Scientific field work had its ups and downs last week for UC Davis students completing their spring course in ecogeomorphology, offered by the Center for Watershed Sciences. 

The course culminated with a 10-day camping and rafting trip in the Tuolumne River watershed the week after finals during which students collected and analyzed field data.

Scott Perry piloted this raft down Clavey Falls with Miles Ryan (port) and Marion Evangeliste (starboard) in the stern and Nicole Aha (port) and Sasha Leidman (starboard). The photo is by Carson Jeffres, the Center's Field and Lab Director who co-taught the course with senior researcher Sarah Yarnell and fish biology professor Peter Moyle.

Perry is also Water Program Coordinator and a whitewater rafting guide for Outdoor Adventures, a popular program offered by UC Davis Campus Recreation and Unions.

Ecogeomorphology is a course offered to juniors and seniors in the multidisciplinary study of the ecology, geomorphology and management of rivers in the Sierra. Students do weekly lab write-ups on river surveying and sampling methods, field research logs (aka “flogs”), training for rafting Class III and IV rapids, and produce a video on some aspect of the Tuolumne River watershed.

The headwaters of the Tuolumne RIver begin at 13,000 feet in Yosemite National Park. The river offers 27 miles of world-class whitewater for rafters and kayakers. Its flows are regulated several dams, including the O'Shaughnessy Dam at Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which supplies water for 2.5 million Bay Area residents.