instrumentation, CIRES researchers are able to track and differentiate sources of methane, a greenhouse gas and air pollutant.

Ice shelf breakup

Ice shelves buckle under weight of meltwater lakes

Feb. 13, 2019

CIRES scientists have directly observed an Antarctic ice shelf bending under the weight of ponding meltwater on top, a phenomenon that may have triggered the 2002 collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf.

Greenland

Greenland ice melting faster than expected

Jan. 22, 2019

Greenland is melting faster than scientists previously thought—and will likely lead to faster sea level rise—thanks to the continued, accelerating warming of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Pages