East River near Crested Butte, CO, Meander A 2016-2017

Seasonal changes in river discharge in high altitude watersheds affect patterns surface and groundwater mixing in the hyporheic zone (the region in the riverbed where these two water sources interact), which impacts how carbon compounds and dissolved metals are transported. Seasonal changes in hyporheic mixing (influenced by snowmelt and summer rain) and the associated changes in microbiology, carbon degradation, and metal release represent gaps in our understanding of ecosystem health. In this study, we examined a stream in a pristine alpine watershed, the East River, in the Upper Colorado River Basin near Crested Butte, CO, sampling 3 locations around a representative riverbed, or meander, at discrete depths throughout the year for microbiological and geochemical analyses.