Southwest Colorado Research Articles

English

The Idarado Mining Company (Idarado) mined gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc in the Red Mountain and Telluride mining districts in southwest Colorado between the 1940s and 1978. In 1983, the State of Colorado filed a natural resource damage claim against Idarado to address historic environmental impacts linked to past mining and milling activities. After prolonged negotiation and litigation, Idarado and the State of Colorado agreed on a comprehensive plan to improve water quality in local streams and reclaim historic mining sites. Six tailing storage facilities that were constructed during 65 years of ore processing were reclaimed between 1993 and 1995. The elevation of the tailing facilities range from 2,709 to 3,208 m. A direct reclamation approach was implemented by using the tailings as the primary plant growth media and amending the upper 45 cm of the tailings with lime, limestone, manure, and straw. Plant cover was monitored annually for the past 12 years (1997-2008), along with metal uptake by the dominant plant species. Plant cover was determined using permanent and random point-line transects on both the top surface and side slopes of each tailing facility. The four most dominant grasses and two most dominant forbs on each tailing facility were collected for metal analysis, using both washed and unwashed samples. The State of Colorado established specific standards associated with plant cover and species diversity that will be applied after 15 growing seasons to determine reclamation success. Plant cover and species diversity exceed the State standards in all years where precipitation is average or above average, based on long-term climate records. However, in years where precipitation is below average, plant cover falls below expectations. Plant metal concentrations (i.e. Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn) are consistently below levels considered to be phytotoxic, regardless of the year and species tested.

Evaluating Mule Deer Body Condition Using Serum Thyroid Hormone Concentrations

ABSTRACT Body condition of ungulates is a determinant of fecundity and survival rates. Ultrasonography and body condition scoring techniques allow reliable estimation of body fat but may not be feasible to employ in some circumstances. A reliable blood chemistry index for assessing relative condition of different ungulate populations or groups would be useful in ongoing population monitoring programs. We provided a nutrition supplement (treatment) to a group of free‐ranging mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) during 2 consecutive winters in southwest Colorado. In late February each year, we evaluated whether percent body fat and serum concentrations of total thyroxine (T4), total triiodothyronine (T3), free thyroxine (FT4), and free triiodothyronine (FT3) were higher among treatment deer than an adjacent group of deer that did not receive treatment (control). As a corroborative analysis, we modeled body fat as a function of thyroid hormone concentrations and morphometric variables. Estimated body fat of treatment deer averaged 12.3% (SE = 0.327), whereas estimated body fat of control deer averaged 7.0% (SE = 0.333) during the 2 winters of study. Concentrations of T4 and FT4 averaged 48.07 nanomole/L (SE = 3.80) and 12.61 picomole/L (SE = 1.04) higher, respectively, in treatment deer than control deer. Our optimal model of estimated body fat included T4, T42, FT4, and deer chest girth (%FAT = −4.8015 − 0.0946 × T4 + 0.000603 × T42 + 0.1474 × FT4 + 0.1426 × chest girth, R2 = 0.609). Serum thyroid hormones effectively discerned treatment deer from control deer and were related to estimated body fat. Ultrasound and body condition scoring should be used to estimate body fat whenever possible. However, in cases where only a blood sample can be obtained, we documented potential utility of T4 and FT4 during late winter for evaluating relative body condition of mule deer.

Sex Ratios and Survival Probabilities of Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in Southwest Colorado

ABSTRACT. We live-trapped and banded Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater, n = 1,722 individuals) to evaluate sex ratios and survival probabilities during the breeding season at the San Juan Basin Research Center, La Plata County, Colorado, from 1992 to 1999. For adult Brown-headed Cowbirds, sex ratios varied significantly among years, and sex ratios were always male-biased within a year. In hatch-year (HY) cowbirds, and within years, sex ratios were similarly male-biased, but there was no difference among years in HY sex ratios. Using the program MARK, for adult females, second-year (SY) males, and after-second-year (ASY) males, the most parsimonious model, suggested that some variation occurred among these groups in individual survival probability (φ) to the next year after the initial year of capture and in all following years. However, this model indicated no differences among these groups to best describe the probability of recapturing an individual (P). For HY individuals, analyses in MARK indicate...

