SUMMER MEASUREMENTS OF DISSOLVED ION CONCENTRATIONS IN ALPINE STREAMS, BLANCA PEAK REGION, COLORADO∗

∗We would like to thank Nel Caine and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. We would like also to express our appreciation to J. W. Griffith and Dave Jenner of the Blanca Trinchera Ranch for access to several study sites and to Doyle Beasley and Mike Estell of Red Wing, Colorado for their logistical support over the years. Special thanks are due to Don Rosenberry, who helped with the 1979 data collection, and to Gayle Maxwell for production of the illustrations.

Chemical weathering is commonly assumed to be negligible in the denudation of alpine landscapes. Spot samples of dissolved ions from alpine streams on the Blanca Massif had minimum average concentrations in 1978 of 35.53 ppm (range: 14.9–75.6 ppm) and in 1979, 20.23 ppm (range: 7.35–35.0 ppm). Correlations between the variation in the concentration of dissolved ions (silica, pH, and minimum ion concentration) and the elevations and drainage-basin areas of sample sites were significant at the 0.05 level.

Notes

∗We would like to thank Nel Caine and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. We would like also to express our appreciation to J. W. Griffith and Dave Jenner of the Blanca Trinchera Ranch for access to several study sites and to Doyle Beasley and Mike Estell of Red Wing, Colorado for their logistical support over the years. Special thanks are due to Don Rosenberry, who helped with the 1979 data collection, and to Gayle Maxwell for production of the illustrations.