00_cover_Biennial Report 05-06.qxd - INSTAAR - University of ...

access environment within the CU domain, protected by afirewall, connected to a 100 Mpbs LAN network throughCU’s network tied in to the NCAR, NOAA, NIST high performancecomputing system. These multi-processor servershave 24 hour on-site support, and use an APC 16K UPSwith a 20-minute uptime in case of a power failure, to allowfor proper shutdown during longer power outages. The ECIFacility supports many other computers, servers, andperipherals (DVD/CD ROMS and burners, disk and tapedrives, B&W and color LaserJet printers, color scanners, HPDesign Jet 5000PS 60" plotter, video-out digital camera, andLogitech 3-D visualization tools).HerbariumThis facility is housed at the Mountain Research Station. Itcontains a field collection of plants of the Front Range, specializingin plants of Niwot Ridge and environs.ICP-MS Trace ElementLaboratoryThis facility houses a Thermo Finnigan Element2 inductivelycoupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) for the measurementof trace and minor elements in carbonates, naturalwaters, and other materials. A Class 1000 clean room isused for sample preparation. The laboratory is directed byTom Marchitto.Kiowa Environmental ChemistryLaboratoryThis laboratory is the environmental chemistry laboratoryfor the Niwot Ridge/Green Lakes Valley Long-TermEcological Research Program. The laboratory is located atthe Mountain Research Station and is managed by ChristineSiebold and directed by Mark Williams. Equipped with anion chromatograph, a spectrophotometric flow injectionanalyzer, a spectrophotometric segmented flow analyzer,and an atomic absorption spectrometer, the laboratory analyzesair, snow, water, and soil samples collected by facultyand graduate students from alpine and sub-alpine ecosystemsfor major solutes and nutrients.Landscape Ecology andConservation LaboratoryThis laboratory conducts basic and applied research in threemain areas: the ecology, distribution, and conservationplanning of species, vegetation types, and ecosystems; multiscaledanalysis of treeline structure, composition, anddynamics; and more recently, the analysis of interactionsbetween environmental and social dynamics, including forecastingthe effects of these interactions on patterns ofdynamic changes and the ecological resilience of complexsocioecological systems. Research to date has focused onthe development and prototyping of methods and techniquesfor integrated regional ecological assessments,ecosystem characterization and regionalization mapping ofecosystem units, modeling of plant species and vegetationtype distributions, landscape analysis of ecotones at thealpine treeline, and integration of ecological knowledge intothe planning process. Recent work has included integratingdifferent technologies (modeling, GIS, remote sensing,development of knowledge bases, and reserve selectionalgorithms) to design regional networks of conservationreserves. Study areas include the western United States,with special emphasis on Colorado, the Pacific Northwest,and Southwestern regions, and western Europe. The laboratoryis directed by Patrick Bourgeron and managed by HopeHumphries.Limnology LaboratoryThis is an analytical laboratory for studying water and sedimentsamples. The laboratory is equipped for sample preparation,analysis of metals and major cations using the atomicabsorption spectrophotometer, and the preparative isolationof organic fractions using column chromatography. Thelaboratory is directed by Diane McKnight and is used bypostdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate studentsenrolled in McKnight’s classes.Micropaleontology LaboratoryThis is a foraminiferal analysis laboratory equipped withsieves and other equipment needed for preparation offoraminiferal samples, and binocular microscopes, faunalreference slides, and books for foraminiferal assemblageanalysis and picking of stable isotope and radiocarbon samples.An image analysis facility employing a binocular microscope,analog camera, and computer is available to allresearchers or students for computer imaging of foraminifers,plant macrofossils, mollusks, beetles, and other macrofossils.The laboratory is managed and supervised by AnneJennings.Oceanography LaboratoryThe purpose of this laboratory is to develop and deploymarine instruments related to understanding sedimentdynamics. Major equipment includes an underwater camerasystem for studying flocculation dynamics, a CTD, an attenuancemeter, and a LISST (in situ laser particle size analyzer).The laboratory also houses an extensive geophysicaldata library of analog and digital seismic and sidescan datafrom glacimarine environments. James Syvitski and EricHutton are in charge of the laboratory.Palynology LaboratoriesThese laboratories comprise two pollen sample preparationlaboratories and a pollen microscopy laboratory. The samplepreparation laboratories have standard equipment for chemicalpretreatment of sediment samples for micropaleontologicalanalyses of pollen and diatoms. The microscopy laboratoryhas two high-powered, research-grade light microscopeswith image analysis capabilities, several light microscopesfor student use, and a binocular microscope with18 | RESEARCH MISSION