Multimedia Gallery
Skypilots on White Mountain
Skypilots (Polemonium viscosum), a flower of great interest to the GLORIA project (Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments), just below the summit of White Mountain. The GLORIA project is an international research effort based in Austria to monitor the effects of climate change on high peaks above timberline all over the world.
This image is from "In the Shadow of White Mountain," an hour-long documentary produced by the University of California, San Diego, campus television station (UCSD-TV) and funded by the National Science Foundation that highlights scientific studies at White Mountain Research Station (WMRS). The biological field station, located on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Bishop, Calif., has facilities at elevations ranging from 4,000-14,250 feet. The combination of geologic exposure, high elevation and winter access makes the station uniquely valuable for scientific study and educational purposes. Scientists at the station study the biology ecosystem by examining the environment and the plants, insects and animals adapted to this niche. The station serves as a host for two GLORIA (Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments) monitoring sites, a worldwide effort to monitor climate effects on mountain top vegetation.
The documentary has won at least three awards, including an Emmy Award for best documentary by the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. For more information, see "In the Shadow of White Mountain" website. (Date of Image: 2004)
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Credit: Mike Weber, UCSD-TV
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