Science & Research

Climate scientist installs climate monitoring equipment. In 2006, National Park Service staff worked with the California Department of Water Resources and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California to establish this meteorological monitoring station at the monument.

For a relatively small monument, Devils Postpile is the site of a wide range of research and monitoring projects. Although we often talk about research and monitoring together, they are different. The monument is engaged in both. For example, the work being done on air quality and cold air pooling is considered research. There are definitive questions for which monument staff is trying to find answers.

Natural resource inventories help managers understand the current state of resources in the monument (abundance and distribution of species, water quality, forest health). Long-term monitoring tracks changes in the condition of natural resources. Some of this work is part of larger studies or monitoring efforts that encompass parks and forests throughout this part of the Sierra Nevada, and it informs understanding and knowledge of what makes this landscape such a diverse one.

Research, inventories, and monitoring are often conducted in partnership with other agencies, parks, or partners. Please contact us if you are interested in information on a particular study or project. For more information on projects conducted by the Sierra Nevada Network at the monument, visit our Inventory & Monitoring page.

 

Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River and Soda Springs Meadow. Photo taken from Granite Dome at an elevation of 8200 feet (2500 meters).

NPS / Monica Buhler

Might cold air pooling offer relief from summer warming?

In 2021, Devils Postpile National Monument staff worked with scientist partners to publish local research on how cold air pooling may help support a conservation strategy under a warming climate. See this paper to learn more:
Cahan, D. R., M. Buhler, J. P. Goodrich, D. Dulen, and D. Alden. 2021. Relief from summer warming: Devils Postpile National Monument's cold air pool support's a refugium-based conservation strategy. Parks Stewardship Forum 37(3): 592-603.

Cold air pooling (CAP) occurs in low-lying areas where cold, dense air collects during nighttime hours, producing colder temperatures than surrounding higher elevations. Devils Postpile National Monument is confined by steep mountain ridges, which promote cold air drainage into lower-elevation meadows and river valleys. These low-lying areas where CAP occurs could help facilitate a potential refugium from some of the greatest impacts of regional climate warming. A refugium in this context is an area of the landscape that may be sheltered from the intensity and rapid pace of climate change, possibly allowing more time for species to adapt to new conditions.

Read the paper to learn more about cold air pooling and the importance of monitoring and ongoing analysis to guide conservation and adaptation approaches.