The Horseshoe Lake Killer
Since 1980, scientists have monitored geologic unrest in Long Valley Caldera and at adjacent Mammoth Mountain, California. After a persistent swarm of earthquakes beneath Mammoth Mountain in 1989, geologists discovered that large volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) gas were seeping from beneath this volcano. This gas is killing trees on the mountain and especially near Horseshoe Lake. Although leaves of plants produce oxygen (O2) from CO2 during photosynthesis, their roots need to absorb O2 directly. The high CO2 concentrations in the soil on Mammoth Mountain are killing trees by denying their roots O2 and by interfering with nutrient uptake. In the areas of tree kill, CO2 makes up about 20 to 95% of the gas content of the soil; soil gas normally contains 1% or less CO2.
Source and more info: pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs172-96/
The Horseshoe Lake Killer
Since 1980, scientists have monitored geologic unrest in Long Valley Caldera and at adjacent Mammoth Mountain, California. After a persistent swarm of earthquakes beneath Mammoth Mountain in 1989, geologists discovered that large volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) gas were seeping from beneath this volcano. This gas is killing trees on the mountain and especially near Horseshoe Lake. Although leaves of plants produce oxygen (O2) from CO2 during photosynthesis, their roots need to absorb O2 directly. The high CO2 concentrations in the soil on Mammoth Mountain are killing trees by denying their roots O2 and by interfering with nutrient uptake. In the areas of tree kill, CO2 makes up about 20 to 95% of the gas content of the soil; soil gas normally contains 1% or less CO2.
Source and more info: pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs172-96/