Sara Fleming: New Course Engages Students in CU Boulder's Climate Action Plan

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 19:42:49 +0000

Sara Fleming: New Course Engages Students in CU Boulder's Climate Action Plan Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 13:42

Members of the Co-teaching team (Pcitured ffrom left to right: Mariah Bowman, Brigid Mark, Sara Fleming, and Sean Benjamin)

The Geography Department is offering a new Special Topics course this semester, GEOG4002: Climate Action Planning. This unique interdisciplinary course was co-designed and is being co-taught by five graduate students from across departments: Sara Fleming (Geography), Sean Benjamin (Mechanical Engineering), Jonah Shaw (Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences), Brigid Mark (Sociology), and Mariah Bowman (Law). The 24 undergraduate students in the course are learning the fundamental skills of climate action planning and are now working on group research projects to better understand and reduce emissions from different areas of CU Boulder's campus, including waste, business travel, commuting, and student/parent travel.

Students have been incredibly engaged in the class and excited about the hands-on opportunity to influence climate action at CU. They will present their ideas to administrators and stakeholders at the Sustainability Summit on April 22. The graduate students received financial support from the College of Engineering and Zonta Foothills Club to teach this class and hope to continue the course next academic year. If you are interested in supporting or being a part of future iterations of the course, please reach out to sara.fleming@colorado.edu.

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Millie Spencer Studying Glacier Retreat in Chile

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 19:35:36 +0000

Millie Spencer Studying Glacier Retreat in Chile Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 13:35

My name is Millie Spencer, and I am a 3rd year PhD candidate in the Geography Department. I am currently on a Fulbright Award studying glacier retreat and its downstream impacts in south-central Chile. Hosted jointly by the University of Chile’s Civil Engineering Department and Indigenous Peoples Program, my work integrates glacier field measurements, glacier-hydrological modeling, and semi-structured interviews with periglacial communities. This approach seeks to bridge scientific methods with Indigenous and local knowledge, recognizing community memory as a critical resource for understanding climate change and informing adaptation strategies.

The first month and a half of my time here in Chile has been a whirlwind. The season to safely and accurately measure glaciers here in Chile is February-April, so I am working hard to hike to as many glaciers as possible before winter begins in full force. Accompanied by my generous colleagues here in Chile, we are hiking a chain of stratovolcanoes in south-central Chile to fly uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) and build digital elevation models of the glaciers. These models enable us to compute the volume loss of the glaciers over time.

In March, I spent two days camping at the base of Glaciar Nevado with my colleague Robert Clasings. The hike to Glaciar Nevado is an arduous 8 miles up volcanic sand dunes and lahars. However, our gorgeous camp near a waterfall with a view of the glacier above made the effort worthwhile. This mission enabled us to map the entire glacier, including a debris covered portion that was previously unidentified by scientists.

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Geography Professor Abdalati Visits Capitol Hill

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 19:33:16 +0000

Geography Professor Abdalati Visits Capitol Hill Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 13:33

Figure: Professor Abdalati (4th from the right) in the lobby of the Capitol Building with other Cooperative Institute Directors

On March 24-25, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) Director and Geography Professor Waleed Abdalati, met with staff from the offices of both Republican and Democratic members of Colorado congressional delegation to discuss the potential impacts of threatened cuts to the NOAA, NSF, NASA, and other research agency budgets and how they would impact the interests of the State of Colorado and their respective congressional districts. In addition to meeting with the offices of senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, he met with staff from the offices of representatives Neguse, Crank, Hurd, and Evans. He and other cooperative institute directors also met with majority and minority staff from various relevant committees, which included the House Science Committee, the House Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee. The focus of these committee discussions was to encourage Congress to actively ensure their long-standing support for environmental research continues through the end of the fiscal year and beyond.

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Geography Professor Peter Blanken Publishes New Book: Essentials of Water (Water in the Earth's Physical and Biological Environments)

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 19:28:35 +0000

Geography Professor Peter Blanken Publishes New Book: Essentials of Water (Water in the Earth's Physical and Biological Environments) Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 13:28

Water shapes the planet and all life upon it. Breaking down traditional disciplinary barriers, this accessible, holistic introduction to the role and importance of water in Earth's physical and biological environments assumes no prior knowledge. It provides the reader with a clear and coherent explanation of the unique properties of water and how these allow it to affect landscapes and underpin all life on Earth. Contemporary issues surrounding water quality – such as the rise of microplastics and climate change – are highlighted, ensuring readers understand current debates. Giving all of the necessary background and up-to-date references, and including numerous examples and illustrations to explain concepts, worked mathematical calculations, and extensive end-of-chapter questions, this is the ideal introductory textbook for students seeking to understand the inextricable links between water and the environment.

