NPS
Scientists who study nature -- biologists, botanists, ecologists, geologists, hydrologists, paleontologists, and so on -- are busy in parks! Every year they conduct thousands of projects, whether they're pursuing basic research or using scientific methods to inventory and monitor natural resources. Some of them are NPS employees. Others are scientists at partner organizations working closely with the NPS on a joint project. Still others are university faculty and graduate students doing their own thing. And lately their ranks even include public volunteers who participate in citizen science projects.
They have countless stories from the field. One involves skirting a bear cub and mother near a research plot in a mountain meadow. Another involves toting modern scanning equipment over a lava field to understand the geology of other planets. And a third features snake dissections and picking through lung parasites introduced by invasive pythons. All in a day's work!
All this science helps the NPS understand parks and the challenges they face, and how best to preserve their natural systems. Read on to sample the great variety of natural resource sience, and scientists, in national parks.
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- Rocky Mountain National Park
Recording Soundscapes After a Fire: It's for the Birds
Peace and quiet. This is why many people travel to national parks. But nature is louder than we might think. Dr. Jacob Job, a conservationist, communicator, and natural sounds recordist, visits national parks specifically for their sounds. Learn more about his work and listen to some of the sounds he studies.
- Sites: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve, Lava Beds National Monument
Volcanologist Erika Rader's first thought about visual near-infrared spectroscopy equipment was, "I don't understand this and therefore I don't believe it works, but planetary scientists use it a lot so maybe I should give it a think." Soon after, she wanted to share the technology with others.
- Acadia National Park
Learning How to Restore Mountain Summits
How do you restore vegetation on a mountain summit? Chris Nadeau is looking for an answer on Cadillac.
- Sites: Southern California Research Learning Center, Cabrillo National Monument, Channel Islands National Park, Olympic National Park
Along the northwestern tip of the continental United States, large rocky stacks rise like sentinels from the mist. Shrouded in beauty and wonder, the expansive coastline of Olympic National Park sets a dramatic stage for the convergence of several unique ecosystems. Pristine, glacier-capped mountains painted in lush rainforests descend swiftly into the crashing waves where land meets sea. This is where our story begins.
- Sites: Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center, Kenai Fjords National Park
The Alaska Sealife Center and Seward High School are bringing scientists and students together to monitor seabird populations in and around Kenai Fjords National Park. The project is called SeeBird, and its goal is two-fold: to engage students in real-world science, and to collect meaningful seabird data to support conservation in and around Kenai Fjords National Park.
- Rocky Mountain National Park
Dr. Willard’s Alpine Tundra Research Plots
Dr. Beatrice Willard (1925-2003) was a beloved and respected tundra ecologist. In 1959 she established research plots in Rocky Mountain National Park. At these plots Dr. Willard examined the "complexity of dynamic processes set in motion by visitor impact" for approximately 40 years. Dr. Willard’s work at the plots and the subsequent influence she had over national environmental policy is of great importance to our Nation’s history.
- Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center
Plotting the Future: A Day in the Life of a Forest Ecologist
Follow park ecologists through the twist and turns of the spruce and fir forest, while they monitor one of the 160 forest plots in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Each plot is important because it tells ecologists how the forest has and will continue to change.
- Northeast Coastal and Barrier Inventory & Monitoring Network
An aspiring geologist gains a well-grounded skill set from the Geoscientists-in-the-Parks (GIP) internship program
After graduating with a master's degree in Earth & Ocean Science, Jin-Si Over discovered the Geoscientists-in-the-Parks Program. While interning as a geomorphology assistant for the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, she worked and lived on the shores of Gateway National Recreation Area learning a skill set that would further her career goals as a geographer.
- Acadia National Park
Hannah Webber's Many Questions
Tag along on a field day with Hannah Webber and learn about rockweed sampling and what it tells us about the intertidal zone.
- Everglades National Park
So What’s in a Burmese Python Anyway?
Dr. Christina Romagosa is a research associate professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation in Gainesville, Florida, but much of her work is in South Florida. Her research focuses on how ecosystems respond to invasive species, or non-native species that do harm to the ecosystem.
Last updated: January 23, 2024