nwt.lternet.eduNiwot Ridge LTER

Research Publications Data CommunityDonate Back Research Overview Info for Researchers ReportsProposals Back Data catalog Featured datasets Other Niwot datasets Back NewsEvents K - 12 Programs Undergraduate programs Graduate programs Diversity, equity, and inclusion Back Explore the Ridge Our Team Contact Us Research Research Overview Info for Researchers ReportsProposals Publications Data Data catalog Featured datasets Other Niwot datasets Community NewsEvents K - 12 Programs Undergraduate programs Graduate programs Diversity, equity, and inclusionExplore the Ridge Our Team Contact Us Donate Scroll Studying local mountains to understand our global future At the Niwot Ridge Long-term Ecological Research Program (NWT LTER), we study the air, snow, water, soil, microbes, lakes, trees, flowers, and animals in the high mountains of the Colorado Rockies. We measure, experiment and model how all these pieces fit together and have affected the health of our mountains over the last 40 years. Our mission is to better understand how our complex mountain systems are changing and better predict the future of the many critical services these systems provide to all of us living downhill — in Boulder, in Colorado, and beyond. Explore the ridgeNWT LTER is committed to providing a safe, productive, and welcoming environment for all researchers, students, and staff, and opposes racism in all forms. Please find our current code of conduct under ‘guidelines for researchers’. We know that we need to do more and pledge to double our efforts to build a more inclusive community across all our scientific and educational endeavors. We encourage those on the LTER team interested in being part of these efforts to join our diversity and inclusion working group (#diversity_inclusion on NWT slack). Together, we will improve our recruitment, mentoring, and support of minority researchers, confront individual and structural racism, and create opportunity for all. ”We study the wondrous forest, treeline, tundra, and lakes in the high-elevation mountains of Boulder County. We believe that the more we understand how and why these systems are changing the more we can help conserve and manage alpine habitats into the future. Learn more Our research We are passionate about long-term studies and team science that integrates across disciplines. Our core research sites are within the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forest and City of Boulder Watershed. Discover what we’re learning about the ecosystems at Niwot Ridge and what it means for the future. Learn more Niwot Ridge is 1 of 28 US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network sites, funded by the National Science Foundation. Recent News News May 10, 2024 Welcome Kelsey to the Team! May 10, 2024 May 10, 2024 Apr 16, 2024 NWT LTER Hosts a BioBlitz at Crest View Elementary School Apr 16, 2024 Apr 16, 2024 Mar 16, 2024 Data-Art Project at CU Science Discovery's STEAMFest Mar 16, 2024 Mar 16, 2024 Mar 13, 2024 Niwot Ridge Project coordinator position Mar 13, 2024 Mar 13, 2024 Mar 13, 2024 Summer 2024 Field Technician Jobs Mar 13, 2024 Mar 13, 2024 Dec 5, 2023 CU’s First Inaugural Reverse Science Fair at Northglenn High School Dec 5, 2023 Dec 5, 2023 Aug 3, 2023 Welcome Ben to the Team! Aug 3, 2023 Aug 3, 2023 Jul 28, 2023 Welcome Matt to the Team! Jul 28, 2023 Jul 28, 2023 Jul 28, 2023 Welcome George to the Team! Jul 28, 2023 Jul 28, 2023 Upcoming events Featured Jun 6, 2024 – Jun 7, 2024 8:00 AM 08:00 8:00 AM Wilderness First Aid Course June 6th7th Jun 6, 2024 – Jun 7, 2024 8:00 AM 08:00 8:00 AM Jun 6, 2024 – Jun 7, 2024 8:00 AM 08:00 8:00 AM Project highlights Tracing land-air exchange of carbon Air samples taken since the 1960s on Niwot Ridge — the longest record in the continental US — show steadily increases in CO2. While most land areas act as a carbon sink, with plant growth taking in CO2 from the atmosphere, our measures of exchanges of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy show that the tundra is acting as a carbon source, putting carbon into the atmosphere. Why? CO2 release in the winter, with microbes are metabolizing old carbon, outweighs the plant uptake. We suspect some of the old carbon being released is from thawing permafrost! Signs of stress in the American Pika We use pika, an adorable, rabbit-like mammal , to track the health of Niwot Ridge. Pika need cold temperatures to survive, and their decreasing numbers are a troubling sign that the mountains’ health is declining too. We gather information on snow and subsurface temperatures, as well as pika population numbers and their stress hormones, to understand just what pika are telling us about our mountains. The pikas on Niwot Ridge have a small tag on their ear so we can follow how each one is doing, even one named Grumpy, an old timer on the ridge. A birds-eye view of snow melt Snow is melting out earlier and our high-mountain summer is getting longer. But did you know that there are some places where snow blows away and other places where snow builds up to form meter deep drifts? We fly drones to follow how all this variation in snow impacts the supply and movement of melt water to vegetation and streams. We use special cameras that indicate temperature as well as vegetation activity, providing an unprecedented high resolution snapshot of dynamic ecohydrologic processes and the snowmelt changes occurring in the Colorado Rockies. Canary in the coal mine For more that 35 years we have tracked changes in the 20-acre Arikaree Glacier and in a chain of high-elevation lakes throughout the Green Lakes Valley. We find the the Arikaree Glacier has been thinning by about 1 meter per year for the last 15 years, and that it could disappear in 20 years if current climate trends continue. Our lakes are also staying frozen for shorter and shorter periods each year. Our temperature measures — since the 1950s — suggest that these changes way up near the Continental Divide may be some early warming signs associated with summer and fall warming. Get social with us! RT @ USLTER : Several LTER sites are colocated with NEON sites, leading to powerful collaboration. An awesome new post on the… https://t.co/EmK0h5AwUA Jul 7, 2022, 12:27 PM https://t.co/k8z4JEIpNx Jun 30, 2022, 2:43 PM Niwot at a glance Jack-of-all-habitats Within Niwot, you’ll find all of the alpine and montane ecosystems available in the southern Rocky Mountains, including alpine tundra, subalpine coniferous forests, cirque glaciers and glacial landforms, lakes and moraines, cirques, talus slopes, patterned ground, and permafrost. Home-base collaborators The is part of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and is based at the University of Colorado at Boulder . History of the Site Research began at Niwot in the 1940s with the arrival of John Marr, a plant ecologist and World War II veteran, with extensive experience working in cold-weather regions. Thanks to ecological pioneers such as John Marr, Dwight Billings, Hal Mooney, and Bettie Willard, we can trace our understanding of the alpine tundra ecosystem back decades. We maintain the longest continuous record of atmospheric conditions in the continental US and the highest elevation climate station in the US. Niwot Ridge is one of the original six NSF-funded long-term ecological research sites, and the only LTER site in Colorado. 3798 meters Height of the Arikaree Glacier (12,460 feet!) 40 Percent of the City of Boulder’s water comes from the Green Lakes Valley 1980 Year the was established 80 Percent of precipitation at NWT that falls as snow Featured habitat MONTANE (7,200-8,600 FEET) Many different animals and plants can thrive because the environment has lots of variety — lodgepole pines on the dry slopes to stands of spruce and fir on wetter slopes, while water-loving hardwood trees hug the riverbanks. This spread of habitats and more moderate climate means the ecosystem hosts songbirds,...