News Release Archives
2009
RELEASE DATE: November 4, 2009
Flying to the ends of the Earth to measure greenhouse gases
CIRES and NOAA scientists continue a multiyear effort to paint a three-dimensional portrait of greenhouse gas distribution in the atmosphere. Information gathered during these flights will be critical for both climate modelers seeking to understand Earth's future and policymakers who rely on accurate science for decision-making Read more ...
RELEASE DATE: October 9, 2009
CIRES, international experts gather in Copenhagen to close gaps in climate education
Climate education and University of Colorado at Boulder’s Mark McCaffrey take center stage at the first Inspiring Climate Education (ICE09) conference in Copenhagen, Oct. 12-14, 2009. McCaffrey will speak to world leaders in climate education about how to promote better teaching of climate science and climate change.
October 6, 2009
Arctic Sea Ice Recovers Slightly in 2009, Remains on Downward Trend
Despite a slight recovery in summer Arctic sea ice in 2009 from record-setting low years in 2007 and 2008, the sea ice extent remains significantly below previous years and remains on a trend leading toward ice-free Arctic summers. Read more
RELEASE DATE: September 11, 2009
Unmanned Aircraft Buzz Gigantic Holes in Antarctic Sea Ice
A series of record-setting unmanned research flights are providing University of Colorado at Boulder researchers with some of the first 3-D observations of gaping holes in the Antarctic sea ice known as polynyas and the blasting winds that help form them.
RELEASE DATE: August 18, 2009
Scientists, Volunteers To Assess Water Quality Throughout Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park will turn into a giant natural laboratory Aug. 19 when researchers and scores of volunteers trek to over 200 sites throughout the park to sample water in a comprehensive project coordinated by the University of Colorado at Boulder.
RELEASE DATE: August 4, 2009
Power Plants Help Scientists Track Urban Pollution—From Space
In a strange twist, polluting power plants in the West are actually helping advance air quality research.
RELEASE DATE: July 20, 2009
Future Of Western Water Supply Threatened By Climate Change
As the West warms, a drier Colorado River system could see as much as a 1-in-2 chance of fully depleting all of its reservoir storage by mid-century assuming current management practices continue on course, according to a new study.
RELEASE DATE: July 15, 2009
New Study Finds Tsunami "Shadow" Visible From Space
For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that tsunamis in the open ocean can change sea surface texture in a way that can be measured by satellite-borne radars. The finding could one day help save lives through improved detection and forecasting of tsunami intensity and direction at the ocean surface.
RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2009
Online Course Will Help Teachers Introduce Climate Change To Middle, High School Classrooms
Colorado middle and high school teachers will be able to clear up global warming misconceptions and develop effective climate science curricula for their classrooms through a new online course offered by the University of Colorado at Boulder this summer.
RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2009
CIRES Researchers Recognized For Role In Historic Colorado River Shortage Agreement
CIRES Fellow Balaji Rajagopalan and Western Water Assessment Director Brad Udall were among those honored with the U.S. Department of the Interior's "Partners in Conservation Award" this month for their role in the adoption of innovative, new operational guidelines for managing the Colorado River in drought years.
RELEASE DATE: May 19, 2009
Professor Mark Serreze Named National Snow and Ice Data Center Director
University of Colorado at Boulder Professor Mark Serreze has been named director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, a campus center for data, research and information focusing on Earth's frozen regions.
RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2009
Melting Threat From West Antarctic Ice Sheet Less Than Expected But Could Hit U.S. Hardest, Study Says
While a total or partial collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet as a result of warming would not raise global sea levels as high as some predict, levels on the U.S. seaboards would rise 25 percent more than the global average and threaten cities like New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, according to a new study.
RELEASE DATE: April 8, 2009
Ice Bridge Supporting Wilkins Ice Shelf Collapses
An ice bridge connecting the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula to Charcot Island has disintegrated, reported scientists at CIRES' National Snow and Ice Data Center. The event continues a series of breakups that began in March 2008 on the ice shelf, and highlights the effect that climate change is having on the region.
RELEASE DATE: April 6, 2009
New Satellite Data Show Arctic Literally On Thin Ice
The latest data from NASA and CIRES' National Snow and Ice Data Center show the continuation of a decade-long trend of shrinking sea ice extent in the Arctic, including new evidence for thinning ice as well.
RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2009
New Literacy Guide Provides Quick Notes On Climate System
Aiming to address misconceptions about climate science, University of Colorado at Boulder science outreach specialists, in partnership with NOAA, have helped produce a new set of climate literacy guidelines to aid teachers, policy makers, and the general public in understanding the intricacies of the climate system.
RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2009
CIRES Fellow Margaret Tolbert To Receive American Chemical Society Award
University of Colorado at Boulder chemistry and biochemistry Professor Margaret Tolbert has been awarded the American Chemical Society's Creative Advances in Environmental Sciences and Technology Award for her groundbreaking research in atmospheric chemistry. Tolbert is best known for her research on polar stratospheric clouds, which form 10 to 15 miles above Earth's poles each winter and provide surfaces where chemical reactions linked to stratospheric ozone destruction occur.
RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2009
CIRES Fellow Rainer Volkamer Wins NSF CAREER Award
CU-Boulder chemistry and biochemistry Assistant Professor Rainer Volkamer has won the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Program, or CAREER, Award, one of the NSF's most prestigious awards. The award recognizes junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars, providing at least $500,000 over a five-year period.
RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2009
CIRES Fellow Solomon Inducted Into Women's Hall Of Fame
An internationally recognized leader in the field of atmospheric science, CIRES Fellow Dr. Susan Solomon pioneered the theory explaining how and why the ozone hole occurs in Antarctica. Dr. Solomon was announced as one of the 2009 Inductees to the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
RELEASE DATE: February 26, 2009
Maritime Shipping Makes Hefty Contribution To Harmful Air Pollution
Globally, commercial ships emit almost half as much particulate matter pollutants into the air as the total amount released by the world’s cars, according to a new study led by NOAA and the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU). The findings appear online this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
RELEASE DATE: February 24, 2009
CU-Boulder Launches Interdisciplinary Space Sciences And Engineering Initiative
University of Colorado at Boulder administrators have launched a comprehensive space science and engineering initiative that will bring together faculty and students from aerospace engineering sciences, astrophysical and planetary sciences, atmospheric and oceanic sciences, and campus institutes like CIRES.
RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2009
Aurora Students Take First In CIRES' Ocean Science Competition
Despite their landlocked geography, high school students from Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and South Dakota showcased their mastery of ocean science Saturday, as they matched off in a fast-paced, quiz-style competition for a spot at the National Ocean Sciences Bowl this April. After nine rounds of individual buzzer questions and team long-answers, Smoky Hill High School of Aurora claimed the win.
RELEASE DATE: February 18, 2009
Gov. Ritter Honors Life-Saving Impact of Inhalable Vaccine
Every day, measles kills 500 people, most of whom have no access to vaccinations, according to University of Colorado at Boulder Professor Robert Sievers. Also a fellow at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Sievers - with support from students and research colleagues - has been working to put an end to such preventable deaths by developing a cheaper, easier-to-distribute and needle-free version of the traditional measles vaccine.
RELEASE DATE: February 11, 2009
Landlocked States Vie For Ocean Science Bowl Win
High school students from Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and South Dakota will gather at CU Saturday to match off in a high-energy, quiz-style, regional science bowl competition for a chance to compete in the National Ocean Sciences Bowl at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. this April.
RELEASE DATE: January 26, 2009
Climate Change Largely Irreversible
CIRES Fellow Susan Solomon's new study shows that changes in global surface temperature, rainfall, and sea level, caused by increased levels of greenhouse gases, may be largely irreversible...at least for some 1,000 years after carbon dioxide emissions are completely stopped. The new study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week.
RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 2009
CIRES Tracks Earth's Most Abundant Greenhouse Gas
Fifty years after the first continuous CO2 measurements were launched, CIRES Fellow David Noone is tracking another, and equally important, greenhouse gas at NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory. By analyzing the isotopic fingerprint of moisture passing over Mauna Loa, Noone can learn how air masses journey through the global water cycle, as well as whether this journey will shift as the climate changes.
RELEASE DATE: Jan. 13, 2009
CU-Boulder Sources on Obama Administration and Policy Issues
News Tips: Unravelling Policy Issues In The Obama Administration
For expert voices on policy issues that will affect the new administration, this tip sheet lists CU professors whose research spans health care reform and climate change. CIRES Fellow Roger Pielke Jr., whose new book with Roberta Klein, "Presidential Science Advisors: Perspectives and Reflections on Science Policy and Politics," debuts this year, is listed for his expertise on the interplay between science and policy.
