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GLEES (Glacier Lake Ecosystem Experiments Site)
The Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site
(GLEES) is a 600-ha, wilderness-like site located
in complex terrain at 3,200 to 3,500 m elevation.
Research at Glacier Lakes is conducted to
determine the effects of atmospheric deposition
and climate variability and change on alpine and
subalpine aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems at the
upper treeline ecotone. Long-term physical,
chemical, and biological monitoring is an
important component of the activities at Glacier
Lakes. The site is located in the Snowy Range of
the Medicine Bow Mountains in the Laramie
Ranger District on the Medicine Bow National
Forest.
Glacier Lakes contains small, alpine/subalpine watersheds
that include persistent snowfields, first- and second-order
streams, wetlands, and glacial cirque lakes. Two adjacent
alpine lakes are of similar surface area and depth but
differ in watershed area, inflow patterns, turnover rates,
snowcover, water chemistry, and aquatic biota. These
lakes are ice covered 7 to 8 months each year and have
low acid-neutralizing capacity.
Climate
Glacier Lakes has a harsh environment with high winds
and low air temperatures. The site is snow covered from
November to July. Average air temperature is -1 °C,
average windspeeds range from 6 to 9 m/sec, and gusts
greater than 20 m/sec are common.
Soils
Glacier Lakes developed from recent glaciation, with
glacial cirque basins dominating the upper reaches of the
three main catchments. A permanent snowfield exists at
the top of one of the basins. Bedrock at the site is
primarily Medicine Bow Peak quartzite. Soils are minimally
developed, formed over quartzite bedrock that is crossed
by weatherable mafic intrusions of amphibolite. Glacial till
is present in the lower elevation areas of the watershed.
Geological features include exposed bedrock, talus slopes
and shallow, immature soils with low base saturation.
Vegetation
Alpine and subalpine vegetation are dominant, with 304
vascular plant species in 14 distinct forest, meadow,
shrub, and krummholz plant associations. Trees older
than 700 years are found within Glacier Lakes. Almost
200 phytoplankton species have been identified at the
site.
Long-Term Data Bases
Glacier Lakes maintains an extensive collection of
meteorological, hydrological, water chemistry, snow
chemistry, wet and dry deposition, geological, soils, snow
cover, aquatic, floristic, and topographic information.
Two monitoring sites within Glacier Lakes have been
established for meteorologic and air-quality monitoring.
The site includes a network of terrestrial field plots,
hydrologic sites, and permanent vegetation and aquatic
sampling plots. A herbarium collection of vascular plant
species is available for researchers, with a duplicate set
archived at the University of Wyoming Herbarium.
Checklists of terrestrial vascular plant species,
phytoplankton, periphyton, zooplankton, and
macroinvertebrates have been assembled.
Sites for four national long-term monitoring networks
are in operation with data available through national
websites: Clean Air Status and Trends Network,
Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual
Environments, National Atmospheric Deposition
Program, and AmeriFlux.
Research, Past and Present
Research programs on the following topics are under way
at Glacier Lakes:
-
Seedling germination and survival at the alpinesubalpine
ecotone. Plots have been established to
examine the relationship between patterns of
seedling survival establishment and biotic and
abiotic factors at multiple scales (10 to - 25 m)
under natural conditions.
-
Nitrogen deposition. In small wet and dry
subalpine meadow plots, nitrogen deposition has
been experimentally increased, and changes in
soil respiration, nitrogen processing, and
aboveground species composition and
abundance are being monitored.
-
Riparian hydrology. Little is known about the
movement of pollutants, such as nitrates, within
the hydrologic systems of alpine
environments. A stream reach that drains a
glacial cirque basin was studied to determine
nitrogen retention of atmospheric inputs during
the water year. The near-stream spatial and
temporal gradients of nitrates in the soil solute
were the focus of this study.
-
Dynamics of disturbance on subalpine forests.
Plots have been established to identify
disturbance events, including diseases, and to
quantify their relationship to the formation of
gaps in the forest canopy of the subalpine forest
within Glacier Lakes and at the nearby Snowy
Range Research Natural Area.
-
Dendrochronology in the subalpine forest.
Research is developing tree-ring width
chronologies to document maximum age
structures in the subalpine forest stands in and
near Glacier Lakes. The age of forest stands at
the site has been determined.
-
Exchange of trace gases between the atmosphere
and the Earth's surface. Eddy covariance
technology is being used to study the exchange
of trace gases such as carbon dioxide and
pollutants such as ozone. The AmeriFlux site at
Glacier Lakes has been continuously collecting
data since November 1999. In addition, the
influence of wind atmospheric ventilation on the
exchange of trace gases from snowpacks and soils
is being studied.
Major Research Accomplishments
and Effects on Management
Glacier Lakes is used for developing and testing
techniques for monitoring of air-quality-related values
(AQRV) in wilderness-type ecosystems. It is a research
site for the evaluation of new questions on air pollution
effects on natural ecosystems identified from the Federal
Land Managers AQRV Workgroup Phase I Report.
Research conducted at Glacier Lakes first identified
significant levels of carbon dioxide released under the
snow in the winter. Research has also documented fluxes
of nitrogen dioxide and methane from alpine and
subalpine ecosystems. A strategy to estimate the
sensitivity of alpine plant species to atmospheric
deposition was developed at Glacier Lakes and a Longterm
Ecological Research site in the Colorado Front
Range. This approach utilizes plant physiological and
morphological characteristics to estimate pollutant
uptake in a process that could be used quickly and easily
in the field.
A model was developed to estimate snowmelt in complex
terrain without extensive field surveys. The method uses
aerial photography and has been field-verified at Glacier
Lakes. Methods and protocols for water-quality sampling
in high-elevation environments were developed and
tested at the site. These protocols are now used by
national forests in long-term monitoring programs to
determine the effects of atmospheric deposition on highelevation
aquatic ecosystems. They are also being used to
determine the effects of ecosystem disturbance on water
quality.
A portable monitoring system was developed at Glacier
Lakes to monitor the effects of snowmobiles and
wildfires on air quality in natural ecosystems. The system
has been deployed in Wyoming and California.
Collaborators
Researchers working at Glacier Lakes have come from
Colorado State University, University of Wyoming, and
Wake Forest University, as well as the USDA National
Resource Conservation Service, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, and the USDI's Bureau of Land
Management and Geological Survey.
Research Opportunities
Researchers are invited to explore opportunities to
conduct research on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems at
GLEES by contacting the site administrator.
Facilities
Glacier Lakes is accessible year round, with winter travel
by snow machine. Laboratory, storage, lodging, and
kitchen facilities are available for researchers in
Centennial, Wyoming, about 10 km from Glacier Lakes.
Information on the site is summarized in a 1994 USDA
Forest Service publication: GTR-RM-249, The Glacier
Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site.
Lat. 41°22'30" N, long. 106°15'30" W
Contact Information
Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site
US Forest Service
Rocky Mountain Research Station
240 West Prospect Street
Fort Collins, CO 80526
Tel: (970) 498-1239
Forest website
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