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Snow melts faster under trees than in open areas in mild climates

By Guest PostNovember 24, 2013Environmentbrian henn, california, cascade mountains, cedar river, city of seattle, diverse animal habitat, ibutton, james lutz, jessica lundquist, maritime forests, mediterranean climates, mild climates, municipal watershed, nicoleta cristea, open areas, phenomenon, researcher, rolf gersonde, sierra nevada range, sites to monitor, snow melting, snowmelt behavior, susan dickerson lange, tree canopy, under trees, university of washington, utah state university

It’s a foggy fall morning, and University of Washington researcher Susan Dickerson-Lange pokes her index finger into the damp soil beneath a canopy of second-growth conifers. The tree cover is dense here, and little light seeps in among the understory of the Cedar River Municipal Watershed about 30 miles east of Seattle.

She digs a small hole in the leaf-litter soil, then pushes a thumb-sized device, called an iButton, about an inch beneath the surface. If all goes well, this tiny, battery-powered instrument will collect a temperature reading every hour for 11 months. Researchers hope this tool and a handful of other instruments will help them map winter temperatures throughout the watershed as they track snow accumulation and melt. (more…)

Mending the Minnesota

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2013Environmentbasin, behavior, catastrophic flood, clean water, climate change, data, earth surface dynamics, ecology, efi foufoula georgiou, evolution, glacial deposits, jacques finlay, mending the minnesota, minnesota river, riverine systems, surface water runoff, thresholds, university of minnesota, utah state university, watershed, wsc

A study of its basin paves the way for cleaner water everywhere

The Minnesota River’s usually placid surface belies its status as a river —and a watershed—in need of help.

The river is naturally prone to heavy sediment loads. It runs through rich glacial deposits, in a channel carved by a catastrophic flood at the end of the last ice age, when a large lake formed by glacial meltwater gave way. (more…)

Over the Hump: Ecologists Use Power of Network Science to Challenge Long-Held Theory

By Guest PostSeptember 26, 2011Nature, Sciencealpine tundra, british ecologist, bugle lily, ecologists, effects of environmental change on biodiversity, elizabeth borer, emperor new clothes, global sampling, grime unimodal pattern, habitats, henry gholz, hump shaped model, j philip grime, mt gilboa, national science foundation, peter adler, plant and animal species, productivity of the habitat, scientist, South Africa, utah state university

*Global sampling of 48 sites on five continents yields unprecedented data set*

For decades, ecologists have toiled to nail down principles explaining why some habitats have many more plant and animal species than others.

Much of this debate is focused on the idea that the number of species is determined by the productivity of the habitat.

Shouldn’t a patch of prairie contain a different number of species than an arid steppe or an alpine tundra? (more…)

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Snow melts faster under trees than in open areas in mild climates

Mending the Minnesota

Over the Hump: Ecologists Use Power of Network Science to Challenge Long-Held Theory