Development of tongue-shaped and multilobate rock glaciers in alpine environments – Interpretations from ground penetrating radar surveys

Abstract Rock glaciers occur as lobate or tongue-shaped landforms composed of mixtures of poorly sorted, angular to blocky rock debris and ice. These landforms serve as primary sinks for ice and water storage in mountainous areas and represent transitional forms in the debris transport system, accounting for ~ 60% of all mass transport in some alpine regions. Observations of active (flowing) alpine rock glaciers indicate a common association between the debris that originates from cirque headwalls and the depositional lobes that comprise them. The delivery of this debris to the rock glacier is regulated primarily by the rate of headwall erosion and the point of origin of debris along the headwall. These factors control the relative movement of individual depositional lobes as well as the overall rate of propagation of a rock glacier. In recent geophysical studies, a number of alpine rock glaciers on Prins Karls Forland and Nordenskioldland, Svalbard, Norway, and the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado, USA, have been imaged using ground penetrating radar (GPR) to determine if a relationship exists between the internal structure and surface morphology. Results indicate that the overall morphologic expression of alpine rock glaciers is related to lobate deposition during catastrophic episodes of rockfall that originated from associated cirque headwalls. Longitudinal GPR profiles from alpine rock glaciers examined in this study suggests that the difference in gross morphology between the lobate and tongue-shaped rock glaciers can be attributed primarily (but not exclusively) to cirque geometry, frequency and locations of debris discharge within the cirque, and the trend and magnitude of valley gradient in relation to cirque orientation. Collectively, these factors determine the manner in which high magnitude debris discharges, which seem to be the primary mechanism of formation, accumulate to form these rock glaciers.

Pilot study experiments sourcing quartzite, Gunnison Basin, Colorado

AbstractThis paper reports the results of pilot‐study efforts to develop methods to profile quartzite, a rock type to which geochemical and other sourcing techniques have only rarely been applied. The long‐term goal of the research is to fingerprint sources of quartzite in the Gunnison Basin, southwest Colorado, used by Paleoindian people ca. 11,500–8,000 years ago to make stone tools. Success would facilitate reconstruction of Paleoindian mobility in the Southern Rocky Mountains and potentially anywhere prehistoric people used quartzite. The goals of this paper are more modest: to demonstrate that a small‐scale exploration of sourcing techniques suggests reason for optimism that quartzites may be amenable to source discrimination. For the same twenty Gunnison Basin quartzite samples, this study evaluated petrography, ultraviolet fluorescence (UVF), wavelength dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (WD‐XRF), instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry—both acid‐digestion (AD‐ICP‐MS) and laser ablation (LA‐ICP‐MS)—as means to differentiate among the specimens and the sources they represent. Although more testing is needed to verify and refine our results, the study suggests there is potential for petrography, INAA, and both versions of ICP‐MS to discriminate among quartzites from different source localities in the Gunnison Basin. The greatest potential for discriminating among different sources of quartzite in the Gunnison Basin may lie in a methodology combining petrographic analysis and LA‐ICPMS. Future testing is required to evaluate this two‐fold approach. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effective mitigation of debris flows at Lemon Dam, La Plata County, Colorado

