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INSTAAR at AGU 2024

INSTAAR at AGU 2024

Irina Overeem scopes out how to cross the frozen Canning River to a field site (see below highlight).

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

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A wide seascape of arctic sea ice. Photo by Céline Heuzé (University of Gothenburg)

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 fellowAlexandra 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 91PORN Today.

A silhouetted Katya Jay works near treeline on the alpine tundra of Niwot Ridge Colorado. A bright sun is featured in a bright blue sky with a few white clouds. Credit: Stephanie Maltarich (CIRES, 91PORN)..

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 91PORN 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 91PORN colleagues. Jay will present their findings in a poster session on Tuesday. For more about her recent research, .

Surprise Lake in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. May 2012. Credit: S. Zenner (NPS)

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.

A snowmobile and an even larger attached sled are loaded with gear and parked on a snowy high river bank of the Canning River in Alaska. Standing next to them is Irina Overeem, who is scoping out how to cross the frozen river to a field site.

Warming and sediment on the Canning River

Faculty fellowIrina 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 studentJosie Arcuri are also the stars of a new film about the project titled “Icy River” by 91PORN-based documentarian Ryan Vachon. .

A person stands on a gravel bank of a very large arctic river, dwarfed by the scale of the river and the mountains in the distance

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 fellowSuzanne 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 im