Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)/NWTablamean.nc: Snowpack ablation: Mean data

[For a more detailed metadata record, see:
"http://culter.colorado.edu:1030/exec/.extracttoolA?ablamean.nc"]

Lowering of the snowpack surface by ablation (melt) was estimated on a
biweekly to weekly basis in the Green Lakes Valley during the summer
months. Poles were driven into the snowpack to form transects in
several snow-accumulation areas (east face of Arikaree Peak, talus on
the north side of Kiowa Peak, rock glacier/wetland between Green Lakes
4 & 5, Arikaree Glacier, Green Lakes 4 & 5, and the Martinelli
basin). The height difference (cm) between the snow surface and the
top of each pole was recorded. On the subsequent visit the new height
difference was recorded and the pole was driven into the snow and the
reset height was recorded. Poles in a given transect were relocated as
necessary during the course of the season.

The Niwot Ridge LTER site (40deg.3'N. 105deg.36'W.) is located
approximately 35 km west of Boulder, Colorado, with the entire study
site lying above 3000 m elevation. There is a cirque glacier (Arikaree
Glacier [~90K photo and caption]), extensive alpine tundra, a variety
of glacial landforms, glacial lakes and moraines, cirques and talus
slopes, patterned ground, and permafrost. The research area is bounded
on the west by the Continental Divide, with runoff on the two sides
being destined for the Colorado and Mississippi Rivers.

Information about the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program can
be obtained from:

LTER Network Office
College of Forest Resources AR-10
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
"http://lternet.edu"

or

National Science Foundation
Division of Environmental Biology
Long-Term Projects in Environmental Biology
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Information about LTER is also available on-line on most gopher
servers and is also available on the World Wide Web (WWW) at
"http://lternet.edu/"