MSc student Sarah Castle is investigating the biogechemical effects of (more info to come here) Sarah is seen here installing over-winter soil chemistry samplers in upper Senator Beck Basin.

 
PhD student Corey Lawrence’s dissertation goals are,  “to (1) quantify the contemporary rate of [upwind arid land] dust deposition in the San Juan Mountains, (2) determine the fate of the this material once it is deposited, and (3) estimate the importance of this dust to soil and surface water biogeochemistry.”  Corey is seen here installing a soil lysimeter to capture snowmelt water at the Senator Beck Basin Study Plot. 
 
Dr. Jason Neff (on right, holding coring tool), and his collaborator Ashley Ballantyne, were assisted by the CSAS in locating this alpine tarn near the Senator Beck Basin Study Area where they collected a very exciting core sample containing a 5,000+ year record of lake sediment deposition.

Dr. Heidi Steltzer, of the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University has added the Senator Beck Basin Study Area to her ongoing studies of plants in arctic and alpine environments.  Her she is seen in an early season snowpit at the Senator Beck Study Plot placing small samples of plant litter at the base of the snowpack for retrieval after snowmelt and explaining her research to her colleague at NREL, Sara Simonson.  CSAS is also assisting Sara in her investigations of biodiversity in avalanche terrain.

PAST PROJECTS

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