Spatial Analyses of Trophic Linkages between Basins in the Great Salt Lake

Although the Great Salt Lake is frequently treated as if it were a single body of water, the natural bays and transportation causeways have divided it into a system of four bays. The bays, however, do not function independently because water, nutrients and other contaminants flow between them. The purpose of our study was to analyze the water quality in three of the bays (Farmington, Bear River and Gilbert), to determine fluxes of nutrients between them, and to determine how this was influencing brine shrimp populations in the lake. Discharge and nutrient concentrations were measured at constrictions separating the three bays from May through December of 2006. Phytoplankton and nutrients in the bays were sampled periodically to help understand factors controlling blooms of phytoplankton. Three synoptic analyses were done in May, June and December to look at water quality and plankton concentrations at 29 stations in the three bays. The synoptic work was coupled with an analysis of MODIS satellite imagery to determine spatial and temporal changes in the abundance of phytoplankton in the lake

Mercury inputs to Great Salt Lake, Utah: Reconnaissance-Phase results

In response to increasing public concern regarding mercury (Hg) cycling in Great Salt Lake (GSL) ecosystem, a series of studies were initiated to differentiate between the mass of Hg from riverine versus atmospheric sources to GSL. Cumulative riverine Hg load to GSL during a 1 year time period (April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008) was 6 kg, with almost 50% of the cumulative Hg load contributed by outflow from Farmington Bay. Comparison of cumulative annual atmospheric Hg deposition (32 kg) to annual riverine deposition (6 kg) indicates that atmospheric deposition is the dominant input source to GSL. A sediment core collected from the southern arm of GSL was used to reconstruct annual Hg deposition rates over the past ~ 100 years. Unlike most freshwater lakes, small changes in water level in GSL significantly changes the lake surface area available for direct deposition of atmospheric Hg. There is good agreement between lake elevation (and corresponding lake surface area) and Hg deposition rates estimated from the sediment core. Higher lake levels, combined with sediment focusing processes, result in an increase in Hg accumulation rates observed in the sediment core. These same combination of processes are responsible for the lower Hg accumulation rates observed in the sediment core during historic low stands of GSL

A 50-year record of NOx and SO2 sources in precipitation in the Northern Rocky Mountains, USA

Ice-core samples from Upper Fremont Glacier (UFG), Wyoming, were used as proxy records for the chemical composition of atmospheric deposition. Results of analysis of the ice-core samples for stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N, ) and sulfur (δ34S, ), as well as and deposition rates from the late-1940s thru the early-1990s, were used to enhance and extend existing National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) data in western Wyoming. The most enriched δ34S value in the UFG ice-core samples coincided with snow deposited during the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, Washington. The remaining δ34S values were similar to the isotopic composition of coal from southern Wyoming. The δ15N values in ice-core samples representing a similar period of snow deposition were negative, ranging from -5.9 to -3.2 ‰ and all fall within the δ15N values expected from vehicle emissions. Ice-core nitrate and sulfate deposition data reflect the sharply increasing U.S. emissions data from 1950 to the mid-1970s

Handbook of groundwater remediation using permeable reactive barriers : applications to radionuclides, trace metals, and nutrients /

Over the last century and a half, groundwaters have become contaminated by a growing number of organic and inorganic substances ranging from petroleum-derived hydrocarbons to radioactive compounds, to cancer-causing hexavalent chromium. The importance of uncontaminated groundwater for agriculture, human consumption, and the environmental health of ecosystems is paramount to the health and productivity of industrial society. Water scientists and managers are focused on developing cost-effective methods to reverse this trend. Several methodologies have been developed, however few are as cost-eff.Includes bibliographical references and index.Print version record.Front Cover; Handbook of Groundwater Remediation Using Permeable Reactive Barriers: Applications to Radionuclides, Trace Metals, and Nutrients; Copyright Page; Contents; Contributors; Foreword; Preface; About the Editors; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1. Introduction To Groundwater Remediation of Metals, Radionuclides, and Nutrients with Permeable Reactive Barriers; Introduction; History of PRBs for Metals, Radionuclides, and Nutrients; Contaminant Uptake Mechanisms; Longevity; Designs; Goals of this Book; References.Over the last century and a half, groundwaters have become contaminated by a growing number of organic and inorganic substances ranging from petroleum-derived hydrocarbons to radioactive compounds, to cancer-causing hexavalent chromium. The importance of uncontaminated groundwater for agriculture, human consumption, and the environmental health of ecosystems is paramount to the health and productivity of industrial society. Water scientists and managers are focused on developing cost-effective methods to reverse this trend. Several methodologies have been developed, however few are as cost-eff.Elsevie