To reduce the hazards from debris flows in drainage basins burned by wildfire, erosion control measures such as construction of check dams, installation of log erosion barriers (LEBs), and spreading of straw mulch and seed are common practice. After the 2002 Missionary Ridge Fire in southwest Colorado, these measures were implemented at Knight Canyon above Lemon Dam to protect the intake structures of the dam from being filled with sediment. Hillslope erosion protection measures included LEBs at concentrations of 220–620/ha (200–600% of typical densities), straw mulch was hand spread at concentrations up to 5.6 metric tons/hectare (125% of typical densities), and seeds were hand spread at 67–84 kg/ha (150% of typical values). The mulch was carefully crimped into the soil to keep it in place. In addition, 13 check dams and 3 debris racks were installed in the main drainage channel of the basin. The technical literature shows that each mitigation method working alone, or improperly constructed or applied, was inconsistent in its ability to reduce erosion and sedimentation. At Lemon Dam, however, these methods were effective in virtually eliminating sedimentation into the reservoir, which can be attributed to a number of factors: the density of application of each mitigation method, the enhancement of methods working in concert, the quality of installation, and rehabilitation of mitigation features to extend their useful life. The check dams effectively trapped the sediment mobilized during rainstorms, and only a few cubic meters of debris traveled downchannel, where it was intercepted by debris racks. Using a debris volume-prediction model developed for use in burned basins in the Western U.S., recorded rainfall events following the Missionary Ridge Fire should have produced a debris flow of approximately 10,000 m 3 at Knight Canyon. The mitigation measures, therefore, reduced the debris volume by several orders of magnitude. For comparison, rainstorm-induced debris flows occurred in two adjacent canyons at volumes within the range predicted by the model.

Contact spectroscopy for determination of stratigraphy of snow optical grain size

AbstractWe present a technique for in situ measurement of the vertical and spatial stratigraphic distribution of snow optical grain size with a coupled contact illumination probe and field spectroradiometer. Accurate measurements of optical-equivalent grain size are critical for modeling radiative properties of snow such as spectral albedo and microwave emission. Measurements of the spectral reflectance of the snow-pit surface are made at 2 cm intervals in the vertical plane under constant illumination and view geometries. We invert the integral of the continuum normalization of the ice absorption feature with maximum at 1.03 μm wavelength for optical-equivalent grain size using the validated model of Nolin and Dozier (2000) that has accuracy of ±10–50 μm across the grain-size range 50–900 μm. Results are presented for an alpine site in southwest Colorado, USA, across the ablation season and for a Greenland ice-sheet site at the onset of snowmelt. These results suggest that traditional measurements of grain size using a hand lens are nearly accurate only for rounded grains (R2 = 0.41, rmse = 160 μm); for polycrystals and faceted grains the hand-lens approach is very inaccurate (R2 = 0.03 and 0.24, rmse = 1206 and 1010 μm, respectively). We demonstrate an order-of- magnitude improvement in modeling of shortwave spectral albedo and net shortwave flux with contact spectroscopy measurements of grain-size stratigraphy over those from a hand lens.

Pacing the post–Last Glacial Maximum demise of the Animas Valley glacier and the San Juan Mountain ice cap, Colorado

During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a 5000 km 2 ice cap covered the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. The largest valley glacier draining this ice cap occupied the Animas Valley and flowed 91 km to the south. To characterize the post-LGM demise of the Animas Valley glacier, we employ cosmogenic 10 Be to date the LGM terrace outside the terminal moraines and a suite of seven glacially polished bedrock samples. The 10 Be depth profile within the terrace sediments suggests abandonment at 19.4 ± 1.5 ka. As deglaciation began, the ponding of Glacial Lake Durango behind the terminal moraines shut off fluvial sediment supply and caused terrace abandonment. The age of the terrace therefore records the initiation of LGM retreat. Negligible 10 Be inheritance in the terrace profile suggests that glacial erosion of the bedrock valley floor from which sediments were derived erased all cosmogenic inventory. Glacial polish exposure ages monotonically decrease up-valley from 17.1 to 12.3 ka, with the single exception of a sample collected from a quartzite rib, yielding an average retreat rate of 15.4 m/yr. This trend and the lack of inherited cosmogenic nuclides in the terrace sediments imply that polish ages accurately record the glacial retreat history. Retreat of the Animas lobe began at a time of regional drying recorded in sediments and shoreline elevations of large lakes. Deglaciation lasted for ∼7.2 k.y., and was complete by 12.3 ± 1.0 ka. The retreat history followed the pattern of increasing insolation and was perhaps fastest during a time of regional drying.

More Results of HOBO Sensor Access Tubes in Southwest Colorado

More Results of HOBO Sensor Access Tubes in Southwest Colorado

A predictive penetrative fracture mapping method from regional potential field and geologic datasets, southwest Colorado Plateau, U.S.A.

