wind turbines in the North Sea

Offshore wind turbines vulnerable to Category 5 hurricane gusts

June 7, 2017

Offshore wind turbines built according to current standards may not be able to withstand the powerful gusts of a Category 5 hurricane, creating potential risk for any such turbines built in hurricane-prone areas.

Tethered balloon kite above the trees in Portugal

Global wind-mapping project commences in Portugal

June 1, 2017

An international team that includes Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder researchers has begun the world's largest wind-mapping project in Portugal, in hopes of better understanding wind behavior across the globe.

Traffic jam

Diesels pollute more than tests detect; excess emissions kill 38,000 yearly

May 15, 2017

A new study co-authored by Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder researchers has found diesel trucks, buses and cars emit 4.6-million tons more harmful nitrogen-oxide than standards permit. Higher standards and improved emissions tests could save lives, the authors say.

a forest shrouded in fog

Long-term fate of tropical forests may not be so dire

April 28, 2017

Conventional wisdom has held that tropical forest growth will dramatically slow with increasing levels of rainfall. But Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder researchers have turned that notion on its head with an unprecedented review of data concluding the opposite.

Grounds technician Pedro Vasquez uses a machine that provides hot steam to safely kill weeds

Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder employs steam to control weeds on campus

April 26, 2017

Both Housing & Dining Services and Facilities Management are incorporating into their weed-management practices machinery that uses saturated steam to control weeds in landscape beds and natural areas.

A tree swallow perches on a wire.

Wind, rain ruffle migratory birds' breeding patterns

April 26, 2017

Wind and precipitation play a crucial role in advancing or delaying the breeding cycles of North American tree swallows, according to the results of a new Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder study.

a firefighter extinguishing a blaze in California

New era of western wildfire demands new ways of protecting people, ecosystems

April 17, 2017

Current wildfire policy can’t adequately protect people, homes and ecosystems from the longer, hotter fire seasons, new Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder research has found.

a river in the Yukon Territory, Canada

Yukon glacier retreat triggers 'river piracy'

April 17, 2017

The retreat of a massive Yukon glacier a mile up its valley has redirected meltwater from one river basin to another in the first modern case of "river piracy," according to a new analysis co-authored by Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder researchers.

collage of fish tropical fish species

Q&A: Colwell on cracking the biodiversity code

April 12, 2017

Robert Colwell, adjoint curator in entomology at the Museum of Natural History on campus, has a paper published today in Methods in Ecology and Evolution on using novel mathematical approaches to estimate the number of fish species on coral reefs. We caught up with him to discuss his lifelong fascination with the Earth’s biodiversity, and his latest research, which could be applied to any species.

A bee on a flower

Local efforts appear to be helping bumblebee populations

April 12, 2017

None of the 22 native species of bumblebees in Boulder County showed declines over a recent five-year period, according to a new Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder study. Two species previously believed to be disappearing were present in several locations. "It shows that Boulder County is doing something right," the study authors say.

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