Scenery Pictures from Soil Research Sites

Balsam Mountain site, at the Hyatt Ridge trailhead.

Balsam Mountain site, at the Beech Gap trailhead.

Me on the ridge at Balsam Mountain

Trees within the ridge between Hyatt Ridge trail and Beech Gap trail.

Looking down at the trees within the ridge between Hyatt Ridge trail and Beech Gap trail.

Road Prong trail at the bottom.

Stream picture at the bottom of Road Prong trail.

Road Prong trail.

View from the top of one of the sites, conveniently located at a parking lot overlook along Newfound Gap Road.

Soil Research

So this week, I was part of research conducted by a post-doc at Syracuse University. Using some of the equipment pictured in the following photos, he is trying to simulate the amount of soil moisture and soil nutrients available to vegetation along a changing elevation gradient to determine how that influences species makeup in different parts of the park.

Burying the ground moisture sensor.

Looking for the probes and ground sensor.

Downloading data onto the computer.

Putting the ground sensor together. In the gray box is the data logger. It is hard to see but the wires sticking down have probe sensors on the bottom which measure moisture.

IButton sensor which records ground temperature data.

IButton close up. The black part is the sensor and the white cap is meant to keep the sensor out of the elements.

Soil probes in the ground (picture taken from google, I didn't get a field picture)

Soil probe example (picture taken from google, I didn't get one in the field)...The semi transparent part in the middle is a membrane that are ionized to attract nutrients such as Potasium, Nitrogen, Calcium, Phosphorus etc. The membrane is supposed to be representative of a plant's roots.

Digging hole to place ground sensor

Pulling out soil probes

My two primary work offices...Oconaluftee and Purchase Knob

Oconaluftee (Luftee) Farm Museum

Luftee Farm Museum

Luftee Visitor Center

Luftee Visitor Center, Info Pavilion, and Bathrooms

Old Visitor Center at Luftee, now the administration building where my seasonal office space is located

Purchase Knob Work View

The Purchase Knob building

Another picture of Purchase Knob building

My lunch view from the deck

Another view at PKnob

Another view at PKnob

And one more

Cloud Sensor Installation

Me aiding the research team in the beginning phases of installation

Helping put parts together

The bird house looking thing on the left is the cloud sensor..in the middle is a mesh cylinder that collects fog moisture which is connected to a funnel that funnels water into a rain gauge on the tier below

Close up of cloud sensor and rain gauge..final installation

Another picture

Air Quality Stations (5/28 and 5/29)

Clingman's Dome Air Quality (AQ) Station

Clingman's Dome AQ Station again

Some of the ground AQ equipment at Clingman's Dome

Solar panels to power AQ equipment at Clingman's Dome

Cove Mountain AQ Station

Equipment room at Cove Mountain AQ station

Looking down the steps of the third tier on the Cove Mountain AQ station

Me in my uniform on the Cove Mountain AQ Station

Very top of the Cove Mountain AQ station

View from top of Cove Mountain AQ Station

Another View on top of Cove Mountain AQ Station

Another View on Cove Mountain AQ Station

And one more...

Looking down from the top of Cove Mountain AQ station

Some wild life

Elk surrounding the house (note one in the car port)..picture taken by my intern neighbor

Same elk out of my bedroom window

Me in the woods, on the AT trail just down the road from Clingman's Dome

Elk friend while reading on the sidewalk

Another elk friend while reading on the sidewalk

Another picture of elk in the morning

Purple trillium

Purple trillium