Abstract Some aquifers of the southwest Colorado Plateau, U.S.A., are deeply buried and overlain by several impermeable units, and thus recharge to the aquifer is probably mainly by seepage down penetrative fracture systems. This purpose of this study was to develop a method to map the location of candidate deep penetrative fractures over a 120,000 km2 area using gravity and aeromagnetic anomaly data together with surficial fracture data. The resulting database constitutes a spatially registered estimate of recharge location. Candidate deep fractures were obtained by spatial correlation of horizontal gradient and analytic signal maxima of gravity and magnetic anomalies vertically with major surficial lineaments obtained from geologic, topographic, side-looking airborne radar, and satellite imagery. The maps define a sub-set of possible penetrative fractures because of limitations of data coverage and the analysis technique. The data and techniques employed do not yield any indication as to whether fractures are open or closed. Correlations were carried out using image processing software in such a way that every pixel on the resulting grids was coded to uniquely identify which datasets correlated. The technique correctly identified known deep fracture systems and many new ones. Maps of the correlations also define in detail the tectonic fabrics of the southwestern Colorado Plateau.

Results of HOBO Sensor Access Tubes in Southwest Colorado

Results of HOBO Sensor Access Tubes in Southwest Colorado

03/01898 Thermogravimetric analysis of char combustion: He, R. et al. Combustion Science and Technology, 2002, 174, (4), 1–8

Cofiring forest biomass residues with coal to generate electricity is often cited for its potential to offset fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the extent to which cofiring achieves these objectives is highly dependent on case specific variables. This paper uses facility and forest specific data to examine emissions from cofiring forest biomass with coal ranging up to 20% substitution by heat value in southwest Colorado, USA. Calculations for net system emissions include five emissions sources: coal mining, power plant processes, forest biomass processes, boiler emissions, and forest biomass disposal. At the maximum displacement of 20% of heat demand using 120,717 t of forest biomass per year, total system emissions are projected to decrease by 15% for CO2, 95% for CH4, 18% for NOX, 82% for PM10, and 27% for SOX. PM10 and CH4 emissions benefits are closely tied to reducing open burning for residue disposal. At maximum displacement, 189,240 t of CO2 emissions equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions from 36,200 passenger vehicles, 440,000 barrels of oil, or nearly 990 railcars of coal are avoided. When forest biomass is not cofired, emissions equivalent to144,200 t of CO2 are emitted from open burning. In addition to exploring the details of this case, we provide a methodology for assessing the emissions tradeoffs related to using forest biomass for cogeneration that incorporates the operational aspects of managing forest treatment residues, which are frequently omitted from similar analyses.

Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus Ater) Parasitism on Warbling Vireos (Vireo Gilvus) in Southwest Colorado

Abstract From May through July, 1993–1998 and 2001, effects of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism on 36 Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) nests were documented in southwest Colorado. Overall parasitism was 75.0% and was the major source of nest failure. Among vireo nests that were not depredated, a significantly lower proportion of parasitized nests (10.2%) than nonparasitized nests (85.7%) fledged host young. Significantly fewer vireos hatched and fledged per nest and per egg in parasitized nests compared with nonparasitized nests. We observed no significant differences in mortality rates during the incubation stage between parasitized and nonparasitized nests. However, during the nestling stage, mortality rate was significantly higher in parasitized nests (0.17 nests lost per observation day) than nonparasitized nests (0.01 nests lost per observation day). Cowbirds almost always hatched 3 to 5 days before vireo nestlings. In two cases, vireo nestlings fledged from parasitized nests; in one nest the cowbird egg failed to hatch, and in the other nest the vireo hatched simultaneously with the cowbird. The low vireo production at that study site suggests that that area may be a sink population for Warbling Vireos.

Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Parasitism on Warbling Vireos (Vireo gilvus) in Southwest Colorado

Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Parasitism on Warbling Vireos (Vireo gilvus) in Southwest Colorado

BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD (MOLOTHRUS ATER) PARASITISM ON WARBLING VIREOS (VIREO GILVUS) IN SOUTHWEST COLORADO

Abstract From May through July, 1993–1998 and 2001, effects of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism on 36 Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) nests were documented in southwest Colorado. Overall parasitism was 75.0% and was the major source of nest failure. Among vireo nests that were not depredated, a significantly lower proportion of parasitized nests (10.2%) than nonparasitized nests (85.7%) fledged host young. Significantly fewer vireos hatched and fledged per nest and per egg in parasitized nests compared with nonparasitized nests. We observed no significant differences in mortality rates during the incubation stage between parasitized and nonparasitized nests. However, during the nestling stage, mortality rate was significantly higher in parasitized nests (0.17 nests lost per observation day) than nonparasitized nests (0.01 nests lost per observation day). Cowbirds almost always hatched 3 to 5 days before vireo nestlings. In two cases, vireo nestlings fledged from parasitized nests; in one nes...

GPR survey of a lobate rock glacier in Yankee Boy Basin, Colorado, USA

Abstract The internal structure of a lobate rock glacier located in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado was investigated using ground penetrating radar (GPR). A 440 m, 25 MHz longitudinal profile oriented along the central axis of the rock glacier shows moderate to strongly coherent reflection horizons or layers that can be recognized clearly to a depth of 30–35 m. The layers are interpreted as representing ice-supersaturated sediments and coarse, blocky rockslide debris that are the result of flow, perhaps generated by seasonal snow pack covered by episodic debris flows or high-magnitude discharges of talus from the cirque headwall. Profiles collected at 50 MHz indicate that, in the upper 20 m thickness of the rock glacier, many of these layers are laterally continuous. The total depth of penetration (∼40 m at 25 MHz) was sufficient to detect the rock glacier-cirque-floor contact, which is composed of underlying moraine. Several prominent reflection events that subdivide the profile into broad 10–15 m-thick layers represent contacts between major depositional units. These units are believed to be individual flow lobes that were initiated at various cirque-headwall locations. We interpret this rock glacier to be a composite feature that formed by a process involving the development and subsequent overlap of discrete flow lobes that have over-ridden older glacial moraine and protalus rampart materials. The latter materials have been incorporated into the present flow structure of the rock glacier.

Seasonal movement of the Slumgullion landslide determined from Global Positioning System surveys and field instrumentation, July 1998–March 2002

Measurements of landslide movement made by global positioning system surveys and extensometers over a 3.5-year period show that the Slumgullion landslide in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado moved throughout the monitoring period, but that daily velocities varied on a seasonal basis. Landslide velocities peaked in the early spring and summer in response to snowmelt and summer thunderstorms, respectively. Velocities were slowest in mid-winter when air and soil temperatures were coldest and precipitation was generally low and/or in the form of snow with a low water content. We hypothesize that the seasonal variability in velocities is due to ground-water levels and corresponding pore pressures that decrease when surface water is unavailable or cannot infiltrate frozen landslide material, and increase when surface water from melting snow or rainfall infiltrates unfrozen landslide material. We also suggest that patches of bouldery debris and fractures (created by continuous movement of the landslide) are conduits through which surface water can infiltrate, regardless of the frozen or unfrozen state of the landslide matrix material. Therefore, the availability of surface water is more important than landslide temperature in controlling the rate of landslide movement. This hypothesis is supported by field instrumentation data that show (1) landslide velocities coinciding with precipitation amounts regardless of the depth of freezing of landslide material, (2) spring and annual landslide velocities that were greatest when the depth of freezing was also the greatest, and (3) a rapid (several weeks or less) velocity and pore pressure response to rainfall. The persistent, but seasonally variable movement of the landslide, fits the bathtub model for landslide movement described by Baum and Reid [Baum, R.L., Reid, M.E., 2000. Ground water isolation by low-permeability clays in landslide shear zones. In: Bromhead, E.N., Dixon, N., Ibsen, M.-L. (Eds.), Landslides in Research, Theory and Practice. Proc. 8th Int. Symp. on Landslides, Cardiff, Wales, vol. 1, 139–144]. In their model, the landslide is isolated both mechanically and hydrologically from adjacent materials by low permeability clays. These clays cause the landslide to retain water. Our data support this model by suggesting that pore pressures at the basal landslide surface are always adequate to maintain landslide movement and that any infiltration of water at the surface of the landslide is adequate to rapidly increase landslide velocity.

