News from the Field: Day 3--White Mountains and Bristlecone Pine Preserve

Following our first night at White Mountain Research Station we made our lunches for the day and began our trek up in to ther White Mountains with Connie Millar of the US Forest Service. The wind is strong and the view of the Sierras across the Owens Valley tremendous, a wonderful example of earth forces in action. We continue to climb up to over 11,000 feet and are greeted by the forest service plowing the last of the snow off the road. The highlight of the day is a demonstration of dendrochronology (age dating using tree rings) and its role in addressing questions of recent climate change. We visit the oldest living organisms on the planet, the ancient bristlecone pines. In the shadow of "Methuselah" the grand old patriach of the Patriarch Grove we explored ideas about the science of using trees to understand climate change and patterns in global claimate change. We returned to White Mountain Research Station for another great curry dinner, followed by an evening lecture by visiting scientist Fred Philipps (New Mexico Tech) on, appropriately enough, climate change and glaciation in the Sierra Nevada--and of course, a midnight basketball game under the moon.

Connie Millar of the U.S. Forest Service meets the group for an introductory discussion of climate change
At the pinyon pine forest in the White Mountains, Connie explains the principles of dendrochronology
And shows us the workings of an incremental tree borer, while Tom and Caroline look on
The bristlecone pines, growing on a stark White Mountain landscape
The group shares an icy lunch by a bristlecone pine up at 11,000 feet !
The group takes a hike through the Patriarch grove
The beautiful bristlecone pines
The famous patriarch tree...
And the troopers return home past a snowfield!
A view of the Sierra crest--with a snowstorm coming in