Great Salt Lake Basin Hydrologic Observatory

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Compact Western Intermountain Metro-Shed
Hydrologic Observatory
A Hydrologic Observatory to advance understanding
of the hydrology of the modern west Focused on
the interactions between human influences and
hydrologic processes.
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Three Basins of Hydrologic Significance
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High gradients in topography, climate, land use,
GW residence times. A breadth of disciplines.
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Elevation
Land Cover
Bear
Weber
West Desert
Straw-berry
Jordan
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GSLBHO Geology
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Hydrologic Landscape Units
Arid plains with permeable soils and bedrock
Arid plateaus with impermeable soils and
permeable bedrock
Arid playas with permeable soils and bedrock
Humid mountains with permeable soils and
impermeable bedrock
Humid plains with permeable soils and bedrock
Humid plateaus with impermeable soils and
permeable bedrock
Semiarid mountains with impermeable soils and
bedrock
Semiarid mountains with impermeable soils and
permeable bedrock
Semiarid mountains with permeable soils and
impermeable bedrock
Semiarid plateaus with impermeable soils and
bedrock
Semiarid plateaus with permeable soils and
impermeable bedrock
Subhumid plains with impermeable soils and
permeable bedrock
http//water.usgs.gov/lookup/getspatial?hlrus
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Water Balance
1970-2000 PRISM Annual Precipitation
Bear
Salt Lake
Weber
West Desert
Jordan
Straw-berry
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From http//www.doi.gov/water2025/index.html
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Nesting of Scales
Deseret Ranch Paired Watersheds 20 km2
Frost Canyon 9 km2
Great Salt Lake Basin 58,000 km2
Weber Basin 6,400 km2
Bear Canyon 11 km2
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Proposed Infrastructure

• 1.5 Million Private Foundation Grant for
  Critical Infrastructure in the Weber River Basin
  Focus area
• Flux tower in high elevation subalpine forest
• Precipitation
• Surface Energy Balance and ET
• Tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer for
  atmospheric water vapor isotope analysis and
  moisture flux component separation
• SNOTEL upgrades to include soil moisture, solar
  radiation, humidity and wind

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Proposed Infrastructure - Real time Water Quality
Sensors

• pH
• Conductance
• DO
• Temperature
• Turbidity

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Proposed Infrastructure - Laboratory Analytical
Capability

• Trace metal species concentrations in complex
  matrices (hypersaline water and wetland
  sediments)
• High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC)
  interfaced to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass
  Spectrometer (ICPMS) with an Octopole Reaction
  System

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Proposed Infrastructure - Buoy or platform on the
Great Salt Lake

• In cooperation with NOAA National Buoy Data
  Center
• Vertical profiles of temperature and salinity
• Air temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure,
  solar radiation, wind
• Wave height and surface currents

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Proposed Infrastructure - Spread Spectrum
Communication Network

• Point to multipoint Ethernet communication
• In partnership with National Weather Service,
  Federal Aviation Administration and State Natural
  Resources and Air Quality agencies
• Enhancements and Upgrades to FAA Frances Peak
  Communication Infrastructure

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Proposed Infrastructure - Deep multilevel
groundwater sampling well

• Greater than 300 m deep
• East of Great Salt Lake
• Sample isotopes for inference of residence times
  of water emanating from mountain block

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Component Coordinators

• Precipitation
• Jim Steenburgh
• Evapotranspiration
• Dave Bowling
• Catchment Hydrology
• David Tarboton
• Snowpack Hydrology
• Danny Marks
• Mountain stream hydrology
• Jack Schmidt
• Subsurface Hydrology
• Kip Solomon

• Aquatic Biogeochemisty
• Bill Johnson, Dave Naftz
• Paleohydrology
• Katrina Moser
• Human Hydrology
• Craig Forster
• Integration
• Luis Bastidas
• Remote sensing
• Christopher Neale
• Database management
• Rob Gillies

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Strategy

• Focus on strength compactness
• Synergy
• Logistical tractability

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AGU feedback (paraphrased summary by Danny Marks)

• HO needs a coherent measurement and
  infrastructure plan that will be attractive to
  hydrologists from nationally.
• The stated science questions and themes should
  not be limited to site or regional significance.
• 25 million wont go very far in a 100,000 km2
  basin it is a drop in the bucket, but even for a
  6500 km2 catchment it wont do much.
• The HO must provide basic and critical data as
  well as research and technical support for as
  broad a range of hydrologic science issues as
  possible.