Images

Graham birds from a duckie. USGS isn't only geology and Graham isn't only a geologist!

We spent the evening listening to the rhythmic sounds of an oil pumpjack straining at the efforts to connect with its Cretaceous past, accompanied by Pat matcing this rhythm on his guitar . Even in the presence of industrial oil extraction, the desert is spectacular at sunset.

Early June is a great time to view wildflowers in the Utah desert. Although they may have had a vicious appearance, these cacti had absolutely lovely blossoms.

Team D enters the middle of the Uinta basin on Day 2, with Split Mountain still visible. The flow of the river greatly increased that day due to a controlled release at Flaming Gorge Dam. The high flow is meant to carry the larvae of an endangered species of sucker fish into bordering wetlands, where the larvae can grow under more protected conditions.

One of the ongoing experiments on the expedition is a bioacoustic survey monitor, which will parse recorded nighttime sounds into species and numbers of individuals. Here Tom Minckley explains it to USGS scientists Mitch Eaton, Jamie Delano, and John Parks.

Sampling pre-emergent aquatic insects is not always easy, especially on a river with little cobble substrate. Because of the high water from dam release, a lot of floating driftwood was making its way down river.

Ben Capelin and Austin Alvarado have multi-faceted roles on the expedition, serving as expert boatmen, talented cooks, evening companions, and contributors to any discussions.

Rigging the boats on chilly desert mornings is a slow affair. All our food and gear must be sorted, distributed and carefully packed among the six rafts to be able to accommodate its passengers and so it can all be easily found again when we reach our evening camp.

Sampling pre-emergent aquatic insects is not always easy, especially on a river with little cobble substrate. Because of the high water from dam release, a lot of floating driftwood was making its way down river. We are testing a new method to sample this substrate for benthic invertebrates to examine questions of species diversity, dispersal and habitat use.

In high-flow conditions, Team D took off from Split Mountain campground in 6 rafts. Split Mountain is shown in the background.

The sediment sampling project was intended to provide insight into the presence of microplastics in the Colorado River basin. Samples were collected at every campsite that had an adequate supply of sand.

Bill Burton with Paper Powell and (I think??) the first female geologist at USGS.

For Team D, this was our first morning on the river, putting-in at Split Mountain campground in Dinosaur Nat'l Monument. The whole group was very excited as none of the expedition members had ever rafted this section of the Green River.

There was an educational outreach event to describe the fish conservation and Powell expedition involving SCREE and Bureau of Reclamation.

Tildon Jones (Fish Biologist, USFWS) and Jim Prairie (hydro modeler, BOR) lecture to a public audience at Dinosaur the intricacies of the modern Adaptive Management Program for hydropower operation that considers the ecological needs of 3 endangered, endemic fish species in the Basin.

Split Mountain Campground was the beginning of our jouney. We met up with the SCREE expedition in this cozy spot tucked beneath the imposing Split Mountains.

Looking at the route we would be taking the next day, we pondered what lay ahead. Vast, open country and lots of rocks were in our future.

Tom, Tildon Jones (USFWS), and Jim Prairie (BoR) present at the Green River Campground for an "evening program" at Dinosaur National Monument. Many campers were in attendance, as were several deer across the river.

The Uinta Basin represents an area of high productivity for agriculture, ranching and fossil fuel exploration. Recreational activities such as rafting share this landscape with wildlife and industry.

Night 2 Milky Way galaxy with panorama near Firehole

View looking upstream from the hiking trail at Dinosaur national monument. Shows Brown's Park, our camp and the boats, beach, river, scenic background with cottonwoods