A Snapshot Of Water Quality Across Rocky Mountain National Park
Detmer, Thomas 1 ; McCutchan, James 2 ; Cooper, Leigh 3 ; Yost, Cheri 4 ;Visty, Judy 5
1 CIRES Center for Limnology
2 CIRES Center for Limnology
3 CIRES Center for Limnology
4 NPS Continental Divide Research Learning Center
5 NPS Continental Divide Research Learning Center
Spatial variation in water quality affects the distribution and abundance of aquatic organisms, including algae, aquatic invertebrates, and fish. The chemical composition of stream water also affects the export of nutrients and other solutes to downstream ecosystems. Water chemistry reflects patterns of atmospheric deposition, mineral weathering, nutrient uptake, and human perturbations. Because water quality is affected by processes operating at multiple spatial scales, even in pristine streams, understanding the controls on water quality is often complex and requires information on spatial patterns of water quality. To capture a snapshot-in-time of water quality ! across Rocky Mountain National Park, NPS staff, volunteers, and researchers at the University of Colorado collected 185 stream-water samples on a single date in August, 2008. These samples are being analyzed for a wide range of water-quality parameters, including fractions of C, N, and P. Results of this study will 1) improve our understanding of controls on water chemistry in Rocky Mountain National Park 2) contribute to baseline data required to predict the effects of environmental change on stream ecosystems, and 3) aid in the design of long-term monitoring programs in the Colorado Rockies and elsewhere.