UnDisciplined: How does carbon behave at different elevations and in different biomes?

By Matthew LaPlante

Published October 3, 2024 at 7:26 PM MDT

New Mexico Elevation Gradient Project project map with biomes — Teens and guides from Aspiro hike across the desert in Southern Utah in 2008 during an adventure therapy program for troubled teens. Aspiro announced last April it was closing due to “recessionary and economic factors." It was the first of four Utah wilderness therapy programs to close in the last year.

Hyper-regional climate prediction is very hard, especially in areas with extremely variable topography — like much of the American West. But Marcy Litvak says it’s vital that we try to sort out how carbon behaves in different areas of the world, and research efforts like the New Mexico Elevation Gradient Project are helping do just that.

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Matthew LaPlante

Matthew LaPlante has reported on ritual infanticide in Northern Africa, insurgent warfare in the Middle East, the legacy of genocide in Southeast Asia, and gang violence in Central America. But a few years back, something occurred to him: Maybe the news doesn't have to be so brutally depressing all the time. These days, he balances his continuing work on more heartbreaking subjects with his work on UnDisciplined — Utah Public Radio's weekly program on science and discovery.

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