Key features of the book

Examines the role and importance of water in both the physical and biological environment in a multi-disciplinary framework
Provides all of the scientific and mathematical background for a full understanding of the properties of water and its effect on its surroundings, with clear and simple explanations
Makes no assumptions about students' prior knowledge by providing numerous examples, photographs, and illustrations to explain concepts
The book is very well suited for courses where a traditional physical hydrology or water policy textbook is not appropriate and/or too advanced and in-depth, providing the structure and organization that can be used to match course objectives for an introductory, basic course on water, and saving instructors' time

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Blanken and Team Measure Reservoir Evaporation

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 19:26:01 +0000

Blanken and Team Measure Reservoir Evaporation Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 13:26

The water cycle is something we’ve all heard about. Water falls from the sky, soaks into soils and forms streams and rivers that fill lakes or flow into oceans. Evaporation returns water to the atmosphere, and the cycle continues. When we’re concerned with having too much or not enough water, we must measure and model the water cycle to better manage water resources, yet accurate measurements can be challenging.

Along the Colorado Front Range and in many arid and semi-arid regions world-wide, surface reservoirs store meltwater from the alpine snowpack. The water is then allocated and distributed downstream to water rights holders during the dry, summer months. Accurate accounting of this water is required to assure that the agreed-upon distributions are made. Water inputs and outputs from these reservoirs must therefore be known, including how much water evaporates. The water ‘lost’ through evaporation is especially important since it can be a large term in the water cycle. Reservoir managers in Colorado must release water in an amount equal to the volume evaporated from the reservoir. This release compensates downstream users for the water that they would have had access to without the added evaporation loss from the reservoir.

Historically, evaporation pans, a large dish filled with water located near a reservoir, have been used to measure evaporation. Although the concept is simple and evaporation pans are practical, they rarely provide an accurate estimate of actual reservoir evaporation. Improper placement, and the small volume of water stored compared to a reservoir, typically results in large overestimates of evaporation in the summertime, large underestimates in the fall, and no estimates in the winter when the pans are removed.

In an effort to help manage water resources, Professor Blanken and his PhD candidate, Holly Roth, are directly measuring evaporation from Standley Lake reservoir in Westminster Colorado using a state-of-the-art method seldom used over reservoirs in the American West. As recently featured on Colorado Public Radio, they installed a suite of meteorological sensors used to measure evaporation. These measurements have been collected since 2020, and help water managers to allocate precisely the correct volume of water, thereby saving water for times when it’s really needed. Their goal is to use a reservoir water balance model to extend their measurements to other reservoirs across the Front Range. As the Front Range’s population and air temperature continues to increase, and the snowpack decreases, their hope is that this research will help conserve this important resource. According to Professor Blanken, “Just as people and plants need water, so does the atmosphere. For each degree Celsius increase in air temperature, the atmosphere’s demand for water vapor increases by 7%, so it’s very important that that we measure and account for all sources of water loss including evaporation.”

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Noah Molotch: Modeling from Mountain Hydrology Group Provides Weekly Snow-Water Equivalent Estimates for the Entire Western US

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 19:20:42 +0000

Noah Molotch: Modeling from Mountain Hydrology Group Provides Weekly Snow-Water Equivalent Estimates for the Entire Western US Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 13:20

Recently, the Mountain Hydrology Group released its fifth near-real-time report on snow-water equivalent (SWE) in the Western US in 2025, and was covered in an INSTAAR press release. In essence, the report provides a snapshot of how much water is stored in snow on the landscape—water that will feed our rivers and streams in the months to come.

The end-of-March report is of particular interest for water managers in the West, because it arrives around the time that snow in the region reaches its peak. Last week’s report will help managers adjust plans for the spring, summer and fall.

“It helps inform how much water storage they might have and when that might come down into their reservoirs,” Geography PhD student and report co-author Emma Tyrrell said.

