Research Projects
Assessment of Late Holocene and 21st Century Climate in Great Basin National Park, Nevada
Photo Credit: Nathan Patrick
Funding: Western National Parks Association, National Science Foundation and Department of Geography, OSU
Dates: 2005-present
The ongoing GBNP project aims to assess climate on a variety of different time scales and across environmental disciplines. Sediment cores retrieved from alpine lakes provide an indicator of aquatic health and the corresponding climate for at least the last 2000 years. The midge communities in the lakes underwent little compositional change through much of the 20th century; however, after 1980 a rapid lake-specific faunal turnover was observed. To understand present climate and allow for projections for the future, hydroclimatic and surface observations are being maintained. Contaminants and heavy metals are measured in water samples collected annually from the park’s springs, streams and lakes. An embedded sensor network of over 30 instruments measures hourly air temperatures and humidity values. Complementing the embedded sensor network are water temperature measurements at several locations. Together, they provide local snapshots of the diurnal and seasonal cycles. As the embedded sensor network matures, the data may be used in the calibration of models applied to future climate and aquatic projections. An equally important benefit of the GBNP project is the continued training of undergraduate and graduate students in field methods.
Dates: 2005-present
The ongoing GBNP project aims to assess climate on a variety of different time scales and across environmental disciplines. Sediment cores retrieved from alpine lakes provide an indicator of aquatic health and the corresponding climate for at least the last 2000 years. The midge communities in the lakes underwent little compositional change through much of the 20th century; however, after 1980 a rapid lake-specific faunal turnover was observed. To understand present climate and allow for projections for the future, hydroclimatic and surface observations are being maintained. Contaminants and heavy metals are measured in water samples collected annually from the park’s springs, streams and lakes. An embedded sensor network of over 30 instruments measures hourly air temperatures and humidity values. Complementing the embedded sensor network are water temperature measurements at several locations. Together, they provide local snapshots of the diurnal and seasonal cycles. As the embedded sensor network matures, the data may be used in the calibration of models applied to future climate and aquatic projections. An equally important benefit of the GBNP project is the continued training of undergraduate and graduate students in field methods.