INSTAAR’s Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship is now accepting applications from CU Boulder graduate students. Last year’s recipient, Katie Gannon, recalls an eventful summer of field science.

Sarah Crump was a beloved INSTAAR alum. After a hard-fought battle with an aggressive form of cancer, she passed peacefully in November 2022. Before she passed, Sarah designed a fellowship for CU Boulder graduate students studying earth or environmental science in high-latitude or high-altitude regions. The fellowship provides summer funding for one student each year. Women and other underrepresented groups in earth science are particularly encouraged to apply. Preference is given to applicants whose advisors are INSTAAR members. INSTAAR is accepting applications for the 2025 Sarah Crump fellowship now until February 28: Apply, donate or learn more.

As the applications start to roll in for 2025, INSTAAR sat down with Katie Gannon, the recipient of the 2025 Sarah Crump Graduate Fellowship, to hear about her experiences as a fellow. It turns out she had quite an adventurous summer. Sarah would have approved.

You worked on a lot of different projects this summer. Tell us about one that stood out?

At the start of the summer we worked on a research project in the Rawah Wilderness just west of Fort Collins. We were interested in how rock glaciers, which are underground ice formations in the mountains, impact lakes downstream. 

We did two 4-day backpacking trips to get back there and both of them had their share of challenges. The first trip was freezing. We camped in the spring snow and had to post-hole for hours to get between study lakes

On the second trip, we were up high above the tree line when a thunderstorm blew in and it started hailing. We were at least 4 miles from camp, it was the middle of the day and we had at least one more lake to sample before we were done. So we hiked down off the ridge and huddled up in the trees to wait out the storm.

We were all cold and wet and mildly miserable. But then Bella (Gannon’s PhD advisor) started singing and dancing to Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” and we started singing and jumping up and down and dancing to stay warm. I was soaked through, shivering, and laughing hysterically, along with everyone else. It was a great reminder of how important it is to support each other and enjoy the ride.

In the end those trips were a great way to get to know my lab, and the glaciers were so wild to see. The water seeping out of the rock and into the lakes is barely above freezing even in the middle of the summer and it is laden with ions and trace minerals.

You also worked on lake monitoring efforts in Rocky Mountain National Parks and in Green Lakes Valley. Tell us about that.

These long-term projects feel special to me because in addition to creating useful data, repeatedly visiting these sites allows us to get to know the lakes and develop a connection with them. Last season, I watched  thaw bloom in the spring. Then, in the fall, I watched as the trees lost their leaves and the lake froze over again.

We deploy buoys in the lakes that measure temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration. In the winter, the ice freezes over the top and the buoy is pushed down about a meter below the surface. Even though we carefully map out where each one is in the fall, the ice inevitably pulls them around during the colder months.

On one of my first field days this summer we hiked our boats in four miles to the Loch and then spent two more hours paddling in circles looking for our buoy. Everyone cheered when we finally found it. 

Gannon's field photos (click to zoom)

Your lab collaborated with the forest service this summer. Tell us about that.

We looked at two remote mountain lakes in the San Juan Mountains that are experiencing algal blooms. This, in and of itself, is strange. You don’t usually see algal blooms in watersheds that have been minimally impacted by people. 

In order to get all our gear in to collect samples, our team brought in a team of six mules and horses. They were hilarious and adorable. We would just sit in camp in the evening and watch them play around in the pasture. Having help from the pack animals and forest service amplified the project. We were able to collect much more data than we would have on our own.

You were busy this summer. Did you have time to work on your own research?

Yes. I got the first project for my PhD off the ground. I’m investigating methane and carbon dioxide accumulation in two alpine lakes. One is above the treeline while the other is below. 

The fellowship allowed me to scout out lakes, order materials and find collaborators here at CU to help me run my samples. Now I have two months of data. We’re also collecting samples through the winter to see if methane and carbon dioxide build up under winter ice. 

If you have questions about this story, or would like to reach out to INSTAAR for further comment, you can contact Senior Communications Specialist Gabe Allen at gabriel.allen@colorado.edu.

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INSTAAR is now accepting applications for the 2025 Summer Scholars cohort

Each year, the scholarship provides funding for two CU Boulder graduate students to continue their research over the summer. Priority is given to INSTAAR graduate students who enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within the institute. Recipients receive a research stipend equivalent to a 50% RA position for three summer months.

