West Piute Ridge transect:
Monitoring climate every 300m along a 3000m elevation gradient up the White Mountains
see http://hcn.ucsd.edu "Yosemite" for preliminary real-time data presentation

WMRS has teamed up with collaborators from the Climate Research Division, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and the Water Resources Division of the US Geological Survey to set up a transect of climate monitoring stations climbing up into the White Mountains from the Owens Valley. LINK SHOWING DAMAGE TO FISH SLOUGH STATION

  • The transect runs from the Owens Valley Floor at Fish Slough, just north of Bishop, up Piute Ridge to the saddle between Piute* Mountain and Mt. Barcroft (see figure and table below).
  • Eight stations are placed at 1000' (300m) elevation intervals, with the bottom station at 4000' (1200m) and the top at 11000' (3350m).
  • The stations form a line running from west to east, and are on exposed locations where they sample the wind
  • Combining the West Piute Ridge transect with the permanent climate stations at the Barcroft Field Station (12,500'; 3800m) and the White Mountain Summit Lab (14,250'; 4350m) creates an elevation span of over 10,000' (3050m).
  • Instruments measure windspeed, wind direction, air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, and rainfall, and most are connected to the internet via radio link with the Owens Valley Laboratories. Soil moisture and fuel moisture sensors are planned for 2007 installation, and permanent vegetation transects are planned in association with the WMRS-GLORIA master station.
  • currently installed and collecting data: stations 1-7
  • planned for 2007: station 8 plus real-time web-access to data
  • See Piute Transect maintenance page and transect table for detailed information (password needed to access)

*Please note that the spelling "Piute" is consistent with the name of the peak as shown on "Mt. Barcroft" USGS 7.5' quadrangle, but differs from the usual spelling "Paiute."

 

# Site name Nominal elevation Station Id#
1 Fish Slough 4000 34
2 Sore Thumb 5000 35
3 Over the Hill 6000 36
4 Piute Creek Overlook 7000 37
5 Glider Port 8000 38
6 Beer Can 9000 39
7 Valley View 10000 40
8 Unnamed 11000 not asssigned
bar Barcroft* 12500 not assigned
summit Summit* 14250 not assigned

See transect table for more detailed information (password needed to access excel file)

*these are part of a separate system, but form a logical extension of the transect

 

Piute Mountain (center). Piute Creek runs through the shaded canyon (right center) and the west ridge runs right up the center of the photo from valley floor to the peak.

"over the hill" station located at 6100' (1860m)

 
BLM spring has been selected as the site of the bottom of the transect.10-11-06 A view of Fish Slough from the south. BLM spring is located next to the small tree in the center of the photo. 10-11-06
Piute Mountain is in the center of the photo. Click on the photos for a larger image. The west piute transect drops down and to the left of the peak. 10-11-06
Datalogger and communications unit.
A view looking down toward the hydro-plant, which may be seen at the end of the dirt road in the upper right of the photo. The hydro plant site is located at 4300' (1310m) elevation. The 5000' site is located along the road about 1/3 of the way down the straight stretch. 3-19-05
A wide angle view of the area. Piute Creek may be seen to the left. The creek waters are all captured in a penstock that runs underneath the dirt road and down the plant, with a head of over 2000' (610m). 3-19-05
The top of the alluvial fan, right at the base of the mountains.
3-19-05
This is the view near the 6000' site. 3-19-05
Here is the truck parked at the 6125' level. 3-19-05

This is a veiw looking down on the 6000' site. The photo to the left was taken from the place where the road forks in the center of the picture above. 3-19-05
This view looks up toward the 7000' site, located at top right.
3-19-05
This is the truck parked near the 7000' site. 3-19-05
There are some pretty cholla cacti on the road heading up to 8000'. There is a launch site for hang gliders right near the 8000' site. 3-19-05
The 9000' site is in the left center of the photo. Here the jeep road is buried in snow. The road climbs up to the Moulas Mine, located at 9500' on a knoll.
This photo shows a knoll in the center, just under the cloud, which is about 10000' elevation. The jeep road ends a little past the knoll. The 10,000' site is just to the right of the knoll. 3-19-05
 Here are two Bighorn Rams near Piute Creek! 3-20-05