Climate Change in the Western United States: Observed and Potential Impacts to Unique Hydrologic Systems

Unique geographic areas in the western United States (US) that include glaciers in the Wind River Range (WRR) of Wyoming and the 4th largest terminal lake in the world (Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah) are particularly susceptible to ongoing and future impacts of climate change. Significant attention has been given to the melting of relatively small glaciers in Glacier National Park (GNP), Montana; however, the less visited melting glaciers in the WRR of Wyoming represent the largest accumulation of glacial ice in the Rocky Mountains of the continental US. Melting of these alpine glaciers represents larger impacts and hydrologic hazards than their more popular counterparts in GNP. Delta oxygen-18 (?180) records from WRR glaciers spanning the last - 270 years have indicated an increase in average air temperature (TA) of approximately 2.1 oC since the end of the Little Ice Age. A likely consequence of this warming was the recent failure of a natural ice dam at the head of Grasshopper Glacier, resulting in the instantaneous release of approximately 3.2 million m3 of water that had accumulated in a periglacial lake. Additional periglacial lakes have been observed in the WRR, occurring in steep topography and increasingly destabilized environments, presenting a potential threat to backcountry users on these Federally-managed lands. Increasing atmospheric C02 has been linked to increasing oceanic acidity (Royal Society, 2005). Furthermore, acidic riverine discharge in coastal areas has impacted the formation of shell material associated with shellfish growth as evidenced by depressions in the saturation index (SI) of biogenic mineral phases (Salisbury et al., 2008). Biogenic carbonates (biostromes) in the near-shore areas of GSL represent an important habitat for brine fly (Ephydra cinerea) larvae and pupae, which in turn provide a critical food source for nesting and migratory waterfowl. Geochemical modeling using the U.S. Geological Survey software PHREEQC with the Pitzer thermodynamic database indicates a significant depression in the SI of the aragonite mineral phase (CaC03) in near-shore mixing zones associated with riverine discharge to GSL. The C02 charged water associated with high soil respiration rates during longer growing seasons in the extensive perimeter wetlands surrounding GSL could further impact the future formation of biostromes in this system. Royal Society, 2005, Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide, Policy Doc. 12/05, London. (Available at http:// www.royalsoc.ac.uk) Salisbury, J., Green, M., Campbell, J., 2008, Coastal acidification by rivers: A threat to shellfish?: Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, vol. 18, no. 50, p. 513-514

Severe Eutrophication in Farmington Bay, a Polluted Embayment of the Great Salt Lake, Utah

Farmington Bay, is a large (100 mi2; 260 km2) and very shallow (mean depth ~3 ft) embayment at the SE corner of the Great Salt Lake, bordering greater metropolitan Salt Lake City. The embayment is largely enclosed by an automobile causeway so that mixing with Gilbert Bay, which comprises the central part of the lake, is restricted. The bay acts as an “estuary” of the Jordan River during spring run off, salinities in the bay can decline t

An Equation of State for Hypersaline Water in Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Great Salt Lake (GSL) is one of the largest and most saline lakes in the world. In order to accurately model limnological processes in GSL, hydrodynamic calculations require the precise estimation of water density (ρ) under a variety of environmental conditions. An equation of state was developed with water samples collected from GSL to estimate density as a function of salinity and water temperature. The ρ of water samples from the south arm of GSL was measured as a function of temperature ranging from 278 to 323 degrees Kelvin (oK) and conductivity salinities ranging from 23 to 182 g L−1 using an Anton Paar density meter. These results have been used to develop the following equation of state for GSL (σ = ± 0.32 kg m−3): $$\rho - \rho^{0} = { 184}.0 10 6 2 { } + { 1}.0 4 70 8*{\text{S}} - 1. 2 10 6 1*{\text{T }} + { 3}. 1 4 7 2 1 {\text{E}} - 4*{\text{S}}^{ 2} + \, 0.00 1 9 9 {\text{T}}^{ 2} - 0.00 1 1 2*{\text{S}}*{\text{T}},$$ where ρ 0 is the density of pure water in kg m−3, S is conductivity salinity g L−1, and T is water temperature in degrees Kelvin