Apply, donate, or learn more
Deadline March 5th, 2025

In 2024, the award went to two ambitious PhD students hard at work on research projects on opposite ends of the world. This week, INSTAAR sat down with Natalie Aranda and Jed Lenetsky to learn more about their experience as summer scholars.

Jed Lenetsky (ATOC)

What did the scholarship enable you to work on last summer?

I was able to advance my research on two different projects in Baffin Bay.

The first project looks at how future climate scenarios might affect sea ice, marine life and other oceanographic conditions. That one is focused on the North Water Polynya, which is one of the Arctic's most productive ecosystems. Previous funding from the NSF ran out before the summer, so the scholarship was critical. It allowed me to complete revisions on a manuscript, and the resulting article is now under review for publication in the .

The second research project examines oceanic changes in the Davis Strait in southern Baffin Bay. The Summer Scholars funding allowed me to spend time processing and analyzing data. I also used some of the funds to participate in a research cruise through the Davis Strait this fall (and gather more data).

What challenges arose in your work, and how did you respond?

It’s really difficult to process and gain meaningful insights from imperfect observational data — which is what I’m attempting to do with the Davis Strait project. I’m still working it out, but I am learning a lot through the process. I’m confident it will make me a stronger scientist once I get to the other side. 

What was your proudest moment?

Definitely submitting my revised paper on the North Water Polynya for publication. We substantially improved the study by working on an assessment of relevant model processes over the summer. The assessment showed that the physical processes driving the formation of the North Water Polynya in the model were similar to the real world. The findings added rigor and boosted our confidence in the research.

Natalie Aranda (CEAE)

What did the scholarship enable you to work on?

The funding gave me time to work through an important and difficult step in my dissertation research.

I was able to devote my time and focus toward processing biological samples that I collected in Antarctica back in early 2023. The samples didn't arrive back in the U.S. until around March of that year and, up until last summer, I ran into a bunch of road blocks processing them into usable data. This scholarship allowed me to dedicate myself full time to the task, and I ended up completing the work before the start of the semester.

This fall, I was finally able to move on and begin interpreting my data. Basically, I’m looking at chloroplasts in diatoms under a microscope and counting how many of them were alive when they were collected. I’m looking for a trend that tells us where in the stream there is more likely to be live or dead cells.

What challenges arose in your work, and how did you respond?

Ha! Staring at a microscope for the entire day makes your eyes blur and your head spin, especially when you’re not finding what you are looking for. The scholarship gave me the space to come back the next day (and the next day) to try again.

What was your proudest moment?

Certainly, it was when I finished processing my last sample. It was a long time coming, and it felt great. I actually finished at the end of July, which gave me enough time to put together a poster for the , which was held in Pucón, Chile at the end of August. I got some feedback at the conference that has been critical in my approach to data analysis this year.

If you have questions about this story, or would like to reach out to INSTAAR for further comment, you can contact Senior Communications Specialist Gabe Allen at gabriel.allen@colorado.edu.

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Each year, more than 25,000 earth and space scientists from around the world convene for the annual convention of the American Geophysical Union. This year’s conference runs for a week on 9-13 December in Washington, D.C., and will feature talks and posters from INSTAAR’s faculty fellows, faculty research associates, postdocs and students. Our Institute’s contributions will span the globe, touching on Earth systems in the oceans, alpine and polar regions.

Research highlights, from Monday to Friday

Click any image to zoom

A sea-ice free arctic

“The first ice-free day in the Arctic Ocean could occur before 2030” — it’s a stark title for faculty fellow Alexandra Jahn’s latest paper, . Jahn will give an invited talk about her research during a Monday session. In it, she will detail her work to model the climatic conditions that could lead to an ice-free arctic in the near future. Her collaborator on this project was the Swedish earth scientist Céline Heuzé. Read more about this project in CU Boulder Today.   

Woody encroachment into alpine tundra

Although woody encroachment has been well-studied in the arctic, less is known about its effects in alpine tundra. Katya Jay (INSTAAR affiliate and alum, now at NEON and CU Boulder ESIL) and her co-authors have combined multiple imagery datasets with many other measurement types to try to understand how encroachment happens over time. The team included Katharine Suding, Will Wieder, and two CU Boulder colleagues. Jay will present their findings in a poster session on Tuesday. For more about her recent research, .  

