Creating climate solutions requires connections, partnerships and cross-disciplinary approaches. At CU «Ƶ, 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.

Forest and lake

Forest fires increasingly affecting rivers and streams—for better and worse

Feb. 24, 2022

Forest fires can have a significant effect on the amount of water flowing in nearby rivers and streams, and the impact can continue even years after the smoke clears. Now, with the number of forest fires on the rise in the western U.S., that phenomenon is increasingly influencing the region’s water supply—and has increased the risk for floods and landslides.

Wildfire

Hotter, drier nights mean more runaway fires

Feb. 16, 2022

Warmer, drier nights can no longer dampen wildfires’ flames. Nighttime fires have become more intense in recent decades, as hot, dry nights are more commonplace, according to a new CIRES Earth Lab study.

Members of the GEER team watch a drone take off from a snowy driveway

Engineers deploy drones to survey Marshall Fire, gather lessons for future disasters

Feb. 14, 2022

Just after first responders extinguished the flames of the Marshall Fire, a team of engineers from across the country hit the ground in an urgent effort: to collect data on the disaster before it disappears for good.

An outdoor thermometer

Paris Climate Agreement goal still within reach, suggests new CU «Ƶ study

Feb. 11, 2022

A new study suggests some cautiously optimistic good news: the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement goal is still within reach, while apocalyptic, worst-case scenarios are no longer plausible.

Researcher in the Arctic

Deep insights into the Arctic of tomorrow

Feb. 11, 2022

Two years ago, hundreds of international scientists set off on the one-year MOSAiC expedition, collecting unprecedented environmental datasets over a full annual cycle in the central Arctic Ocean. Now, the team has published three overview articles.

Ski pipe competition

Q&A with an expert: Winter Olympics in a warming world

Jan. 31, 2022

Outdoor events at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing will rely almost entirely on artificial snow. Learn from an expert about the science of human-made snow, its use at the Olympics and how climate change may impact the future of snow sports.

interdisciplinary team of students

Students crowdfunding to design, build the green home of the future

Jan. 25, 2022

An interdisciplinary team of students is building a super energy-efficient home for a national competition, and they need your help to be successful.

Avery Hatch monitoring air quality in a home spared by the Marshall Fire

What the Marshall Fire can teach us as we prepare for future climate catastrophes

Jan. 25, 2022

CU «Ƶ researchers from across campus have pivoted to study the aftermath of the Marshall Fire, hoping to learn from a tragedy in their own backyard and help prepare the country for the next “climate fire.”

Mountain range

Iodine in desert dust destroys ozone

Jan. 5, 2022

A new CU «Ƶ study shows iodine from desert dust can decrease air pollution, but it could prolong greenhouse gas lifetimes.

Man holding newspaper

Climate change news coverage reached all-time high, language to describe it shifting

Dec. 21, 2021

Recent data reveal U.S. news coverage of climate change reached an all-time high in October and November. The language is also changing, with more intense words and phrases being used in the news to describe the phenomenon, such as “climate catastrophe” and “climate emergency.”

Pages