This page displays older news stories. Some links may be broken!
2008 news
| Snow
about 6' deep just above Sierra View on the White Mountain Road.
Feb. 6, 2008
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See "The Power of 10" - a new color brochure highlighting University of California research at WMRS! pdf file
White Mountain Research Station hosted the 24th annual Physiological Ecology Meeting June 1-3, 2007 at the Owens Valley Lab (OVL). As always, the meeting format emphasized an enjoyably informal exchange of ideas and research, and a comfortable venue to discuss topics of interest. 60 people attended.
The annual Friends of Clem Nelson campout was held at the Nelson Campground June 22-24. See poster for details. See story from last years' gathering
GLORIA "Master Station" at WMRS WMRS hosted the summer 2007 GLORIA field week July 22-28 at Crooked Creek. more info Field week includes annual butterfly count on July 24.
"4-Wheel Bob" completes the first wheelchair-bound ascent of White Mountain Peak! See story and photos...
WMRS-affiliated astronomer George Smoot wins Nobel Prize for his work on the origins of the universe! Using extaordinarily sensitive instruments developed and tested in the dry air at WMRS Barcroft Field Station and at the South Pole, UC Berkeley Professor George Smoot and coworkers (see Smoot Group web site) discovered tiny ripples in the Cosmic Background Radiation. The brightness and pattern of these ripples have helped define modern theories about the origin of the universe. A series of measurements at longer wavelengths, also conducted at WMRS, have helped constrain threories about the origin of the Cosmic background Radiation. See 2 minute video segment of George Smoot and co-workers up at Barcroft in 1990 (35MB avi file). Also see 45 minute webcast of Professor Smoot's Nobel Prize lecture.
Professor Smoot's work highlights the distinguished tradition of long-wavelength astronomy at Barcroft. Some of the early measurements of the cosmic background radiation were made at Barcroft in the mid 1960's by cosmology pioneer David T. Wilkinson and colleagues (see "25 Years of High Altitude Research" for more details) Cosmic origins research continues at WMRS to this day under the direction of one of Professor Smoot's former students, UC Santa Barbara Professor Philip Lubin. See WMRS Astrophysics web site for details.
GLORIA "Master Station" at WMRS The University of California White Mountain Research Station (WMRS) hosted a GLORIA planning workshop at the Owens Valley Labs on May 22, 2006, and 16 scientists attended (GLORIA stands for the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments). The primary outcome was a commitment by the group and the WMRS to establish a "GLORIA Master Station" at WMRS, dedicated to investigating the high elevation environment surrounding the seven White Mountain GLORIA summits (see WMRS-GLORIA web pages for details). A second outcome was a tentative plan to host a conference and produce conference proceedings as early as fall 2007. Finally, the group created a working plan for this summer's WMRS-GLORIA field week, held at Crooked Creek Station during the week of July 22-29, 2006.
OPEN GATE DAY SUNDAY, September 3. The gate to the Barcroft Station will be opened for those wishing to climb White Mountain Peak. You may drive to Barcroft, park, and hike up to the peak. Please be advised that the Barcroft research facility will not be opened to the public on this day, and please do not disturb staff or researchers at the station. You will be at high altitude and if you experience any health problems, go down immediately.
Even though the station will be closed to visitors, there will be a team of medical researchers asking hikers if they will volunteer to be interviewed and monitored for symptoms of acute mountain sickness. The results are part of an effort to understand the health implications of travel to high altitude.
August 6, 2006...WMRS ANNUAL OPEN HOUSE at the White Mountain Research Station High-Altitude Facilities and the Bristlecone Pine Forest Visitor Center. Over 450 people attended a beautiful, cloudless day of hiking and educational activities in the White Mountains on Sunday August 6, 2006. Hosted by the friends of WMRS, the program included 5 scientific talks in the upstairs meeting room, a sales desk for WMRS T-shirts and mugs, Kim Smiley's "Roadkill museum", a student survey of mountain sickness for peak hikers, and questions and discussion with WMRS researchers and staff.
Friends of Poleta Folds and Clem Nelson....CAMP NELSON CAMPOUT AND DEDICATION CEREMONY.... About 30 people attended June 24. See web page for details.
