{"id":559,"date":"2024-12-16T11:19:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T16:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.usnh.edu\/ness\/?p=559"},"modified":"2024-12-16T11:19:38","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T16:19:38","slug":"acadias-alpine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.usnh.edu\/ness\/acadias-alpine","title":{"rendered":"Acadia\u2019s\u2026 Alpine?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Catherine Schmitt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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December 11, 2024<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

reposted from: https:\/\/schoodicinstitute.org\/acadias-alpine\/<\/a> with permission<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PC Catherine Schmitt<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Walking along the craggy spine of Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks, looking down at the three-toothed cinquefoil turning red in the cracks and out at the waves of stunted fir on the nearby hills, Sarah Nelson observed, \u201cIt\u2019s kind of funny how all of the mountains feel the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nelson, who has conducted extensive research in Acadia National Park and is now director of research for the Appalachian Mountain Club, has seen a lot of summits. Though the Adirondacks arose from different geologic forces, Whiteface shares extreme weather and unique flora with Mount Mansfield, Mount Washington, Katahdin \u2013 and even the low elevation summits in Acadia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe mountains are also sentinels for change,\u201d said Chris Nadeau, climate adaptation scientist at Schoodic Institute, who has been leading research on restoring summit vegetation in a warming climate. Nadeau and Nelson are part of a team studying the feasibility of establishing a network of snow monitoring stations across the Northeast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing how much snow is in the mountains is important information for protecting unique plant communities, and for those who rely on downslope water supplies for drinking water and irrigation, as well as recreation and tourism. Yet most mountains in the Northeast, including Cadillac Mountain in Acadia, lack snow monitoring \u2013 fewer than five percent of snow observations occur at high elevations. \u201cSnow and ice help shape mountain plant environments, and contribute to many of the societal benefits provided by the alpine,\u201d said Nadeau. \u201cWhiteface Mountain is a special place where snow is monitored using state-of-the-art instrumentation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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South Ridge Trail on Cadillac Mountain (February 2022)<\/em> – PC Sarah Luchini<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At 4,867 feet above sea level, and with a distinct treeline, Whiteface Mountain is considered an alpine environment. The word \u201calpine\u201d emerged six hundred years ago to describe the Alps, a mountain range in Europe, and now refers to any and all things mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The highest point in Acadia, Cadillac Mountain, is 1,527 feet above sea level. And yet it fits most of the descriptions of alpine environments in textbooks<\/a> and websites<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n