A Limnological Investigation of a High Alpine Lake and the Influences of Climate

In the summer of 2000, a team of American and Scottish students in the Bighorn National Mountains of Wyoming completed holistic studies of an alpine environment. Among these studies was a snowmelt and lake chemistry investigation regarding the five lakes within the study area. One of these lakes is associated with the drainage basin for Oliver Creek, the only stream draining the complex.

A similar study in 1998 focused on the water chemistry of Oliver Creek only. The hydrologic cycle was observed to be driven by meltwater complexes; this was a new concept to a team unfamiliar with montane environments. For 2000, efforts were made to complete detailed chemical studies of numerous alpine lakes in the study area with the intention of determining how the lake chemistry differs from the chemistry of the water in the drainage stream, and to initiate a baseline of data for these alpine lakes.

Students completed studies including the determination of characteristics such as temperature, pH, conductivity, and phytoplankton habits in regard to solar radiation. Changes in water chemistry with depth were also explored.

The data was then analyzed to investigate differences between the data found for the lakes and for Oliver creek. Certain possibilities for differences were examined, including the potential ion enrichment in the lakes due to the melting of ripe snow columns, the possible existence of resident chemicals in the lakes with consideration to deposition from the forest fires that have occurred in the area, the changes of water chemistry with depth, and differences in biological productivity. This type of study is critical for providing baseline information for high altitude lakes in a primitive area with limited anthropological influence, crucial for the development of policy for the area.