Speaker
Description
This study examines sediments from Deep Creek Lake (DCL) to reconstruct the past vegetation, climate and disturbance regimes for the area. DCL is located on Thousand Lakes Mountain in southern Utah. This high-elevation lake (approximately 3,200 meters) will provide a local record of environmental change for most of the Holocene. The lake core from this site produces a 9,000-year-old record which will offer insights about the Holocene climatic optimum and how the ecosystem and its fire regime reacted to considerably increased temperatures in the past. This study will reconstruct a palaeoecological record of pollen, charcoal, stable light isotopes (15δN, 13δC) and XRF (x-ray fluorescence-elemental) data to quantify how fire disturbances impact vegetative and biogeochemical cycling patterns of the past to forecast the future. These findings will be used to guide the development of resilient land management practices that account for rising temperatures yet seek to minimize the damage and sustain the biodiversity of natural areas for generations to come.
Deep Creek Lake promises to provide an interesting record, since it has experienced volcanic activity, is currently adjacent to active rock glaciers and its’ own aspen clone. The research done at Deep Creek will contribute to the findings of the Fish Lake basin and the giant Pando aspen clone. We are interested in the regional implications of these findings and will collaborate with scientists conducting similar work within western North America. We work closely with representatives from the National Forest Service and United States Geological Survey to determine the most proactive and sustainable forestry and conservation protocols. The goal of this research study is to recognize patterns of the past to anticipate ecosystem changes in the future, and to apply these discoveries to advise land management in a manner that protects the biodiversity of these natural areas and our dependence on them.
