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.Stay up to date on our groundbreaking research and technological advancements.

Four elephants walk in a line in the grass

Why biodiversity matters and what the world is doing about it

Jan. 20, 2023

Nations around the world have committed to achieve 30-by-30, protecting 30% of the planet's land and oceans by 2030. CU Boulder's Mara Goldman why this landmark is critical for the world's biodiversity, and what the challenges are to making it a reality.

A farm in Ohio

Air quality improvements lead to more sulfur fertilizer use

Jan. 12, 2023

A new study finds Midwestern soybean and corn farmers replaced lost airborne sulfur with sulfur fertilizer, and the environmental impacts may include downstream mercury contamination.

Looking at an ice core

Study offers most detailed glimpse yet of planet’s past 11,000 summers and winters

Jan. 11, 2023

By analyzing Antarctic ice cores, CU Boulder scientists and an international team of collaborators have revealed the most detailed look yet at the planet’s recent climatic history, including summer and winter temperatures dating back 11,000 years to the beginning of what is known as the Holocene.

Gas Works Park in Seattle

Compromised oil and gas wells pose risks to groundwater in Weld County

Jan. 5, 2023

When gas leaks into and contaminates a household water well near an oil and gas drilling site, there is always a question of where it came from. Is it from a failure in the drilling or did the gas migrate naturally? New research from CU Boulder could help definitively answer that question.

Researchers conduct water sampling.

Ongoing CU research explores impacts, solutions after Marshall Fire

Dec. 21, 2022

The Marshall Fire spurred researchers—many of them personally affected by the fire—to pivot and apply their expertise to the aftermath. One year later, dozens of ongoing research projects continue to explore the science behind what happened that day, the widespread impacts on people, pets and the environment and how we can mitigate future catastrophes amid a changing climate.

miniature satellite about the size of a shoebox

Scientists testing future technology to extend solar energy measurements

Dec. 15, 2022

Since July 2022, a miniature satellite about the size of a shoebox has been orbiting Earth and monitoring how much solar energy reaches the atmosphere, one of the "most important" Earth science measurements. Now, scientists are finalizing their analysis of the first five months of the testing.

The ash cloud from the submarine volcanic eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai photographed by an astronaut

LASP scientists presenting Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai research at science meeting

Dec. 14, 2022

At the American Geophysical Union meeting in Chicago through Dec. 16, LASP researchers are presenting the results of recent studies on the massive 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption.

Coronado National Forest

Indigenous fire management buffered climate impacts for centuries

Dec. 12, 2022

CIRES co-authored work shows tribal practices blunted wildfires’ impacts in the American Southwest. Bringing “good fire” back to the U.S. and other wildfire-prone areas, as Native Americans once did, could potentially blunt the role of climate in triggering today’s wildfires.

Plastic bag on green grass

Rethinking plastic

Dec. 12, 2022

Of all the troubles in the world, why should single-use shopping bags and straws concern you? Ask Associate Professor Phaedra Pezzullo, who spells out the chilling ramifications of plastic use in her new podcast and book.

CMCI instructor and student work at a computer in the classroom

CMCI faculty, students on a mission for change

Dec. 9, 2022

The College of Media, Communication and Information received a $25,000 donation from the climate-action organization Mission Zero to further climate-focused work. Faculty and students undertook seven grant projects, tackling climate issues through innovative storytelling.

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