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Mitch and Graham collect sediment samples on a transect

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.

Congratulations to Dr.

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.

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.

Florence Bascom joins John Wesley Powell on a 5-day leg of the Powell 150 Expedition, marking the 150th anniversary of the Powell Expedition, an exploration of the Green and Colorado Rivers that ended in the Grand Canyon.

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.

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.

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.

Synchrotron X-Ray microtomography 3D image (a) and cathodoluminescence slice (b) from the same reentrant-bearing quartz crystal from the Lava Creek Tuff. The reentrants are in darker blue in (a) and the black cavities in (b). Note their relationship to quartz growth bands. Red domains are small magnetite crystals.

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.

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.

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

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.

Mitch Eaton pictured with “Paper Powell” just before embarking on his five-day journey on the Colorado River.

Biological Technician, Laura (Laney) White records data on Beaufort sea state and environmental conditions during a flight.

The Powell150 team’s boats stocked with gear and ready to set down the river.

USGS researchers are studying how enhancing moss growth may lead to improved practices to restore soil biocrusts. 

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