Snow-Vegetation Interactions
Forest structure has profound effects on snow accumulation and snowmelt via interception, attenuation of solar radiation, and other processes. Through an integrated observing and modeling approach, this project is investigating the impact on annual, decadal and long-term forest dynamics on snowmelt dynamics and water resources.
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Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory
The Critical Zone is the permeable near-surface layer of the Earth extending vertically from the top of the vegetation canopy to the base of groundwater. It is where organisms, rock, soil, water, and air all interact and where life is sustained. The Critical Zone provides many important services including those related to water quality and food production. Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) is one of ten CZOs established by the National Science Foundation to study how geological, physical, chemical and biological processes and their couplings govern critical zone dynamics.
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McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica Long-Term Ecological Research
The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica lie among the Transantarctic Mountains near McMurdo Sound. Together they form the largest ice-free area on the continent and are one of 26 sites in the National Science Foundation’s Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTER).
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Niwot Ridge, Colorado Long-Term Ecological Research
The Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research study area is located approximately 35 km (22 miles) west of Boulder, Colorado, among mountains in the Roosevelt National Forest. It is bounded on its west side by the Continental Divide. The study area was established in 1980 as one of the original six sites in the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network that has now grown to 26 sites.
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