Posted on 05/21/2005 6:11:39 PM PDT by Halfmanhalfamazing
The riotous return of life to the mountain upsets conventional notions about the way nature heals its wounds and offers blueprints for repairing damage done by man.
But much of the insight about St. Helens' recovery has been parceled out in scientific papers that deal with little slices of the landscape, like the spread of beetles, or the way airborne seeds took root. The big picture is visible mainly to scientists like Crisafulli, who have made the mountain their life's work.
Now, he and two other researchers who were among the first to venture into the blast zone within months of the big eruption are extending the view to a wider audience. In a paper published in today's issue of the journal Science, they summarize 25 years of ecological change at the volcano. And in a book that will roll off the presses soon, they document the work of dozens of researchers who have taken advantage of one of the world's most unique natural laboratories.
Two birds with one stone.
I went up there to try and catch the huge trout being reported,rained like hell,drank beer,enjoyed all the flowers and wildlife running around.
Ah yes, but this was a "natural disaster." Mankind could not POSSIBLY be a part of nature!
25 weeks or 25 years?
25 weeks or less.
I'm guessing (s)he doesn't mean to do nothing and let nature heal herself, which is the only possible lesson here.
The single greatest surprise to scientists entering the blast zone shortly after the eruption was the realization that many organisms survived in, what initially appeared to be, a lifeless landscape. Scientists entering the blast zone for the first time found a mostly gray and brown landscape covered with dead trees and a uniform covering of ash and pumice.
It wasn’t long before scientists working in the area found surviving populations of plants and animals. This was particularly evident in areas protected by snow cover and where erosion had thinned the overlying ash deposits (along streams and in gullies that formed on hillslopes). Plants were observed sprouting from the pre-eruption soil surface and signs of activity by gophers and ants indicated that subterranean animals (living below ground) had survived beneath the volcanic ash.
The survival of plants and animals in the midst of the apparent total devastation was of special interest to the scientific community. Early studies have demonstrated that, even after a large-scale, catastrophic disturbance, recovery processes are strongly influenced by carry over of living and dead organic material from pre-disturbance ecosystems. At Mount St. Helens, ecosystem recovery was influenced not only by the survival of plants and animals, but also by the tremendous quantities of organic material that remained in the standing dead and blown down forest.
Another story, told by the park rangers at St. Helens:
A couple days after the eruption, geologists helicoptered near the crater and planted a seimograph that sent telemetry back to the USGS Vancouver office. The next day, the USGS was getting some very strange readings from that seimograph, so they assumed it was broken and went out to check it.
When they flew over, they found out what was causing the readings. A small herd of elk had migrated back into the blast zone. The antenna for the seimograph was the tallest thing in the area, and they were rubbing their antlers against it, since there were no trees!
If you get the chance, go visit the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. It is absolutely GORGEOUS, and you'll learn a lot!
I was there when it was being built,God I'm old.
Until I went to see the message you were replying to, I thought you ment you were there when Mt. St Helen was being built, and though goodness, someone older than me!!! Got a good laugh for the evening!!
By the way, stop at the little resturant on the way out. It's on the right side of the road, and fixes burgers and peach cobbler to die for!
^^^^^^^^^^Mankind could not POSSIBLY be a part of nature!^^^^^^^^^^
Heh.........
Mankind is a part of nature, but the disasters of mankind nature *cannot* recover from. You should know that. Man is evil.
Thanks for the link. It just emphasizes what I said at post 1 even more.
Aren't there bacteria that can live on nuclear rods?
But but but but.... those evil american corporations!
Damn them! They're only doing that so they can CUT THE TREES DOWN FOR THEIR GREEDY SHAREHOLDERS!!!!
*chuckles*
I think if you saw FLOWERS and wildlife running around, You drank just alittle too much beer. :)
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