WMRS hosts 23rd annual Physiological Ecology meeting at OVL. On June 2-4, 70 scientists attended the two day long meeting, which included 18 presentations. Special guest speaker Hannah Carey (Univ. Wisconsin), who studied marmots at WMRS during the 1980's, talked about her career researching the physiological ecology of hibernation. She also emphasized the many opportunies that have come her way to expand and broaden her perspective. These meetings are a great way for faculty, researchers, and graduate students to get together to discuss research directions and priorities. see web site for details
WMRS Graduate Student Minigrant Award Announcement Over $21,000 awarded to 16 students in 2006, including 13 new awardees! see details
WMRS Research Scientist Jeff Holmquist: research highlighted on cover of Ecological Applications (download pdf file)!
National Science Foundation awards WMRS $255,000 to implement energy infrastructure improvements at Barcroft Station. The grant, entitled "White Mountain Energy Project: Bringing 21st Century Energy Technology to the Barcroft Field Station" will allow WMRS to cover the roof of the main Pace lab building at Barcroft with flexible solar photovoltaic panels, install a hydronic heating system, rewire the station for off-grid operation, and install a clean, reliable, efficient microturbine generator backup system. The project is a collaboration between WMRS and the UC Irvine School of Engineering Advanced Power and Energy Program (APEP). See WMEP web pages for more info about the project.
WMRS hosts Terrain-induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX) at the Owens Valley Laboratories. This project uses the latest technology, including three instrumented aircraft, to visualize and model the complex winds that form in the Owens Valley, particularly the "rotor" winds associated with sierra wave clouds, dust storms, and aviation hazards. See the T-REX project web pages for more information.
Friday May 5 at 2 pm there will be a Public Lecture at the Bishop High School Library entitled "An Up-close and Personal Look at the Humanitarian Catastrophe in Sudan." This talk is co-presented by Annie Smiley, anthropologist and educator at UC Davis, and Hashim Hassan, translator/interpreter and former Sudanese refugee. Millions of people have been harmed, killed or displaced from their homes in Sudan, and the crisis continues to this day. Annie and Hashim will present their experiences living in Cairo, Egypt working with refugees from Sudan. Hashim, a refugee himself, will discuss his personal experiences as well as those of friends, family and associates and Annie will present the results of her interviews as well as years of teaching at a school for refugees in Cairo. This lecture will be held in the Bishop High Library (call 873-4275 for directions)
On Thursday April 6 at 7 pm, Dr. Phil Pister, retired biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game, will speak on: "Ethical concerns in biological conservation; Examples from the mountains and deserts of the Eastern Sierra.." Phil is a long term resident of the Owen Valley as well as a renowned biologist, conservationist and philosopher. This is the eleventh, and possibly final, installment of our winter lecture series. See lecture series web page for the complete 2006 schedule, and more information.
August 2005 GLORIA project adds 3 new summits in 2005, in the White Mountains. The Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments is an effort to monitor climate effects on vegetation on mountain tops above treeline all around the world. The seven White Mountain summits cover a range of elevations, up to 14,060', and include two soil types, granitic and carbonaceous. By resampling every 5 years, researchers will measure climate-related vegetation change. (see GLORIA web page for more details) WMRS is planning to add other types of monitoring efforts to the network in summer 2006, including geomorphology, animal surveys, soil science, and others.
July 2005 First Annual White Mountain Butterfly Count held July 29th. The First Annual 2005 White Mountain Butterfly Count was a great success. Four counters participated, and promise to return next year with more volunteers. The weather was not ideal, but the slow pace contributed to more time for discussion and indentification. We surveyed six sites. The count is part of a WMRS program to gather baseline data on the alpine environments of the White Mountains.Details.
June 2005 WMRS staff packs in on horseback to repair snow cat. See photos.
September 2005 "OPEN GATE DAY” was hosted on Sunday, September 4, between 7 am and 6 pm. Hikers wishing to climb White Mountain Peak were allowed to drive to the Barcroft Station to begin their ascent. Over 100 people participated, including 4 year old Tomo Suyama who walked all the way! (see center of photo) Our Annual Open House was hosted at Barcroft Sunday August 7, 2005. Details on web page, including photos of hailstorm.
