Black sand pilot experiment 2017

We piloted using black sand as a method for speeding snowmelt on Niwot Ridge in the summer of 2017. In order to understand the effects of earlier snowmelt and longer growing season, we conducted a manipulative experiment where in two sites (one below Tvan and one near the bottom of the Trough), two 8 x 15 m plots received black sand in May 2017. Measurements were taken throughout the summer for albedo, soil moisture, inorganic nitrogen, snow depth, incoming and reflected radiation and nitrogen in the manipulative plots and nearby controls.