Relationship of AcrySof acrylic and PhacoFlex silicone intraocular lenses to visual acuity and posterior capsule opacification

Purpose: To compare the changes in visual acuity and the development of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) with AcrySof® acrylic intraocular lenses (IOLs) (Alcon Laboratories) and second-generation PhacoFlex® silicone IOLs (Allergan ). Setting: Eye Associates of New Mexico and Southwest Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Methods: Medical charts of patients having cataract extraction with implantation of an AcrySof MA30BA or MA60BM (MA30/60) or PhacoFlex SI-30NB or SI-40NB (SI-30/40) IOL between January 1995 and June 1997 were abstracted. Analyzed were the changes in visual acuity and development of PCO 1 month postoperatively and at the last available ophthalmologist visit or the visit before neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) capsulotomy. Results: Patients with MA30/60 acrylic IOLs were significantly older, had a worse preoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and had more concomitant ocular diseases than those with SI-30/40 silicone IOLs. The change in BCVA from preoperatively to 1 month postoperatively was equivalent in the 2 lens groups. The BCVA declined from 1 month postoperatively to the last recorded or pre-Nd:YAG visit. This decline was greater in eyes with SI-30/40 silicone IOLs than in those with MA30/60 acrylic IOLs. Although the decrease in BCVA between IOL types was not significantly different, eyes with a SI-30/40 silicone IOL were significantly more likely to develop PCO and have Nd:YAG capsulotomy. Eyes developing PCO had a statistically significant decline in BCVA from 1 month postoperatively to the last/pre-Nd:YAG visit. Conclusions: The MA30/60 acrylic lenses were associated with lower PCO and Nd:YAG capsulotomy rates than second-generation SI-30/40 silicone IOLs. Patients with MA30/60 IOLs also tended to have less of a decrease in visual acuity than patients with SI-30/40 silicone lenses, probably as a result of the difference in PCO rates between groups.

Tree Shelters Improve the Survival and Growth of Planted Engelmann Spruce Seedlings in Southwestern Colorado

Abstract Shade-tolerant Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) is a difficult species to reforest successfully in the high-elevation spruce-fir forests of the Rocky Mountains. This study investigated the use of plastic tree shelters as a form of shade protection and a means to improve the growth and survival of planted Engelmann spruce seedlings in southwest Colorado. A total of 1500 seedlings were planted into a 48 ha clearcut site at an average elevation of 3273 m. Treatments included four different colors of tree shelters and a control where seedlings were planted using the traditional shading method. This consisted of shading the seedlings using logging slash, stumps, and vegetation within the site. After two growing seasons, survival was 58% for the control treatment and ranged from 95 to 99% in the lighter three shelter color treatments. The darkest shelter color resulted in 95% mortality after the first growing season. Both height and diameter growth of surviving seedlings were significantly greater in the lightest two shelter color treatments as compared to the control treatment. These results indicate that tree shelters may provide an effective method of improving high-elevation Engelmann spruce reforestation programs. West. J. Appl. For. 16(3):114–120.

Effects of Brown-Headed Cowbirds on the Nesting Success of Chipping Sparrows in Southwest Colorado

AbstractWe documented effects of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism on Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina) in southwest Colorado. Overall, 17 of 77 nests (22%) were parasitized. Abandonment was significantly higher among parasitized nests (29%) than unparasitized nests (5%). More Chipping Sparrows hatched and fledged per unparasitized nest than per parasitized nest. Reduction of host hatching and fledging rates in parasitized nests was attributable to smaller clutch size and higher abandonment. The major source of nest failure was predation, not parasitism; overall, 53% failed from predation, and only 6% failed from parasitism. There were no differences in weight, ulna length, tarsometatarsus length, or length of outermost primary between sparrow nestlings in parasitized and unparasitized nests. Only 18% of cowbird eggs laid resulted in a fledged cowbird. We observed no differences in nest placement or nest concealment between unparasitized and parasitized nests.