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Boulder Creek CZO

Research Topics

Geomorphology

Geomorphology is the study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Geomorphologists use several types of models to evaluate spatial patterns of the earth...

Geophysics

Geophysical surveys allow us to study the structure of the critical zone over large areas without disrupting the soil profile. These surveys provide context for the biological, geochemical and hydrological functions driving weathering and transport within the catchments...

Meteorology

Under Construction

Cosmic Rays

Cosmic rays impact the surface of the earth with sufficient energy to split atoms. Some of the newly created atoms are only made in this way – these are cosmogenic nuclides...

Hydrology

Discharge, or the volumetric flow rate of water, is commonly estimated in rivers and streams from the measured water-surface elevation (stage) using an empirical fit to measurements of stage and concurrent discharge...

Stream Chemistry

Streams serve as integrators of the landscape and by measuring various constituents within the water we are able to assess watershedfunctions (e.g. nutrient availability).  In addition, sampling streams provides us information about the stream ecosystem and how it functions (e.g. dissolved organic material quality and quantity and planktonic community composition)...

Glaciers

About 20,000 years ago, in the last glacial maximum, or LGM, the glaciers in the Colorado Front Range extended much farther downstream of their present-day position (see figure left)...

Every 24 hours, a time-lapse camera above Green Lake 4 captures an image of Green Lakes Valley in the direction of the continental divide...

Soil & Weathering

Soil grows downward over time as parent material (bedrock or sediment) weathers and mixes with organic material and dust from the ground surface.   In time, soil layers (“horizons”) develop parallel to the surface. 

GIS & Remote Sensing

GIS (Geographic Information System) is a system of hardware and software used for storage, retrieval, mapping and analysis of spatial data...

Remote sensing (RS) is a way to gather information about Earth from a distance by using special instruments mounted on airplanes, satellites...