Other tools for visualizing the snowpack exist, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service Snow and Water Interactive Map, which plots various SWE-measuring stations. But, the Mountain Hydrology Group’s reports take a uniquely comprehensive approach. The team combines multiple data sources and modeling tools to estimate the amount of water stored in snow across the entire landscape.

The skinny

A map showing the percent of the long-term (2001 to 2021) average snow-water equivalent in major regions of the Western United States as of March 31, 2025.

Here in the Front Range, the report shows SWE totals lagging behind the 2001 to 2021 average. However, the overall trend doesn’t hold at all elevations. While the plains and foothills have less snow than average, many mountainous areas, like the headwaters of the Colorado River, sport average or higher-than-average snowpacks.

“Where you might go skiing, we’re seeing around 100% of normal,” Tyrrell said.

If you zoom out to the entire Western US, the report shows some anecdotal regional trends. The Desert Southwest has had a dry winter, with many regions dipping below 50% of average SWE and some in the single digits. On the other hand, a pocket of mountainous regions in the Northwest, stretching from Western Wyoming to Oregon, is experiencing an unusually robust spring snowpack.

“We’re seeing a somewhat typical north to south gradient during a La Niña cycle,” senior professional research associate Leanne Lestak told INSTAAR.

An experiment, a product

The Mountain Hydrology Group, led by Geography Professor and INSTAAR faculty fellow Noah Molotch, has been producing SWE reports for the Sierra Nevada Mountain region in California since 2012. There, water managers and river forecasters have come to rely on the reports.

“We work really closely with the California Department of Water Resources." Lestak said. “The hydrologic engineers use our data in their forecasts, and they really rely on what our reports have to say. It’s such an honor to work with these folks.”

The west-wide report is a newer endeavor—the group put out the first of its biweekly reports this February. Like the Sierra Nevada reports, the west-wide reports draw on a mix of satellite imagery, remote snow sensors and statistical modeling to arrive at its estimates. When they can, the team also calibrates their results by comparing them to “Airborne Snow Observatories,”—intermittent snow surveys conducted via manned aircraft in Colorado and elsewhere.

“We consider them a ground truth,” Tyrrell said. “It’s a patchwork of data that we can use to bias correct.”

While the methodology that the CU team uses for the Sierra Nevada reports has been refined by years of tweaking, the west-wide methodology is still new—it’s an experimental product. It will take a few years for the team to refine the model and build trust with stakeholders.

Locally, the project has already garnered some interest.

“Denver Water and other local cities are interested,” Lestak said. “There aren’t a lot of products here on the Front Range.”

We may have reached peak SWE for 2025 here in the west, but the Mountain Hydrology Group will keep issuing reports until mid summer. All the while, they will work to refine their tools.

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Exploring the Frontier of Geospatial AI: The GeoHAI Lab at CU Boulder

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 17:47:31 +0000

Exploring the Frontier of Geospatial AI: The GeoHAI Lab at CU Boulder Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 11:47

Housed at the Geography Department’s research ecosystem is the Geospatial Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (GeoHAI) Lab, where innovation in spatial data science meets urgent societal needs. Directed by Geography professor Dr. Morteza Karimzadeh, the GeoHAI Lab is a vibrant community of interdisciplinary researchers dedicated to advancing both the theory and practice of geospatial AI.

Rooted in the disciplines of Geography, Computer Science, and Information Science, the lab’s work spans a broad array of environmental and social science application domains. True to its mission of use-inspired research, the lab develops methods that not only push the boundaries of scientific knowledge but are also grounded in real-world applications. GeoHAI’s projects are frequently co-designed with stakeholders, ensuring that the lab’s innovations are usable, relevant, and impactful.

A Lab Built on Collaboration and Innovation

The GeoHAI Lab thrives on collaboration—both within its team and across disciplinary lines. Dr. Karimzadeh's leadership draws on his expertise in spatiotemporal machine learning, remote sensing, spatial statistics, and human-centered visual analytics, integrating these fields to address critical challenges facing society today.

From sea ice mapping in the Arctic to forecasting the geographic spread of diseases, the lab’s projects harness non-linear spatial and temporal relationships using cutting-edge AI techniques. But the work doesn’t stop at model development. Whether through designing interactive visualizations or collaborating on epidemiological algorithm design, the lab's products are meant to be adopted and used by practitioners, not just published in academic journals.

