In Rockies Meadow, Early Spring Gives Some Experts Chills

For nearly three decades scientists have carefully watched a Rocky Mountain meadow spring to life.

The meadow is nestled at about 9,500 feet (2,900 meters) above sea level between towering, snowcapped peaks a few miles outside the resort town of Crested Butte, Colorado. The field has been home to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL, pronounced "rumble") for 75 years.

Until about 2000, the high-altitude meadow seemed to be resisting the pull of global warming, even though spring seemed to be blooming earlier at lower reaches. Due to heavier-than-usual snowfalls, the meadow was remaining blanketed in white even after the ever warmer spring temperatures arrived.

Since 2000, however, the meadow seems to be catching up with the lower altitudes. It is bursting back to life earlier too now, due to an ongoing drought that has reduced snowfall in the area. It could be the start of a new long-term pattern that sees the meadow more in sync, seasonally speaking, with down-mountain areas. That pattern may be more than just a symptom of global warming. It could even help accelerate climate change, some scientists say.