Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research 2001–2002 Biennial Report Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado 450 UCB Boulder, Colorado 80309-0450 Tel 303/492-6287 Fax 303/492-6388 www.instaar.colorado.edu RL-1 1560 30th Street Boulder, CO 80303 Mountain Research Station 818 County Road 116 Nederland, Colorado 80466 Tel 303/492-8842 Fax 303/492-8841 (Director: William B. Bowman) www.colorado.edu/mrs/ INSTAAR Council Carol B. Lynch, Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School Todd Gleason, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Robert Davis, Dean, College of Engineering Charles Stern, Chair/Professor, Department of Geological Sciences Kenneth Foote, Chair/Professor, Department of Geography Russell Monson, Chair/Professor, Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology Hon-Yim Ko, Chair/Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering James P. Syvitski, Director/Professor, INSTAAR/Department of Geological Sciences INSTAAR Scientific Advisory Committee Richard Alley, Professor, Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University William Fitzhugh, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Hugh French, Professor, Departments of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa Peter Groffman, Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY Steve Hargreaves, CEO, ERIC Companies, Englewood, CO Robert Howarth, Program in Biogeochemistry and Environmental Change, Cornell University Tim Killeen, Director, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO Bob Levy, Sun Microsystems Michael S. Loughridge, NESDIS, Boulder, CO W. Berry Lyons, Director, Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University Richard Peltier, Professor, Department of Geophysics, University of Toronto Michael M. Reddy, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver William Ruddiman. Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia David Schimel, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder Susan Solomon, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder Cover Picture Susitna Glacier, Alaska—a “textbook example” of folded moraines caused by repeated surges. Glacier surges not only are extremely rapid transformations of glacier flow and geometry but also provide vital clues to the basal sliding mechanism of glacier flow. Painting by M. F. Meier, acrylic on canvas, 18 i 24˝, 2003. D This publication is printed on recycled stock. Biennial Report 2001–2002 Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado at Boulder Contents Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research................................................................................ 3 The State of the Institute.................................................................................................... 4 INSTAAR Directorate Members ............................................................................................7 INSTAAR Visiting Scientists ..............................................................................................14 INSTAAR Affiliates ............................................................................................................15 Postdoctoral Research Scientists ........................................................................................18 Senior Research and Professional Scientists and Research Support Personnel ......................19 Administrative and Classified Staff......................................................................................22 Students ............................................................................................................................23 INSTAAR Celebrates 50 Years of Research and Education (1951–2001) ..............................29 Science Spotlights ..............................................................................................................30 Mountain Research Station ................................................................................................37 INSTAAR Laboratories and Other Facilities..........................................................................39 Library and Publications......................................................................................................43 Societal Outreach ..............................................................................................................44 Courses Taught by INSTAAR Faculty ..................................................................................45 INSTAAR Noon Seminars ..................................................................................................46 Graduate Student Talks ......................................................................................................48 Research Grants 2001–2002 ..............................................................................................50 Support at INSTAAR, 2000–2002 ......................................................................................58 Expenditures at INSTAAR, 2000–2002................................................................................58 Theses Completed..............................................................................................................59 Publications 2001 ..............................................................................................................61 Publications 2002 ..............................................................................................................68 Map of Research Areas ................................................................................inside back cover 2 Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado at Boulder he Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) The Past Global Change Group focuses on the recon- Tstrives for excellence in research, education, and socie- struction of the dynamics of paleoenvironments and past tal outreach. The Institute facilitates and accomplishes inter- climate variability to enhance our understanding of the disciplinary studies offering special expertise in high-altitude interactions between all components of the earth system, and high-latitude regions of the world. INSTAAR also offers including atmosphere, ocean, land, ice, and the biosphere. excellence in global and environmental research, including Integration of a variety of records from a global network of non-cold-region Quaternary studies and geochronology, sites, from the polar ice caps to continental alpine regions earth-system dynamics, landscape and seascape evolution, and to the world's oceans, provides the capability to test and climate dynamics. INSTAAR aims to understand how conceptual and predictive global change models and to facilitate the differentiation between natural and human- Information regarding the the varied regions of the world are affected by natural and Institute of Arctic and Alpine induced change. To facilitate these interests, the Center for human-induced physical and biogeochemical processes at Research, the Niwot Ridge Long- local, regional, and global scales. Research initiatives are Geochronological Research (CGR) provides scientists with Term Ecological Research (LTER) interlinked with our educational and societal outreach mis- state-of-the-art analytical facilities to address the cause, Program, the Mountain Research sions. By encouraging the use of our facilities and the timing, and rates of environmental change in recent Earth Station, and the journal Arctic, expertise of our personnel, INSTAAR provides excellent history. The CGR fosters synergistic relationships across Antarctic, and Alpine Research is available on the World Wide educational opportunities to graduate and undergraduate traditional disciplinary boundaries in order to understand Web at, respectively: students. Our outreach to the wider community, both local- the global circulation system. ly and farther afield, includes aspects of research and educa- instaar.colorado.edu tion. INSTAAR provides leadership in setting regional, INSTAAR's Teaching Mission is directed toward foster- culter.colorado.edu:1030/ national, and international science priorities and agendas, ing an appreciation and understanding of the biological, www.colorado.edu/mrs/ with particular emphasis on societally relevant issues. chemical, and physical processes operating in continental www.colorado.edu/INSTAAR/ and ocean environments. Education efforts are aided by the arcticalpine INSTAAR's Research Activities integrate field studies, state- Mountain Research Station and other study sites in the of-the-art laboratory experiments, field and laboratory data mountains of Colorado. INSTAAR supports the University analysis, and numerical and laboratory modeling. INSTAAR of Colorado's educational mission and provides interdisci- emphasizes three themes of research. plinary graduate and undergraduate classes and research The Ecosystems Group focuses on the biological opportunities. Our teaching mission includes international components of alpine and polar systems, global carbon and educational experiences for University of Colorado students, nitrogen cycling, the dynamics of biodiversity, and ecosystem training of foreign students, and volunteer outreach to com- disturbance and recovery. Long-Term Ecological Research munity schools and various other external constituencies. (LTER) studies in alpine and polar regions are emphasized, involving populations and communities, biogeochemistry, INSTAAR's Societal Mission consists of activities in and ecophysiology.