Playing Hooky

I'm in Logan today attending the Spring Runoff Conference at Utah State.  The conference started with a review of the snowpack, a truly depressing topic that I've tried to erase from my memory banks.

The most interesting session thusfar examined tree-ring reconstructions of past climate in northern Utah.

Incredibly, nobody has done this in the Wasatch Mountains and Bear River Range until recently.  Scientists from Utah State and BYU, however, are now on the case and have some fascinating tree-ring reconstructions of streamflow in the Logan River, Big Cottonwood Creek, and the Provo Creek.  Being a skier, I was most impressed with the reconstructed streamflows from 1895–1925, which were big runoff years that must have offered up great skiing.  I'll be looking for a time machine soon.

Hopefully we'll see this work published soon so that we can have a closer look in a future post.