Science Moab

Wildfires often result in increased flooding of an area. We talk with Natalie Gillard, a graduate student in watershed sciences at Utah State University, who is studying how wildfires affect fish and other aquatic wildlife downstream of burnt areas.

Outcrops of Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation in Grand County, Utah contain dinosaur fauna found nowhere else in the world. We talk with Dr. James Kirkland, state paleontologist for the Utah Geological Survey about his discoveries of these unique dinosaur species and how the salt tectonics of the area is key to preserving these rare fauna from the Cretaceous time.

The Colorado Plateau has a long history of uranium mining. That history is especially apparent within the Navajo Nation, which has hundreds of abandoned uranium mines. Tailings and raw material from these mines can still be found in the open air within the Navajo Nation. Tribal communities have unique exposure pathways to uranium and other heavy metals. Here, we speak with Dr. Tommy Rock about his work to uncover these exposure pathways and the work he does to engage and empower his community.

The Colorado River Basin has experienced incredibly large flood events in the past. Present-day river deposits can be used to understand the size and timing of floods that have happened within the region. Here, we speak with Dr. Vic Baker who studies what he calls Paleoflood Hydrology. We talk about the ways he and his team determine how big flood events were and how we can understand the possibility of floods into the future.

Traditional ecological knowledge(s) are knowledge systems held by Indigenous peoples. They are long-held sets of knowledge and awarenesses about the world that are passed from one generation to the next. The knowledge is based on observations and information accumulated through time, similar to western science. Here we speak with scholar and activist Daisy Purdy about traditional ecological knowledge and its relationship with western science.

Birds rely on riparian areas of SE Utah and the Colorado Plateau and as the ecosystems change along the banks of these rivers, there is real impact on bird populations and species. Sean Mahoney, PhD candidate at Northern Arizona University, speaks with us about his work with birds that inhabit and migrate through the rivers of the Colorado Plateau. We talk about how they are being affected as climate, water levels, and invasive species make their mark on the banks of these rivers.

Natural shifts in light and dark are critical to all forms of life. We talk with naturalist and dark skies advocate Cris White about what darkness means to ecosystems and people. We also talk about the different ways that dark skies are being threatened and what is being done to protect them.

Changes are happening in plant communities in deserts of the Colorado Plateau and around the world. We speak with Dr. Steve Archer from the University of Arizona about the shifts in ecosystems primarily made up of grasses to those of woody plants and shrubs. The effects of this shift are wide reaching and have large effects for desert systems that we know.

Natural springs have long been centers of biodiversity and cultural significance. We speak with David Sabata who recently completed his masters degree from Northern Arizona University where he studied springs within the Grand Staircase Escalante Monument. We talk about his studies and how springs can be used to understand human settlement across the landscape.

We speak with Allison Stegner who is a post-doctoral researcher at Stanford University. She studies small mammals as a way to understand present and past environments. Here, we talk with Allison about her work and how studying small mammal abundance and distribution on the landscape can give us a better understanding of environmental change through time.