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RegionObama TransitionDaily DigestMeetings
The Drury High School Council meets Tuesday, Jan 13, at 6:30 in the conference room. Agenda items include AYP, school grant, laptop initiative and PowerSchool updates. |
Steve Decker cleans up in front of BankNorth on Wednesday.
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More Snow
The Berkshires received several inches of snow this morning, but not enough to close schools, unlike yesterday's sleety mess. Temperatures will drop into the 20s this afternoon. A few more snow showers are expected through the weekend.
We have reports that the roads are very slippery to take care in the evening commute. |
Duff'em If You've Got'em
 North Adams Regional Hospital went smoke-free Monday — so did all its sister sites, from Sweet Brook to Northern Berkshire Family Practice to the Women's Exchange. No ashtrays, no smoking: No butts about it. |
Wanted: Eagle Eyes
MassWildlife's annual eagle count runs Dec. 31 to Jan. 14. Anyone sighting one of the regal birds in Massachusetts is asked to participate.
Send date, time, location and town of eagle sightings, number of birds, whether juvenile or adult and observer's contact information to Mass.wildlife@state.ma.us. |
| Need to contact iBerkshires? Here's how. |
Like to Write?
 iBerkshires accepts submissions about local events, news and opinion pieces. There are openings for freelance work, too, for qualified candidates. E-mail tdaniels@iberkshires.com to find out more. |
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Other StuffMars Rovers Mark 5 Years
 Spirit and Opportunity have been trekking the red planet for half a decade. Spirit hit the 5-year mark on Sunday; Opportunity will on Jan. 24. |
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A team of researchers led by the University of Colorado at Boulder - September 23, 2008
WILLIAMSTOWN - A team of researchers led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has been awarded a $4.25 million National Science Foundation grant to study critical zones of the Boulder Creek watershed in central Colorado. The team includes David Dethier, the Edward Brust Professor of Geology and Mineralogy at Williams College, CU-Boulder is coordinating the five-year study with Williams College, the U.S. Geological Survey, Stanford University, and Technical University of Munich.
This is one of three NSF grants designated to establish critical zone observatories. With the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory, the team will explore variations in critical zone development.
Critical zones, or heterogeneous regions comprising weathering rock and overlying soil, are the primary habitat for terrestrial life. These dynamic regions are shaped by the interplay of physical, chemical, and biological processes acting on "rock parcels" as they move upwards from the parent rock mass to the surface.
"When you ask the question of how we go from hard rock up to soil that can support life, that's a system we really need to understand," said principle investigator Suzanne Anderson. Anderson is an assistant professor at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Understanding of the chemical and mechanical weathering interactions in critical zone development is pivotal in predicting the responses of landscapes to climate and land use change.
"One thing we're looking at is how different watersheds within Boulder Creek respond to rainstorms, and ultimately which ones are more likely to produce flash floods," Anderson said.
The team is studying three subcatchment sites at the erosionally diverse Boulder Creek: a glaciated alpine valley, a forested gulch, and a steep gulley composed largely of bedrock with deep weathering.
Dethier, together with Williams undergraduates, (three, who worked on a Keck Consortium project) focused on the processes and pace of weathering in critical zones. This study builds on research that Dethier and his students have conducted over the past eight years.
The grant will also fund a number of education and outreach initiatives, including a partnership with K-12 students throughout Colorado, an undergraduate research program, and a graduate critical zone course. |
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Marvel Comic Features Obama