Projects at the Intersection of Science and Society

GeoHAI’s projects are as diverse as they are impactful:

Air Pollution Estimation for Public Health: Leveraging satellite remote sensing and ground-based monitoring, the lab develops deep learning models to estimate daily PM2.5 and ozone concentrations at high spatial resolution. These models support epidemiological research and policy efforts to mitigate health risks from air pollution.
Sea Ice Mapping and Uncertainty Quantification: The lab’s research in the cryosphere domain combines SAR, passive microwave sensing, and ICESat-2 laser altimetry to improve sea ice charting. Importantly, they integrate uncertainty quantification to help decision-makers understand model confidence—critical for navigational safety and climate monitoring.
Forecasting Post-Fire Vegetation Recovery: In collaboration with land managers and ecologists, GeoHAI students develop state-of-the-art deep learning models to predict how landscapes recover after wildfires. These forecasts support adaptive land management and conservation planning in fire-prone regions. This work impacts how and if land managers conduct reseeding, reforestation or mudslide prevention activities after wildfire events.
Multi-Source Foundation Models for Environmental Monitoring: The lab has recently started developing “foundation models” that fuse data from multiple satellite sources to enable training deep learning tasks with fewer ground-truth labeled samples, suitable for a variety of environmental monitoring tasks such as flood mapping and land use classification, sea ice mapping, change detection, etc.
COVID-19 Forecasting: During the pandemic, GeoHAI played a pivotal role in contributing spatiotemporal machine learning models and weekly forecasts to the US COVID-19 Forecast Hub, forecasting hospitalizations and case counts at state and county levels. These were in turn used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for communication and reporting, to aid states in planning. By incorporating social media connectivity to capture spatial interactions in deep learning, the models outperformed national ensemble forecasts during critical surges.
Visual Analytics for Disease Epidemiology: GeoHAI’s GeoDEN tool enables spatiotemporal exploration of dengue serotype dynamics, offering epidemiologists an interactive platform to analyze disease spread patterns for dengue, a disease that has potential to cause a worldwide pandemic. The lab’s focus on human-centered design and collaboration with epidemiologists ensures that such tools directly address user needs, and the developed tools have the potential to apply to other diseases.
Network Visualization for Power Grids: Collaborating with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the lab researchers developed novel network-weighted contour maps to visualize electrical grid voltages, helping planners and engineers interpret complex grid behaviors at scale. This work is intended to address the perpetual challenge of difference of visualizations in a geographic map and the topology of electrical grid lines.
Spatiotemporal Graph Neural Networks for Human Action Segmentation: In collaboration with Intel Labs, GeoHAI develops graph-based deep learning methods to recognize human activities from video, depth sensors, and wearable accelerometers. This work models spatiotemporal relationships across modalities to create efficient, scalable algorithms for health monitoring, manufacturing, and workplace safety.

Sea ice charting example. Top row: high-resolution Sentinel-1 SAR image. 2nd row: Low- resolution passive Microwave imagery. 3rd row: manually generated ice charts. 4th row: Deep-learning-based generated ice charts, along with uncertainty map to the right.

GeoDen (available at geoden.net): A tool developed at GeoHAI for Exploratory analysis of spatiotemporal spread and interaction of dengue serotypes.

GeoHAI lab members enjoying group lunch on the Hill. Left to right: Kevin Lane, Sepideh Jalayer, Jen MacDonald, Morteza Karimzadeh, Juliar Romero, Zhongying Wang, Daehyeon Han, Isaiah Lyons-Galante

Students and Postdocs: Driving the Lab’s Success

GeoHAI’s strength lies not only in its projects but primarily in its people. The lab is home to an exceptional team of Ph.D. students, master’s students, undergraduate students, and postdoctoral researchers with backgrounds ranging from geography, engineering, computer science and environmental modeling. These emerging scholars bring a wealth of experience—from working at Nokia Bell Labs and Johns Hopkins APL to startups and software engineering roles—enriching the lab’s research with fresh perspectives.

Students in the lab work on sea ice classification, multi-modal machine learning, infectious disease forecasting, air pollution mapping and more. They play a central role in every stage of research, from algorithm design and data processing to stakeholder engagement and scientific publication.

