Aspen Global Change Institute

Our MIssion

The Aspen Global Change Institute is an independent nonprofit dedicated to furthering scientific understanding of Earth systems and global environmental change. Our work includes interdisciplinary research, education and outreach, and collaboration with resource managers and policy-makers. Together we strive to facilitate scientific discussion for the betterment of society and natural systems, while promoting practical solutions to the challenges of today's changing Earth systems.

Global changes have local impacts, and the changes we make locally can have ripple effects across the globe. Here, you can easily download locally relevant data sets, or join AGCI in exploring trends in the Roaring Fork Valley, Colorado over time. These patterns and projections illuminate our connection to local ecosystems and human activities across the world.

The Maroon Bells, Colorado still retain a light dusting of snow above the green vegetation at lower elevations. As climate patterns change, the amount of snow in the Roaring Fork Valley and how late into summer it lasts may also change. Credit: Emily Jack-Scott

A stereograph of Elk Lake and Snowmass Mountain in Colorado (displaying the same image side by side) shows the Roaring Fork Valley during the time before removal of the Ute people. Politics, as well as economics or ecology, can shape a landscape. Credit: William H. Jackson, Hayden Survey 1873.

A visitor looks out from the Penny Hot Springs, near Carbondale, Colorado. Tourism drives much of the Roaring Fork Valley's economy, but tourism also can impact the ecosystems that support it. Credit: E. Osenga 2012

A stereograph (showing the same image side by side) of Snowmass Mountain shows a scene from Roaring Fork Valley more than half a century before the development of ski trails. Credit: William H. Jackson, Hayden Survey 1873

The Roaring Fork Observation Network Stations

In addition to links to data collected by other entities, the iRON hosts data collections from AGCI's own soil moisture network. Live data is data gathered from AGCI's soil and climate monitoring stations.