Hoar frost clings to pine needles on a branch that holds a now open cone.

Science

Research from Mono Lake to Jupiter

Scientists across disciplines flock to the Mono Basin Mono Lake is a place where fascinating geology gives rise to vital ecosystems, and the support offered to researchers through our Mono Basin Field Station means that the Mono Lake Committee has…

Shorebird survey of Mono Lake’s entire shoreline

Mono Lake is known for its shorebirds—flocks of dainty phalaropes awe us as they fly amongst the tufa, striking black-and-white avocets congregate at the County Park boardwalk, and sandpipers forage on recently exposed mudflats. Even at its unnaturally low level,…

Phalarope surveys return to Mono Lake

One of my most influential early birding memories involved phalaropes. It was a family trip to Monterey Bay, California around Labor Day, and my sister and I had been interested in birds for a few years, but we weren’t what…

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory working at Mono Lake

NASA has been coming to Mono Lake for many years, and they are back on our shores once again. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) team arrived last Sunday and set up a mobile laboratory in the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor…
A view from above looking at water

Eared Grebe research at Mono Lake

The Mono Lake Committee is dedicated to the restoration of Mono Lake and recognizes Eared Grebes as one of the bird species of special significance due to the species’ historical and current reliance on Mono Lake. Since 2008, the Mono Lake…
Scientists with the USGS working in a boat with research equipment beside it in Mono Lake.

Mono Basin research ramps back up

As the world closed down in March 2020 in response to the worsening coronavirus pandemic, research groups working in the Mono Basin also packed up and went home. Though a few people were able to return later in the year…