Science As It Happens - Thursday February 14, 2008
Survey party sets up total station over benchmark in Marble Canyon in preparation for pre-high-flow-experiment measurements of backwater habitats, February 2008. Photo: Paul Grams.
Surveyors in drysuits measure topography of Marble Canyon backwater habitat, February 2008. Photo: Milada Majerova.
On the project 1D trip last week, we started with a couple days of cold and wet weather that soon gave way to some warm sunny days—as good as can be expected for winter fieldwork in Grand Canyon. Part of our crew, a pair of fish biologists, inched their way through Marble Canyon inventorying every backwater habitat along the way for later comparison with conditions after the high flow. We also had two teams of surveyors making detailed topographic maps of selected backwaters. Together, the inventory and the surveys will aid in determining how the high flow affects backwater habitat abundance and form.
Dr. Paul E. Grams
Physical Science and Modeling Program Manager
Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
Flagstaff, Ariz.