|
AWAE Program Headquarters Boise, ID 83702 (208) 373-4340
(970) 295-5923 |
|
|
|
|
|
Rocky Mountain Research Station Home > Science Program Areas > Air, Water and Aquatics
about AWAE The RMRS Air, Water, and Aquatic Environments (AWAE) Science Program is committed to
the development of knowledge and science applications related to air and water
quality, as well as the habitat quality, distribution, diversity, and
persistence of fish and other aquatic species.
Mission Statement: To develop and apply scientific
knowledge to support management, conservation, and
restoration of terrestrial, riparian and aquatic ecosystems while optimizing air
and water quality and delivery in the Interior West. More about AWAE |
|
||
|
|
|||
 |
Upper Verde River: Review of Stream-Riparian Monitoring Efforts Conducted by the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station
A review of RMRS research and monitoring efforts on the Upper Verde River, Arizona |
||
|
|
|||
 |
AWAE Scientists are leaders in integrating research in fisheries, geomorphology, hydrology, plant physiology and soil science.
Research includes Fluvial Geomorphology and Watershed Processes, Stream-Riparian Environmental Research, Watershed Hydrology in Natural, Disturbed, and Managed Systems, Soil Erosion and Fuels Management, Forest Roads and Erosion, Ecophysiology of Forest Ecosystems, Aquatic Ecology, ESA Fish, Hydrology and Erosion, Engineering Geomorphology and Landslides, Atmospheric Deposition and Natural Ecosystems, Semi-Arid Watersheds, Watershed Biogeochemical Research, Processes that Affect Fish Distributions, Fire and Erosion, Sediment Transport Processes, Native Fish, Sampling, and Conservation Biology. |
||
|
|
|||
 |
Research Field Unit Locations located throughout the interior west each contribute to the AWAE science program research. Albuquerque Lab, Boise Lab, Flagstaff Lab, Fort Collins Lab, Missoula Lab, Moscow Lab All Research Field Unit Locations including experimental forests
|
||
|
|
|||
 |
While some are listed below under "featured science", a more complete list of AWAE program research projects, themes, science and special projects can be found here: AWAE Program Research Projects
This information is being continually updated. If you can't find a Briefing Paper or Focus Paper that you are looking for, please contact us. |
||
|
featured Science |
|||
 |
Stream Temperature Modeling Designed to assist users to better organize and understand their temperature data as it pertains to broad-scale aquatic habitat issues, the stream temperature modeling website contains information on collecting, processing, and archiving stream temperature data. Application of these data are highlighted in three research projects that provide a range of modeling alternatives and predictive accuracy. Each project has links to: primary publications; detailed methods and metadata; GIS layers; project data; maps; and other related materials. These sites provide more information than is traditionally available in a journal article so that the modeling approaches and results may easily be replicated. |
||
|
|
|||
 |
Clean Water - Insect Outbreaks and Watersheds
Mountain pine bark beetle outbreaks are causing rapid, unprecedented change in the headwater forests of Western North America. Infestation and mortality currently threaten more than 80% of the basal area of many lodgepole pine dominated stands across the West. In Colorado, bark beetle mortality now exceeds 1.5 million acres and the outbreak is projected to ravage 85 to 90% of the mature lodgepole ecosystems in Colorado and Wyoming within the next five years. The consequences of this extensive canopy disturbance and subsequent management activities will characterize western watersheds and forest landscapes for decades to come.
|
||
|
|
|||
 |
Air Quality in Mountain Ecosystems - Ozone The monitoring of ozone in remote ecosystems is problematic, since continuous ozone monitors need electric power to operate. Two solutions to this problem exist. The first is to use passive samplers to estimate ozone loading. Passive samplers utilize a chemical reaction of ozone with nitrite to form nitrate. The amount of nitrate indicates the amount of ozone loading. Nitrite-coated filters are exposed for 1-2 weeks and then analyzed for nitrate. The second method is to use portable battery powered ozone monitors for continuous monitoring of ozone in remote ecosystems. |
||
|
|
|||
 |
Detecting Mobile Boreal Toads
Boreal Toad populations are declining and are difficult to observe. Factors such as understanding their ecology and developing monitoring tools are critical. |
||
|
|
|||
 |
Remotely Assessing and Monitoring Channel Physical Habitat NASA’s Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) was used to continuously map three-dimensional channel and floodplain topography, in streams that provide spawning habitat of a federal listed (threatened) population of Chinook salmon. Data were acquired over 200 km of streams in low-flow conditions with high water clarity in October, 2004, in Idaho’s Bear Valley Creek, a tributary stream in the upper Middle Fork Salmon River drainage. |
||
|
|
|||
 |
Nonnative Fish Removal Nonnative brook trout have invaded and replaced native cutthroat trout in many Rocky Mountain streams. Methods to remove brook trout, such as chemical treatment and intensive electrofishing, are expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes controversial. An alternative technique used in control of unwanted insects, pheromone lures and traps, may be applicable to fish. |
||
|
|
|||
 |
GRAIP- Quantifying and Prioritizing Road Impacts Forest roads are the principle source of anthropogenic fine sediment entering streams on Forest Service lands. How do we efficiently locate, quantify and prioritize these sediment sources for remediation? |
||
|
|
|||
Rocky Mountain Research Station
- Air, Water and Aquatic Environments Sciences Program
Last Modified:
Friday, 10 April 2009 at 13:11:39 EDT