Alpine lake biomarkers in Wyoming

Lipid biomarkers preserved in lake sediment provide valuable information about past climate and environmental changes. One such class of biomarkers, brGDGTs, has proven its value as a paleothermometer and has promise for reconstructing other key environmental variables as well. INSTAAR research scientist Jonathan Raberg (also with University of Wyoming) will present his collaborative work to compare sediment brGDGTs with other environmental proxies in Wyoming alpine lakes.  

Warming and sediment on the Canning River

Faculty fellow Irina Overeem - with a team of mostly INSTAAR researchers, alums, and affiliates - spent the past two field seasons documenting changes on the Canning River in Alaska. She will speak about their research on Tuesday. The project investigates the transport of sediment and nutrients from the Alaskan permafrost out to the Arctic Ocean. Overeem and PhD student Josie Arcuri are also the stars of a new film about the project titled “Icy River” by Boulder-based documentarian Ryan Vachon. .  

Carbon cycling in cold regions

Arctic rivers move, process and store an immense amount of organic carbon — carbon that has built up in the surrounding permafrost over millennia. Faculty fellow Suzanne Anderson will present a poster on Tuesday detailing her work to elucidate the carbon cycles, sources and sinks of these icy waterways. Her research sheds light on these poorly-understood systems during a time when climate change is impacting them on every level. Her collaborators include Irina Overeem, Robert Anderson, Marisa Repasch and Josie Arcuri.   

Snowmelt and subalpine forests

As the climate warms, subalpine forests experience longer growing seasons and more variable winter snow. In an invited talk on Thursday, faculty fellow Noah Molotch will detail his investigation into these important ecosystems over the past quarter-century. His work draws on decades of remote sensing data that shows the importance of snowmelt on ecosystem productivity. His collaborators include Eric Kennedy, John Knowles, Sean Burns and Peter Blanken.  

Marine heatwaves and ocean acidity extremes

PhD student Samuel Mogen, Nikki Lovenduski and collaborators take aim at predicting marine heatwaves and ocean acidity extremes in a . Their new model is adept at forecasting these acute events from months to a year in advance, with varying degrees of certainty based on the event type and location. Mogen will present the team's poster on Thursday in a session on climate variability and predictability. Read more about the forecasts in a recent INSTAAR news story.  

Flooding in the 21st Century

Faculty fellow Albert Kettner will give an invited tallk on Thursday during AGU’s “Changing Climate: Associated Natural Hazards and Impacts” session. He will focus on . His research documents changes in the magnitude and frequency of flooding under a specific climate scenario, in which emissions are reduced slowly. His collaborators include Sagy Cohen, Irina Overeem, Balazs Fekete, Robert Brakenridge and Jaia Syvitski. Read more about Kettner’s work in a recent INSTAAR news story.  

Microbes and methane growth 2020-2022

A new analysis from Sylvia Michel, Pieter Tans, Reid Clark, Jianghanyang (Ben) Li, and collaborators investigates the root cause of a recent atmospheric methane spike. Their finding suggests microbes have been emitting more methane than fossil fuels in recent years. Nonetheless, reducing fossil fuel consumption remains key to addressing climate change. Their work was recently . Michel will give an invited talk on Friday in a session on Isotopes of the Atmospheric Components. Read more about this study in CU Boulder Today

Mountain hydrology and biogeochemistry

Presentations on 'Mountain hydrology and biogeochemistry in a changing world' are being held in honor of (INSTAAR Fellow Emeritus and Geography Professor Emeritus), who passed away in 2023. Presenters are invited to build on Mark's diverse contributions and address the question: What’s next for mountain hydrology? A total of 25 presentations will be made. Noah Molotch is the primary convener, assisted by Diane McKnight and Jennifer Morse, plus INSTAAR alums Paul Brooks (University of Utah) and Alia Khan (Western Washington University).    

Special events

Click any image to zoom

Monday 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall booth #328

Meet the editors of INSTAAR's journal AAAR

INSTAAR's peer-reviewed, open-access journal will be represented in booth #328 in the Exhibit Hall during the meeting. Stop by on Monday late afternoon to meet with our journal editors Anne Jennings and Diane McKnight as well as the staff at Taylor & Francis who publish and host the journal. AAAR primarily covers environmental science from modern to paleo timescales, with an emphasis on climate change in mountain and high latitude regions.

