Yosemite Field Work

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In summer 2001, a team of scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), the USGS, and the DWR, collaborating with the National Park Service, installed a river monitoring network in the high country of Yosemite National Park, designed specifically to increase our understanding of snowmelt and streamflow. As a result, twenty gages recording hourly water temperature and stage were installed in the upper reaches of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers to provide information about how and when different subbasins contribute to the river’s flow. Four conductivity sensors were also deployed to make hourly measurements in the Merced and Tuolumne Basins. In summer 2002, stream chemistry measurements were made by NPS personnel at various points along both watersheds to measure water quality and composition throughout the summer. At the same time, discharge measurements were made at each gage to establish rating curves.

More information can be found through the following links:

Sierra Nature Notes: Monitoring snowmelt from the beach in San Diego. (All about installing snow pillows and how cosmic snow sensors work.)

Sierra Nature Notes: Snow at lower elevations always melts first... or does it? (About Yosemite river gages and synchronous snowmelt and streamflow in the Sierra)

Cal-(IT)² article: Studying diurnal cycles in streamflow in Yosemite National Park.

Guide to Tuolumne River Measurement Sites.