Campus News Briefs – Summer 2014

A Change in the Amazon Basin

The ecosystems in the Amazon Basin may release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than they absorb, according to a study co-led by CU-Boulder researchers.

The reason? A changing climate.

Researchers analyzed carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide from weekly air samples collected via aircraft for two years. In 2010, an especially dry year, the carbon levels were greater in the atmosphere than those absorbed by and stored in vegetation. However, the next year was wet, which yielded a carbon-neutral Amazon, meaning the region was neither adding nor removing carbon from the atmosphere.

“If these trends continue, it could accelerate global warming,” says John Miller, co-lead author and CU-Boulder scientist.

Heard Around Campus

"Getting something off this planet is really hard, and to know that you have students at CU who really dedicated themselves to doing this is great."

 – Charles Bolden, NASA deputy administrator, referring to the CU-Boulder-led mission to Mars while speaking on campus in April.

Coloradan Magazine Wins Gold International Award

In June the Coloradan magazine won gold from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, one of the world’s largest nonprofit educational associations.

The category was “College and University General Interest Magazines with circulations of 75,000 and greater.”

The Coloradan tied with Pegasus from the University of Central Florida.

Wake Forest won second with University of Chicago and Stanford tying for third.

Photography © iStock.com/FredFroese