Stream Water Chemistry On Niwot Ridge
The Niwot Ridge LTER has tracked water chemistry in mountain streams since the 1980s. To learn more, explore our nitrate and sulfate ion concentration data, visualized below.
Annual Anomalies in Summer Nitrate Concentrations
Annual Anomalies in September Sulfate Concentrations
Download Stream Water Data and Code
The long-term data and code used to make the figures on this page are publicly available on GitHub and the Environmental Data Initiative Portal.
*Figures, content, and data on this page may be used with proper citation.
about Stream Water Chemistry Data from Niwot Ridge
Field Sites:
Figure 1: Climate stations of the Niwot Ridge LTER. Blue stars indicate the location of the subalpine (C1), Saddle, and alpine (D1) climate stations.
Instrumentation and Data Collection:
How To Cite Figures and Data On this page
The Niwot Ridge LTER welcomes use of the figures and content on this page when accompanied by the following citation:
Niwot Ridge LTER. 2026. Data Dashboard. Retrieved from https://nwt.lternet.edu/stream-water-chemistry.
We also welcome use of the data linked to on this page when accompanied by the following citations:
Albion: Caine, T., J. Morse, S. Yevak, H. Brandes, and Niwot Ridge LTER. 2025. Stream water chemistry data for Albion site, 1982 - ongoing. ver 15. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/39b37d16657733f1d661de4c727568a3
Green Lake 4: Caine, T., J. Morse, S. Yevak, H. Brandes, and Niwot Ridge LTER. 2025. Stream water chemistry data for Green Lake 4, 1982 - ongoing. ver 14. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/cdbd25e2ce7a8b17f785bd4f07aba4fe
Green Lake 5 Rock Glacier: Caine, T., J. Morse, S. Yevak, H. Brandes, and Niwot Ridge LTER. 2025. Stream water chemistry data for Green Lake 5 Rock Glacier, 1998 - ongoing. ver 4. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/990a451879638d17eda4526215114390
Green Lake 5 Outlet: Caine, T. 2021. Stream water chemistry data for Green Lake 5 outlet, 1984 - ongoing. ver 12. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/effe6d9f1a764ebaccb7ae9b28cba7a5
Martinelli: Caine, T., J. Morse, S. Yevak, H. Brandes, and Niwot Ridge LTER. 2025. Stream water chemistry data for Martinelli basin, 1984 - ongoing. ver 5. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/4a761ed1f7b24d25c3eb870662213789
Saddle Steam Site: Caine, T., J. Morse, S. Yevak, H. Brandes, and Niwot Ridge LTER. 2025. Stream water chemistry data for Saddle Stream site, 1994 - ongoing. ver 4. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/92e6f11e89b730321df0865bec4b7b0b
These data packages are hosted on the Environmental Data Initiative Data Portal. Data packages include additional detailed information about where and how Niwot Ridge stream water chemistry data is recorded and processed.
Contact Us
If you have questions about the data presented on this page, please email the Niwot Ridge LTER. To learn more about research, education, and outreach conducted by the Niwot Ridge LTER, please visit our website.