June 2005 WMRS hosted the 22nd Annual Physiological Ecology Conference at the Owens Valley Labs on June 4-6. 62 particpants attended a series of about 24 talks spread over two days, including a special presentation by U. Michigan Prof.Bill Dawson, on the history of physiological ecology between 1925 and 1955. For some photos of the meeting, see photos web page.
April 2005 WMRS awards research grants to 13 graduate students! (see minigrant page for details)
April 2005 WMRS submits proposal to NSF as part of White Mountain Energy Project. In collaboration with the UC Irvine Advanced Power and Energy Program (APEP), WMRS has developed a strategy for upgrading utilities at Barcroft. This effort has become known as the White Mountain Energy Project (WMEP), and requires several steps to implement. Key analyses, simulations, and recommendations have been produced by the APEP team, resulting in our recent application to the National Science Foundation Field Stations and Marine Laboratories (FSML) Improvement Program for funds to purchase and install key equipment. The WMEP web pages describe background, analyses and other details for the project.
February 2005 Winter snow-cat trip to sheep pass, and demonstration of Tucker 2000 snow cat performance.
2004 New! Barcroft Webcam. Remotely controlled outdoor camera can be used to pan, tilt and zoom. Click here to learn more.
| Snowfall closes road to Barcroft On Tuesday October 19, 2004, a surprise October storm dumped several feet of snow on the upper elevations in the Whites. The White Mountain Road is now closed at the Sierra View gate, and the upper stations are closed for the winter. August 2004 Undergraduate Research Symposium The WMRS Research Experience for Undergraduates Program presented a series of short talks highlighting the students' results from their summer research, mentored with WMRS research scientists. The students' work may be seen on the REU web site.
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| August
2004 Attention hikers! Open Gate Day will
be held on Sunday, September 5. The gate at the end
of White Mountain Road will be open between 7am and 6 pm, to allow
allow hikers to drive the additional two miles and park their vehicles
at Barcroft Station. The Friends of WMRS will supervise
the parking. Please note that this is not an open house, and the
Barcroft Laboratory facilities will not be open to
the public. The annual open house is held the first Sunday in August.
July 2004 OPEN HOUSE Hundreds of visitors joined us for the annual WMRS Open House at the Barcroft Station on August 1, 2004. There were refreshments, poster displays, short talks, and demonstrations by faculty, staff and students. The Barcroft gate was also open for hikers wishing to ascend White Mountain Peak. Details. |
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| 2004
Physiological Ecology Meetings The White Mountain Research
Station hosted the 21st annual Physiological Ecology Meeting at the
Owens Valley Lab (OVL). As always, the meeting format emphasized an
enjoyably informal exchange of ideas and research, and a comfortable
venue to discuss topics of interest, for students to gain experience
presenting their work in a friendly setting, and for veteran researchers
to try out new ideas with only limited heckling. Held June 5-6, 2004.
Annual
Physiological Ecology Meeting |
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November 2003 UCSD television is working on a feature-length documentary about the station. The web page shows some of the progress. October 2003 In collaboration with the Western Regional Climate Center, we installed a new on-line weather station at the summit lab on White Mountain Peak. It is now North America's highest-altitude weather station! We also have installed a similar on-line station at Barcroft and have plans for one at Crooked Creek. |
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| December 2003 Barcroft station is supporting full winter operations for the first time in many years. Two staff are in residence at the station, taking care of animals and keeping the station open. Winter research projects include animal physiology, growth and development at high elevation, astrophysics, millimeter-wave astronomy, atmospheric studies, and others. The Barcroft staff are in turn being supported by the Bishop staff, who are making weekly sno-cat runs over the snow-drifted roads, to bring in supplies, investigators, and staff shift changes. Photos from 11-20-03 illustrate one such trip. Researchers who wish to ride in on the snocat trips should call the station for details, and tentative trip dates have been scheduled (but please note that safety and staffing needs have priority and that the trip schedule is subject to change without notice). | ||
below:
Piute Mountain Sunset (©mikevirgin2003) |
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