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

camera equipment. These laboratories are supervised bySarah Spaulding.Quaternary GIS LaboratoryThis facility applies state-of-the-art tools and concepts withGeographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensingto a variety of environmental problems at high latitudes.Quantitative spatial analysis focuses on shoreline erosion inAlaska, as well as past and present glacier dynamics andice-field archaeology. Activities also support geospatial datasharing, community planning for Arctic GIS, online mappingtechnologies, and a variety of outreach. Other projectsinvolve graduate students with studies of paleoclimate,paleolimnology, and geomorphology from Australia toIceland. Under the direction of William Manley, and withGIS/RS Specialist Leanne Lestak, the lab includes four workstations,a large-format scanner, peripherals, and a range ofsoftware (ArcGIS, Imagine, ENVI, and others).Sample Preparation Laboratory,Mountain Research StationField collected soils and plants are dried, extracted,weighed, and filtered in this lab found in the John W. MarrBuilding at the MRS. Equipment includes drying ovens,shakers, filter manifolds, and gas exchange systems for plantand soil CO 2 exchange.Sedimentology LaboratoryThis laboratory provides high-quality data for research projectsfor INSTAAR Directorate members, postdocs, graduateand undergraduate students, and outside clients. The laboratoryperforms both chemical and physical analyses onsediments and other material and encourages students torun their own analyses. The lab is equipped to measuregrain size using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer(Malvern long bed mastersizer), total carbon and inorganiccarbon content (Coulometer), magnetic properties (MS,SIRM, and IRM), bulk density and mineralogy (SiemensD5000 X-ray Diffractometer). Sieves are available for bothdry and wet sieve analysis. The lab is equipped with ovens,two freeze dryers, a distilled water system, and analyticalbalances. The laboratory is coordinated by Wendy Roth,under the supervision of Suzanne Anderson.Snow and Ice LaboratoryThis laboratory is built around a 400-square-foot cold room,with facilities presently configured for experimental work inheat and mass transfer in snow as well as general electronicsand mechanical design and fabrication. The laboratory isdirected by Tad Pfeffer.Stable Isotope LaboratoryThis laboratory is a state-of-the-art analytical facility thatuses stable isotopes to understand the processes controllingenvironmental change on time scales relevant to humaninteractions with the environment. The research focuses onthe modern carbon and water cycles and paleoclimaterecords from ice cores, lake sediments, carbonates, andorganic matter. The laboratory houses 9 mass spectrometersand 12 gas preparation systems for analysis of stable isotopesof oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen. The labshares a strong collaboration with the NOAA ClimateMonitoring and Diagnostic Laboratory, and analyzes isotopesin thousands of weekly samples of greenhouse gasesfrom a global network. The lab is currently analyzing samplesfrom major ice core profiles in Greenland andAntarctica. The stable isotope laboratory is supervised byJim White, managed by Bruce Vaughn, and utilizes a staffof five technicians, numerous graduate students, and postdocsto analyze over 48,000 samples per year.Trace Organic GeochemistryLaboratoryResearch in this laboratory is focused on quantitative reconstructionsof past sea-surface temperatures and applicationsof organic geochemistry to problems in paleoclimatologyand carbon cycle science. Major equipment includes traceorganic clean preparation facilities, automated pressurizedfluid extraction (Dionex ASE 200), automated solid phaseextraction (Gilson ASPEC XLi), gas chromatograph (HP6890 with 100-position autosampler, programmable temperaturevaporization [PTV] inlet, and FID). This laboratory isdirected by Scott Lehman.The Pico Mountain AtmosphericObservatory after an icing storm,Azores, Spring 2005. INSTAAR’sAtmospheric Research Laboratoryis continuing research on atmospherictransport and chemicalprocessing in the North Atlantic.Photo: Detlev Helmig(INSTAAR).Bruce Vaughn (INSTAAR)explains how ice cores fromAntarctica have recorded variationsin climate for hundreds ofthousands of years, INSTAAROpen House, April 2006. Suchvariations help put present climatechanges into a long-termperspective. Vaughn’s audiencewas a group of students fromSouthern Hills Middle School.Photo: Casey A. Cass (Universityof Colorado).RESEARCH MISSION | 19