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CU study: Global warming increasing heavy metals in streams

Sep 7th

Posted by Channel 1 Networks in CU News

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Increase in metal concentrations
in Rocky Mountain watershed
tied to warming temperatures

Warmer air temperatures since the 1980s may explain significant increases in zinc and other metal concentrations of ecological concern in a Rocky Mountain watershed, reports a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Colorado Boulder.

Rising concentrations of zinc and other metals in the upper Snake River just west of the Continental Divide near Keystone, Colo., may be the result of falling water tables, melting permafrost and accelerating mineral weathering rates, all driven by warmer air temperatures in the watershed.  Researchers observed a fourfold increase in dissolved zinc over the last 30 years during the month of September.

Increases in metals were seen in other months as well, with lesser increases seen during the high-flow snowmelt period. During the study period, local mean annual and mean summer air temperatures increased at a rate of 0.5 to 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit per decade.

Generally, high concentrations of dissolved metals in the Snake River watershed are primarily the result of acid rock drainage, or ARD, formed by natural weathering of pyrite and other metal-rich sulfide minerals in the bedrock. Weathering of pyrite forms sulfuric acid through a series of chemical reactions, and pulls metals like zinc from minerals in the rock and carries these metals into streams.

Increased sulfate and calcium concentrations observed over the study period lend weight to the hypothesis that the increased zinc concentrations are due to acceleration of pyrite weathering. The potential for comparable increases in metals in similar Western watersheds is a concern because of impacts on water resources, fisheries and stream ecosystems. Trout populations in the lower Snake River, for example, appear to be limited by the metal concentrations in the water, said USGS research biologist Andrew Todd, lead researcher on the project.

“Acid rock drainage is a significant water quality problem facing much of the Western United States,” Todd said. “It is now clear that we need to better understand the relationship between climate and ARD as we consider the management of these watersheds moving forward.”

Warmer temperatures and earlier snowmelt runoff have been observed throughout mountainous areas of the western United States where ARD is common, but it is not known if these changes have triggered rising acidity and metal concentrations in other “mineralized” watersheds because of lack of comparable monitoring data, according to the research team.

CU-Boulder Professor Diane McKnight, a collaborator on the project, has generated much of the upper Snake River data through research projects conducted with her students since the mid-1990s. McKnight said students in her environmental engineering and environmental studies class like Caitlin Crouch — a study co-author who received her master’s degree under McKnight — are highly motivated to understand ARD problems.

“Student can see that their research will have direct applications to addressing a critical issue for Colorado,” said McKnight, professor in the civil, environmental and architectural engineering department and a fellow in CU’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research.

In cases where ARD is linked directly with past and present mining activities it is called acid mine drainage, or AMD. Another Snake River tributary, Peru Creek, is largely devoid of life due to AMD generated from the abandoned Pennsylvania Mine and smaller mines upstream and has become a target for potential remediation efforts.

The Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety, in conjunction with other local, state and federal partners, is conducting underground exploration work at the mine to investigate the sources of heavy metals-laden water draining from the mine entrance. The new study by Todd and colleagues has important implications in such mine cleanup efforts because it suggests that establishing attainable cleanup objectives could be difficult if natural background metal concentrations are a “moving target.”

A study on the subject was published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. Other collaborators include Andrew Manning and Philip Verplanck of USGS.  The data analyzed for the study came from INSTAAR, the USGS and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to speak at CU Boulder Sept. 13

Sep 7th

Posted by Channel 1 Networks in CU News

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Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will address the role of public lands in American life at the University of Colorado Boulder on Sept. 13 as part of a conference commemorating the 200th anniversary of the General Land Office.

Salazar’s talk is part of a conference titled “The Nation Possessed: The Conflicting Claims on America’s Public Lands” being held at CU-Boulder Sept. 11-14. The conference is sponsored by the Center of the American West and the Public Lands Foundation.

“It is a great privilege to host the Secretary of the Interior, along with many other distinguished public servants and influential Western figures,” said Professor Patty Limerick, faculty director of the Center of the American West. “This is truly a ‘be there or be square’ kind of event; for instance, the session at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday — ‘Burning Man Meets Managing Man,’ on the relationship between the Burning Man Festival and the Bureau of Land Management — cannot be missed.”

Salazar’s talk is open only to conference attendees, and people may register for the conference on site at the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom on Sept. 12 starting at 10 a.m. But several other events are free and open to the public, including two evening events:

— On Sept. 12, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the UMC’s Glenn Miller Ballroom, a former director of the Bureau of Land Management, Bob Abbey, will be interviewed by Timothy Egan, an author and writer for The New York Times.

— On Sept. 13, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the UMC’s Glenn Miller Ballroom, actors Clay Jenkinson and Bryce Townsend will present “The Public Domain and the Public Lands: 1812, 1912, 2112 Re-enactment/Pre-enactment Event with Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and a Visitor from the Future.”

A complete schedule of conference events is available at http://centerwest.org/events/the-nation-possessed/. For information on the CU-Boulder Center of the American West call 303-492-4879 or visit http://www.centerwest.org.

Boulder sheriff, FBI arrest bank robbery suspect

Sep 7th

Posted by Channel 1 Networks in Crime

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Yesterday September 6, 2012, members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and deputies with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office investigated the bank robbery of the Bank of the West, located at 97 2nd Avenue in Niwot, Colorado.  The investigation led to the issuance of an arrest warrant for the arrest of Thomas Charles Snyder II, 45 years of age, for one count of Aggravated Robbery, a class 3 felony and one count of Theft, a class 4 felony.  Bond was set at $50,000.
After reviewing the bank surveillance video, deputies recognized the suspect as somebody that had been previously incarcerated at the Boulder County Jail.  With the assistance of deputies working in the jail, they were able to identify Mr. Snyder as the possible suspect.  Additional follow-up was completed and late last night deputies applied for an arrest warrant for Mr. Snyder’s arrest.
At this time, the whereabouts of Mr. Snyder are unknown and the Sheriff’s Office is requesting assistance from the public in locating him.  Anyone with information may call the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Detective Section at (303) 441-3650.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or through www.nococrimestoppers.com where they can send an anonymous e-mail or text message.  Tips may be eligible for a case reward.
Attached to this media release is a booking photo of Mr. Snyder taken in February 2012.
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