Hello All,
So, I have now figured out enough about my research topic that I feel I can fill you all in. Lets begin...
On September 6th, 2010, a wildfire started to burn in Fourmile Canyon, Colorado. After eleven days, hundreds of displaced residents, 6,181 sq. acres (approximately ten square miles), 169 burned homes, and an estimated $217 million for insurance, the fire was contained. Meso-scale convective storms and the disturbance in the hydrologic cycle caused by a wildfire may ensue flash floods in a burned area. To minimize the risk of flash floods in the canyon, Boulder County dumped straw on the scorched hillsides in the effort of decreasing soil erosion caused by rain. The purpose of my research will be to investigate the hydrologic effect the straw will induce .
I am working John Moody, a hydrologist, who has been studing burned areas for a VERY long time. He loves what he does and it's VERY easy to tell. He is one of those guys that goes into work at like 7am and then doesn't leave till like 6:30 pm. I have learned a lot already. One of my favorite things about this project is how interdisiplinary it is. I am not just studying the hydrology of the area but the geology, and ecology of the area.
Before we went into the field John gave us a quick history of the Fourmile Canyon Fire of 2010. There had been no significant amount of rain in the area. Strong winds (blowing from West to East) dried out the leaves and vegetation in the area. The winds dropped from 12,000 ft. to 5,000 ft above sea level in Boulder, CO. The fire started on Sept. 6th. The fire was a wind spread fire. The wind speed ranged from 40-70 mph. The fire started in Emerson Basin then the wind changed moving the fire to the North facing side of the mountain. Air tankers were brought in to dump fire retardant on the area, which leaves a red stain on the land.
The biology of the area is vital in understanding what the burned area looked like before the fire. The Ponderosa pine is somewhat fire resistant, so the grass could burn below and potentially leave the tree intact as long as the fire was not to hot or large. It tends to be on the South facing side of the mountain. The Douglas-fir if dry will catch on fire. A distinguishing feature is that the pinecones have little tails on them, and that they have saggy needles. They tend to stay on the North facing side of the mountain. The Juniper is the most flammable tree since it has a resin. Luxbure is a purple flower with 5 petals. Lupine is a small green plant.
To better understand the burned area we first looked at North and South facing unburned areas. In the South facing unburned area the trees were spread out and the landscape was very rocky because of the lack of duff and litter (.5 cm each). The small amount of duff and litter however would help soak up some of the water during a rain, and the rest would soak into the ground leaving no or little runoff.
The North facing unburned side of the mountain is significantly different than the South facing unburned side. The trees are denser, resulting in a thicker duff (1-4 cm), and a larger size variety and quantity of litter (1-4 cm). The North facing side to the mountain also receives more rain and snow that does not melt off easily.
Ringed rock. Litter and duff used to surround the rock up until the black rim. During the fire it was burned at 500 C leaving a clean surface on the rock. While the lichens that used to cover what is now the black portion of the rock, burned at a range of 200-300 C left black soot.
Things to note:
· Root holes sink in, and can twist your ankle.
· White ash is an indication of a hot burn, while black ash indicates less heat.
· Ash can be very dense, but identifying it can be tricky. (silt and mineral soil can be mistaken as ash).
· Litter is the top layer that can be distinguished, and can very in thickness based on how close to trees the measurement is taken.
· Duff can’t be distinguished, is organic, and can very in thickness based on how close to trees the measurement is taken.
· Through fall is rain caught by vegetation, which does not reach the ground.
· Aspect played a role in the burn severity of the area.
John introduced us to Jeff who lives near our area of study so if something were to happen to the car, or Anna or myself, we can go and talk to him for help. Jeff is this really cool hippy that is retired, lives up in the mountains, and raises baby foxes that were orphined during the fire. They (the foxes) are so cute! They walk right up to you! Don't pet them though...they nibble and have very sharp teeth.
I asked John when he thinks the flash floods might happen. He said that when the Monsoon winds come up form California (most likely July), and the training storms will come. A training storm is where an area experience rain or most commonly thunderstorms in a repetitious manor. Training storms can bring excessive amounts of rain and lead to a flash flood.
After going out into the field Bob, my writing mentor, has me write up my field notes in paragraph form. It is time consuming but it is by far one of the best words of advice. You realize weak points in your fiedl notes early in the study so you can wite up questions and then get an answer the next day. In doing previous research one of the most frustrating this is going back through your field notes and relizing you didn't have enough detail somewhere or that you forgot to label something.
So...that is what I'm doing this summer. : ) I hope you all understood what I was trying to say. If not leave me a message and I will try to better explain!
Cheers,
Melissa
