![]() ![]() A new weather station installed in the Fall of 2016 in the middle of BSF allows for unprecedented analyses of halite surface dynamics. Climate data over the last 30 years are examined to identify annual patterns in surface water balance at BSF to identify annual and seasonal climate constraints on flooding, evaporation, and desiccation cycles. Five years of field observations and sampling, analyses of satellite imagery dating back the 1980s, and geochemical analysis of surface brines have shown that spatiotemporal changes in surface water and fluctuations in the surface salt footprint are linked to both climate and land use. Ongoing research is focused on characterizing physical changes in the BSF environment and attributing observed changes in the landscape to specific processes and drivers. In addition, the texture of the salt surface is changed by land use including racing activities, which impacts water fluxes through the crust. The character of BSF changes on daily, weekly, monthly, annual, and geologic time scales in response to fluctuations in water balance, solute flux, and groundwater flow which is impacted by both local meteorology and water management associated with potash mining. The Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) is an ephemeral and valued salt pan in northwestern Utah where a century of land speed racing and potash mining have created a complex and intertwined social and hydrologic system. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |