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June 1 to June 30, 2005

1. Highlights of GCMRC activities:

Grand Canyon Eolian Sediment Transport Research: The USGS and National Park Service have partnered since 2003 to monitor eolian (wind-blown) sand transport at nine instrument stations in the Colorado River corridor through Grand Canyon, as part of a study investigating the role of eolian sand deposits in preservation of archaeological sites. Initial results have shown that sand transport rates are highest in the April-May windy season, and can locally reach hundreds of grams per meter per day. Data from these stations collected during the 2005 windy season will provide information on how wind redistributes the new sand deposited on sandbars during the November 2004 Grand Canyon flood experiment, as well as provide a better understanding of how this and future controlled floods may benefit archaeological sites, many of which depend on wind-blown sand cover to preserve them. Contact: Amy Draut, USGS: (831) 427-4733, Santa Cruz, CA adraut@usgs.gov

Colorado River Research Presented at AGU-NABS meeting: USGS scientists, Ted Kennedy and Scott Wright, made presentations at the joint American Geophysical Union/ North American Benthological Society annual meeting in New Orleans, LA, May 23-27. Their presentations described monitoring and research methods employed on the Colorado River through Glen and Grand Canyons. Ted and Scott collaborated with Todd Tiejen, from Mississippi State University, on a talk titled Methods for Open System Metabolism Measurements on the Colorado River in Glen Canyon which follows up on the research conducted by Richard Marzolf and others during the 1996 experimental high flow. This method allows one to quantify in-stream primary production based on diel fluctuations in dissolved oxygen concentrations. Using this method, they were able to detect decreased rates of in-stream primary production following the November 2004 High Flow Experiment. In-stream primary production is determined, in part, by the algal standing crop; algae is an important component of the aquatic foodweb. Understanding the factors controlling this important energy source may provide insights on the density, growth, and distribution of fish present in the Colorado River. With some modifications, this method of quantifying primary productivity can potentially be applied downstream, in the Grand Canyon. Scott Wright presented a talk titled Development of a Generic System for Real-Time Data Access and Remote Control of Multiple in-Situ Water Quality Monitoring Instruments and co-authored by USGS scientists designing and developing the system; Glenn Bennett, Tim Andrews, Ted Melis, and David Topping. The presentation describes a high-speed, two-way communication system that allows for real-time data access and remote control of instrumentation in order to diagnose and potentially fix instrumentation problems, change sampling parameters to save battery power, etc., without having to visit the site. Site visitation along the Colorado River is restricted by its remoteness and the lack of traditional access routes (i.e. roads) therefore this system, composed of off-the-shelf products using a commercial satellite service, was developed. Scott also presented a poster titled Modeling Longitudinal Profiles and Downstream Fining in Large, Sand-bed Rivers describing the development of a numerical model capable of simulating longitudinal profile development and downstream fining in large, sand-bed rivers over space scales of hundreds of kilometers and time scales of thousands of years. Contact: Ted Kennedy, Flagstaff, AZ, (928) 556-7374

Height Modernization Program in Northern Arizona supports Grand Canyon Research: The U.S. Geological Survey's Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) has formed partnerships with local communities and the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) to improve the integrity of the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) in Northern Arizona. Members of the USGS, the NGS, and supporters in the local community performed a GPS survey which tied 26 leveled benchmarks to the geodetic control networks of the Grand Canyon and provided precise geodetic positions on those benchmarks. This survey directly supports the NGS's Height Modernization Program whose goal is to develop a NSRS that can utilize GPS techniques for the transfer of precise elevations (rather than the traditional but much more expensive method of conventional leveling). The expected benefit realized by the public from implementation of Height Modernization on a national basis is in excess of $12 billion. Inclusion of the GCMRC benchmarks in the Height Modernization effort will enable the reliable sharing and analysis of GCMRC's spatial data, improve the integrity of the GCMRC GIS database and reinforce any decisions which rely on this spatial data. It will also facilitate adherence to and the advancement of Federal Geodetic Data Committee standards and lead to a better understanding of height systems and the Earth's gravity field. Contact: Keith Kohl, Flagstaff, AZ (928) 556-7371

Panel Convened to Review Recreation Research and Monitoring Program. Between June 2-17, 2005, the USGS Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center Sociocultural Program, working in cooperation with staff from Grand Canyon National Park Science Center, sponsored an in-depth review of recreation-related research and monitoring for the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program. The review panel consisted of specialists in recreation research and management from the University of Vermont (Dr. Robert Manning), University of Montana (Dr. Neil Moisey), Colorado State University (Dr. John Loomis), Northern Arizona University (Dr. Pamela Foti), Bureau of Land Management (Mr. Robert Ratcliffe) and US Forest Service (Dr. David Cole). The panel attended a series of presentations by recreation researchers, federal program managers, and park stakeholders, and reviewed numerous reports on past and current monitoring and research activities related to ascertaining the effects of Glen Canyon Dam on the Glen Canyon sport fishery, Glen Canyon day use, and white water rafting and camping in Grand Canyon National Park A report summarizing the review findings will be forthcoming at the end of the fiscal year. For more information, please contact Helen Fairley, GCMRC Sociocultural Program Manager; Flagstaff, AZ; hfairley@usgs.gov; (928) 556-728

2. GCMRC in the news:

Nothing to report.

3. New publications received by the GCMRC library:

  1. Bulletts, I., T. Snow, E. Posvar, K. Rogers, J. Piekielek, M. Rogers, M. Snow and A. Phillips III. 2004. 2004 Southern Paiute Consortium Colorado River Corridor Resource Evaluation Program Annual Report of Activities. Report of work carried out under Southern Paiute Consortium Cooperative Agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation, #4-FC-40-15. Electronic Access: http://www.gcmrc.gov/library/reports/cultural/SouthernPaiuteConsortium/Bulletts2004.pdf
  2. Dierker, J. L. and L. M. Leap. 2005. Archaeological Site Monitoring and Management Activities along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. RCMP Report No. 90. Submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Salt Lake City, Utah. IA no. 99-AA-40-2340. Electronic Access: http://www.gcmrc.gov/library/reports/cultural/Archaeology/Dierker2005.pdf
  3. Holmes, J.A., M.J. Johnson, and C. van Riper III. 2005. Evaluation of the Breeding Riparian Birds Monitoring Program for the Colorado River Ecosystem, through 2000: Final Report. Cooperative Agreement No. 99HQAG0150; Project Award No. 99150HS003 Electronic Access: http://www.gcmrc.gov/library/reports/biological/terrestrial/Holmes2005.pdf
  4. Korman, Josh. Matthew Kaplinski, Joseph E. Hazel III, and Theodore S. Melis. 2005. Effects of the Experimental Fluctuating Flows from Glen Canyon Dam in 2003 and 2004 on Early Life History Stages of Rainbow Trout in the Colorado River: Final Report.. For Cooperative Agreement No: 04WRAG0006, Modification No. 002. Electronic Access: http://www.gcmrc.gov/library/reports/biological/Fish_studies/Ecometric/Korman2005.pdf
  5. Petersen, J.H. and C.P. Paukert. 2005. Development of a Bioenergetics Model for Humpback Chub and Evaluation of Temperature Changes in the Grand Canyon, Colorado River. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 134: 960-974.
  6. White, M.A., J.C. Schmidt, D.J. Topping. 2005. Application of Wavelet Analysis for Monitoring the Hydrologic Effects of Dam Operation: Glen Canyon Dam and the Colorado River at Lees Ferry, Arizona. River Research and Applications: 21: 551-565.
  7. Wiele, S. and M. Torrizo. 2005. Modelling of sand deposition in archaeological significant reaches of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA, in Bates, P.D., S.N. Lane and R.I. Ferguson, eds., Computational Fluid Dynamics: Applications in Environmental Hydraulics: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., p. 357-394. Electronic Access: http://www.gcmrc.gov/library/reports/physical/Fine_Sed/Wiele2005.pdf

Contact Stephanie Wyse at the GCMRC library (928-556-7373) to obtain reprints of publications not available electronically.