Building a Sustainable and More Equitable Future

GeoHAI researchers are committed to open science. The lab regularly publishes datasets, open-source code, and visualization tools to foster reproducibility and broaden the impact of its research. Whether advancing environmental sustainability or supporting public health, the lab’s work exemplifies how AI and geospatial science can serve as catalysts for equity and societal resilience.

To learn more or explore collaboration opportunities, visit the GeoHAI Lab at CU Boulder: https://geohai.org/

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Mara Goldman Leads Interdisciplinary Research and Collaborations on Conservation and Indigenous Peoples

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 17:42:35 +0000

Mara Goldman Leads Interdisciplinary Research and Collaborations on Conservation and Indigenous Peoples Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 11:42

Associate Professor Mara Goldman is a recognized leader in critical conservation studies, with a particular focus on how conservation theory and practice can center the knowledge and needs of women and Indigenous communities. Since the publication of her book, Narrating Nature: Wildlife Conservation and Maasai Ways of Knowing in 2020, she has been both working to spread the word about on-going struggles that Maasai people in Tanzania face in the name of conservation. This has included an interview with CU Boulder Today: on why biodiversity matters and what the world is doing about it, talks at CSU-Fort Collins, 91��Ѽ-Madison, the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, and the University of Lisbon, Portugal.

She has also been working to expand her focus on East Africa to build collaborative conversations on how to better ‘decolonize’ conservation practice globally to center the knowledge and experiences of Indigenous communities. In November, 2024 she led a successful workshop at the Institute of Behavioral Science, co-sponsored by the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies on Conservation and Relational Ecologies (CARE): Advancing Indigenous-Led Models of Conservation. In addition to scholars from across CU-Boulder, the workshop brought in scholars and activists from Canada, Tanzania, Kenya, and across the US to discuss the challenges of mainstream conservation and to begin the work of building global network of research and action that would center Indigenous approaches to Conservation.

As part of this process, in early November Professor Goldman traveled to Cali, Columbia to participate as an official observer in the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 16). Professor Goldman is also co-editing a special topic on “Conservation Dialogues,” for the journal Frontiers: Human Dynamics which also includes a co-authored piece titled, Decolonizing Conservation, A Global Conversation: Views from Turtle Island, Tanzania, and Thailand.

Professor Goldman is currently preparing for her sabbatical, where she will be based in Portugal, building collaborations with natural and social scientists at the University of Lisbon. She will be working on expanding her existing network of scholars and activists to those working on similar issues in former Portuguese colonies (Mozambique in East Africa and Goa in Western India). She will also travel to Tanzania where she is collaborating with the local organization, Ujamaa Committee Resource Team on how to scale up the work they are doing on Indigenous Lead Conservation in East Africa.

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Climate, Conflict, and Community: Professor O’Loughlin Leads NSF-Funded Study in Kenya

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 17:32:01 +0000

Climate, Conflict, and Community: Professor O’Loughlin Leads NSF-Funded Study in Kenya Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 11:32

Kenya: Sample counties and livelihood zones.

John O’Loughlin, College Professor of Distinction in Geography and Fellow, Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS), received a National Science Foundation grant in August 2024 for a study of climate change, food insecurity, and conflict/cooperation in Kenya with a special emphasis on the role of local formal and informal institutions in mitigating or exacerbating conflicts. Co-principal investigators are Terry McCabe of IBS and Andrew Linke, associate professor of Geography at the University of Utah who received his PhD in the department in 2014. This large-scale study of rural livelihoods (over 3000 households in 11 counties) with emphasis on the effects of seasonal changes in the weather on food supplies examines the role of local institutions in mediating these effects. (see the following map – the sample counties with their main ecological features)

Supported by weather and environmental change data collected at a local scale, the main data source are 5 panel waves of over a 3-year period. In February 2025, the team traveled to Nairobi to train over 70 enumerators, local team supervisors and regional coordinators on the survey instrument of over 100 questions and on the sampling protocols in the carefully selected enumeration areas. (see the photo below after training in Nairobi with the research team and the local collaborators ).

Navigating a steep slippery path to a village elders house Machakos, February 2025.

