INSTAAR's traditional research focus has been on polar and alpine regions, where effects of global change are especially pronounced. In recent decades, research has broadened to include environmental challenges that span local, regional, and global scales and environments around the globe. Topics include
Quaternary and modern environments, human and
ecosystem ecology,
biogeochemistry, landscape evolution,
hydrology,
oceanography, and climate. Field sites are located across all seven continents and the world's oceans. Several research programs are conducted through INSTAAR, including the
Niwot Ridge and McMurdo Dry Valleys sites of the
Long Term Ecological Research Network and the Boulder Creek site of the
Critical Zone Observatory. INSTAAR operates the Mountain Research Station, a field research facility near Niwot, Colorado. The institute publishes
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, a peer-reviewed journal. It hosts the International Arctic Workshop in alternate years. ==History==