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Sierra |
Contact Information
Daniel R. Dawson
VESR, Route 1, Box 198
1016 Mt. Morrison Road
Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546
Phone: 760-935-4334
dawson@icess.ucsb.edu |
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Location
Mono County, on eastern slope of Sierra
Nevada; 8 mi east of Mammoth
Lakes just off U.S. Highway 395.
Map Quest |
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Facilities
Experimental stream complex; six wet labs,
two controlled-environment rooms,
chemistry lab, radioisotope lab, 10 offices,
library/meeting room; dormitory for 25, four
houses w/ room for 15; classroom annex;
database center w/ extensive computer
facilities; storage for long-term researchers’
equipment; Mammoth Mountain Snow
Science Lab located nearby. |
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Databases
Long-term flow/temp records for Convict
Creek; climate data; maps; bibliography of
on-site research; synoptic collections; aerial
photos; regional geographic information
system (GIS). |
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Personnel
On-site staff reserve manager, stewards,
database manager, environmental monitoring
specialist, education coordinator. |
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Size
22 ha (55 acres) |
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Elevation
1,250 to 4,012 m (4,100 to 13,163 ft) |
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Average Precipitation
25 to 38 cm (10 to 15 in)/yr, most as snow |
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Average Temperature
Summer: 0° to 29°C (32° to 84°F)
Winter: -23° to 11°C (-10° to 52°F) |
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Grants through SNARL |
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 Transect
Articles
specific
to SNARL |
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 Mathias
Grant Research
specific
to SNARL |
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Site Spec Sheet (PDF) |
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<••• •••> |
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Nevada Aquatic Research
Laboratory (SNARL)
A component of the
Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve |
Established in 1973 |
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| SNARL Website |
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 With a fully equipped modern laboratory and computing facilities, the Sierra
Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL) serves as a major center for
research for the eastern Sierra Nevada and Owens Valley. The site features a humanmade
experimental stream system, consisting of nine meandering channels used for
research on stream hydrology and ecology. Convict Creek flows year-round
through SNARL, feeding the experimental system and providing a natural stream
environment protected from grazing and other human impacts. Non-aquatic
research is also supported and encouraged on the reserve’s pristine habitats, which
include Great Basin shrubland and grassland, high desert riparian woodland, and
riparian meadow. Another nearby NRS site, Valentine Camp, joins with SNARL
to comprise the Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve (VESR). |
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Geologic monitoring
U.S. Geological
Survey-funded scientists monitor seismic
activity in the Long Valley Caldera
and carbon dioxide emissions around
Mammoth Mountain.
Public outreach
Environmental education
programs for local elementary
school students; K-12 summer school;
public tours; short courses.
Regional field station
SNARL attracts
users from all UC campuses, many outof-
state colleges/universities, federal laboratories
and research programs; reserve
manager consults on regional resource
management issues.
Field courses
University courses using
site include botany, geology, environmental
studies, snow science, and White
Mountains Research Supercourse.
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Selected Research
• Ecology of Mono Lake: UC research
since 1976 on Mono Lake influenced a
1994 decision of the State Water Resources
Control Board to raise the lake
level, helping to restore its ecosystem;
ongoing projects there include physicallimnology
modeling and monitoring of
brine shrimp and alkali fly populations.
• Sierran snowpack: SNARL scientists
operate a snow laboratory on Mammoth
Mountain; the National Science
Foundation and NASA Earth Observing
System Project fund ongoing studies
of snowpack properties and snowmelt
runoff.
• Aquatic biology: Ongoing studies examine
impacts of livestock grazing on
stream ecology and effects of nonnative
trout on Sierra Nevada lake ecosystems.
Special Research of National Significance
• Microbial Observatory: Mono Lake,
Collaborative Research: Microbial Observatory at an Alkaline,
Hypersaline, Meromictic Lake(Mono Lake, California) /Ecology of
Viruses in an Alkaline, Hypersaline Lake, Mono Lake, California (detailed description...) |
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