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Not All Cool Pavements Are Created Equal

Berkeley Lab finds that the choice of pavement material can significantly impact carbon emissions, creates decision tool for cities to use

Cool pavements can help keep cities cool, right? Yes, but according to new research from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), many reflective pavements have some unexpected drawbacks relative to conventional pavements when considering the entire life cycle of the materials. (more…)

‘Mountain Pine Beetle Activity May Impact Snow Accumulation And Melt’

By Guest PostJune 10, 2011Environmentalbedo, atmosphere, british columbia, bryant kealey, colorado, colorado river, ecohydrology, eric small, evan pugh, gas, grand lake, gray phase, hydrologic models, jon hammond, leslie baehr, lodgepole pine trees, meltwater, mountain pine beetles, pyranometers, river basins, rocky mountain national park, salt lake city, ski resort, snow surface albedo, snowmelt, southern wyoming, tevis blom, transmission of sunlight, university of colorado boulder

A new University of Colorado Boulder study indicates the infestation of trees by mountain pine beetles in the high country across the West could potentially trigger earlier snowmelt and increase water yields from snowpack that accumulates beneath affected trees.

Led by CU-Boulder geological sciences department doctoral student Evan Pugh, the study was undertaken near Grand Lake, Colo., adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park, an area that has been devastated by mountain pine beetle attacks in recent years. Mountain pine beetles have killed more than 4 million acres of lodgepole pine trees in Colorado and southern Wyoming since 1996, the most severe outbreak on record. (more…)

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Not All Cool Pavements Are Created Equal

‘Mountain Pine Beetle Activity May Impact Snow Accumulation And Melt’