After one week of intense training, the field work began with the teams of 5 persons (4 enumerators and a supervisor) traveling to the respective counties for which they have local language and cultural skills. By the end of March, all of the data were collected and validated. The research team, including geography graduate students Sarah Posner and Priscilla Corbett, are now analyzing the first set of results.

The three principal investigators traveled with the teams to 3 counties in the first days of the field work in order to understand how the sampling protocol and surveys were implemented on the ground. By visiting numerous sample points and meeting with interviewees as well as village elders who were separately surveyed as the teams completed their work showed the extensive and careful implementation of the survey. (see the photo - John O’Loughlin and Andrew Linke navigate a slippery path in a narrow ravine on the way to a village elder in Machakos county Kenya, February 2025).

Huge thanks are due to the Kenyan collaborators and to the local authorities who are supporting the data collection. Later field work in 2025 will consist of the first phone wave in August and focus groups in November in coordination with the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi where the principal investigators hold research appointments. The team will again travel to Kenya to train and monitor this further field work.

Research team and survey teams Nairobi. February 21st, 2025.

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Greening the Ring of Fire: Climate Justice on Indonesia’s Geothermal Island

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 17:22:56 +0000

Greening the Ring of Fire: Climate Justice on Indonesia’s Geothermal Island Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 11:22

Emily Yeh, Professor of Geography

As damages from anthropogenic climate change intensify, a rapid global transition to decarbonized energy production has become increasingly urgent. To date, however, this green transition has been fraught with injustice, as already-marginalized peoples who have contributed very little to global warming bear the brunt of dispossession, perpetuating extractive relationships and further exacerbating inequality.

Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country and sixth highest annual emitter of greenhouse gases; its current energy supply continues to rely heavily on fossil fuels. The country has pledged to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the share of renewable energy including geothermal, in the power generation mix. Indonesia has the largest share of the world’s known geothermal reserves, but its installed capacity (second behind the United States) is only about 7% of its potential. In its quest to become a “geothermal superpower” the government declared the island of Flores a “Geothermal Island” in 2017. Populated by indigenous peoples, Flores has high levels of poverty and low rates of household and industrial electricity consumption. However, implementation of geothermal has been very slow because of community resistance due to concerns about land dispossession, pollution, induced seismicity, loss of livelihoods, and risks of lethal accidents. Indigenous peoples have resisted by refusing to sell their communal land and insisting on their rights to indigenous territory based on their own cosmologies and lived spatial relationships. State, corporate, and military actors have responded with violence, including kidnappings, detentions and beatings of protests.

Along with Geography alumnus Shae Frydenlund (PhD 2020; Assistant Teaching Professor, CU Boulder Center for Asian Studies) and two colleagues from Flores, I am working on a project to understand the political economy of geothermal development, how indigenous resistance is mobilized through indigenous cosmologies and spatialities; and how geothermal development intersects with struggles over property rights to communal land. The goal of our project, which spans four geothermal sites across Flores, is to better understand the possibilities of forging more just pathways toward a green transition.

Photo 1: "We reject geothermal in Poco Leok"

Photo 2: Farmland in Mataloko ruined by a failed attempt at geothermal drilling, a site which communities now consider a cautionary tale for new geothermal development

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Newsletter

Sara Fleming: New Course Engages Students in CU Boulder's Climate Action Plan

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Millie Spencer Studying Glacier Retreat in Chile

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Geography Professor Abdalati Visits Capitol Hill

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Geography Professor Peter Blanken Publishes New Book: Essentials of Water (Water in the Earth's Physical and Biological Environments)

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Blanken and Team Measure Reservoir Evaporation

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Noah Molotch: Modeling from Mountain Hydrology Group Provides Weekly Snow-Water Equivalent Estimates for the Entire Western US

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Exploring the Frontier of Geospatial AI: The GeoHAI Lab at CU Boulder

A Lab Built on Collaboration and Innovation

Projects at the Intersection of Science and Society

Students and Postdocs: Driving the Lab’s Success

Building a Sustainable and More Equitable Future

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Mara Goldman Leads Interdisciplinary Research and Collaborations on Conservation and Indigenous Peoples

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Climate, Conflict, and Community: Professor O’Loughlin Leads NSF-Funded Study in Kenya

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Greening the Ring of Fire: Climate Justice on Indonesia’s Geothermal Island

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