Monday 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Dacha Beer Garden

Attend the INSTAAR happy hour

Our NewSTAAR committee is hosting an informal INSTAAR happy hour on Monday evening. All INSTAARs are invited, both current folks and alumni. Grad students and postdocs are especially encouraged to attend. The event will be held at the Dacha Beer Garden (Shaw, 1600 7th St NW #7), which has a variety of drink/food options and is within walking distance to the convention center. Committee members will be there until about 7:00 p.m., so drop by when you can.

Wednesday 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Hall E

Celebrate INSTAAR's latest AGU Fellow

Michael Gooseff is among 54 scholars in the 2024 cohort of AGU Fellows. All have made exceptional contributions to their fields and will be celebrated at the Honors Ceremony on Wednesday evening in Hall E of the Convention Center (subsequent banquet requires a ticket and is in a different location). The honor is bestowed annually on less than one tenth of one percent of AGU members. Gooseff was selected for his exemplary leadership and for advancing our understanding of how a changing climate affects ecosystems and freshwater supply. Read more about Mike and his recognition in an INSTAAR news story.  

Additional presentations

More than 85 INSTAARs are participating in AGU 2024. Click an author name below to see their abstracts on the AGU website. For questions, email David Lubinski.

Categories

Each author’s name is followed by a bracketed number (signifying the number of abstracts they contributed to) and a series of short letter codes (signifying topics). The topic codes are as follows:

• A  Atmospheric Sciences
• B  Biogeosciences
• C  Cryosphere
• EP  Earth & Planetary Surface Processes
• ED  Education
• GP  Geomagnetism, Paleomagnetism & Electromagnetism
• GC  Global Environmental Change
• H  Hydrology
• NH  Natural Hazards
• NS  Near Surface Geophysics
• OS  Ocean Sciences
• PP  Paleoceanography & Paleoclimatology
• SY  Science & Society
• TH  Town Hall
• U  Union Session

INSTAAR authors 

[#] = Number of abstracts per author

• [1] B
• [10] C, EP
• [6] C, EP
• [1] PP
• [1] H
• [3] EP
• [17] B, EP, H, NS
• [2] C, PP
• (alum) [5] GC, H, SY, TH
• [1]
• [2] B, SY
• [1] C
• [1] A
• [2] EP
• [1] H
• [1] OS
• [3] EP
• [2] A, SY
• [2] C, OS
• [7] GC, H, SY
• [1] H
• (alum) [2] PP
• [1] C
• [1] H
• [1] EP
• [4] GC, PP
• [4] H, NS
• [2] GC, SY
• [8] C, GP, PP
• [2] B, C
• [1] H
• [1] U
• + [5] ED, EP, NH
• [1] H
• [1] C
• [2] SY
• [3] C, H
• [6] A
•  [2] C
• [4] A, B, 
• [1] B
• + [4] B, PP
• [10] C, ED, PP
• [6] B, H, 
• [8] A, B, SY
• [1] PP
• [4] A, OS, 
• [9] C, GC, H, U
• [4] C, OS
• [1] B
• + [3] H
• [11] A, B, C, GC, H, NS, SY
• [1] B
• [3] H
• [10] C, ED, EP
• [7] C, H
• [1] H
• [3] H
• + [2] H
• [3] C, EP
• [2] PP
• [4] EP, PP
• + (alum) [13] B, EP, H
• [1] SY
• [14] C, GC, H
• [5] B
• [2] B, C
• [2] C
• (alum) [1] PP
• [1] A
• [3] GC, PP
• [1] C
• [5] B, OS
• [2] B, GC
• [1] B
• [3] A, SY
• [3] B, H, NS
• [2] SY
• [1] C
• [1] B
• [1] SY
• [1] SY
• [10] B, GC, H
• [2] H
• [2] B, NS

If you have questions about this story, or would like to reach out to INSTAAR for further comment, you can contact Senior Communications Specialist Gabe Allen at gabriel.allen@colorado.edu.

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Related Articles

Jack D. Ives passed away on September 15, 2024 at the age of 92. He served as the director of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research from 1967 to 1979.

Jack taking photographs in the Pamirs with his medium format Hasselblad, September 1993. Photo: Hortonio, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Jack also founded INSTAAR’s interdisciplinary journal Arctic and Alpine Research in 1969, which later expanded to . He was a Professor of Geography at CU Boulder (1967–1989) until his departure for UC Davis. His research was foundational to future scientist’s understanding of glacial movement, arctic permafrost, and alpine geography.

Read more about Jack:

• CU Boulder Geography

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