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| Storage: | The size of this resource is 6.5 MB | |
| Created: | Dec 17, 2023 at 4:04 p.m. (UTC) | |
| Last updated: | Mar 22, 2026 at 5:27 p.m. (UTC) | |
| Citation: | See how to cite this resource |
| Sharing Status: | Private (Accessible via direct link sharing) |
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Abstract
This resource documents the analysis reported in the paper Merck and Tarboton, “Evaluating Variations in Great Salt Lake Inflow to Infer Human Consumptive Water Use, A Volume Reconstruction Approach”, submitted to Water Resources Research, 2024.
The Great Salt Lake (GSL) is an ecologically and economically important resource that is at risk due to declining lake levels. This decline has been attributed to human consumptive water use that depletes natural streamflow into the lake. Understanding streamflow depletions due to historical consumptive water use within the GSL Basin is important to managing present and future lake conditions. Direct calculations of consumptive water use in the basin are made by summing detailed uses and return flows. However, this method is limited to recent periods when necessary information is available and estimates thus far have been disparate. In this study, we reconstructed total GSL water inputs and stream inflows using lake levels recorded from 1847-2023. Calculations of lake volume changes associated with measured lake level changes, together with information on direct precipitation to and evaporation from the lake, support the estimation of lake inflow back to the date lake levels were first recorded and prior to the dates for which streamflow has been measured. Trends associated with these prior streamflow hindcasts were used to infer overall consumptive use depletion of streamflow and the impact this has had on lake levels. The volume reconstruction hindcasts of streamflow presented here provide an additional and complementary line of evidence quantifying consumptive use depletion of streamflow in the GSL Basin. The results extending back to 1847 are important because they quantify the degree to which consumptive use has impacted the lake and serve as a reference for efforts towards conservation and other water management actions aimed at restoring the lake to levels where it better supports its uses.
The results presented in the paper show that there is a declining trend in lake inflow, without associated precipitation or natural streamflow trends. This, was used to quantify basin wide water depletions to be up to 2.3 km3/yr and the current lake level decline associated with this estimate to be as much as 4.6 meters.
Subject Keywords
Coverage
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Content
README.txt
This resource holds the data used for volume reconstruction of Great Salt Lake Inflow as described by Merck and Tarboton, 2024, submitted to Water Resources Research. Files GSLdepletions_WRR.R. R Script used for the Analysis. GSLannual_wy.csv. Main input data file GSLAreaVol_extended.csv. Area and volume bathymetry tables extended up to 4223.5 ft. Results folder. This holds the figures and output data produced by running the GSLdepletions_WRR.R script. GSLannual_wy.csv - wateryear is the period from October 1 of the previous year to September 30 of the designated year. Analysis in the paper used water year calculations and a water year time step. - NLevAnn_m. Average North Arm level for measurements within the water year, in meters. - SLevAnn_m. Average South Arm level for measurements within the water year, in meters. - NAreaAnn_m2. Average North Arm area for values interpolated using bathymetry and monthly North Arm WSE within the water year, in square meters. - SAreaAnn_m2. Average South Arm area for values interpolated using bathymetry and monthly South Arm WSE within the water year, in square meters. - AreaAnn_m2. Combined area of North and South Arms summing above two quantities, NAreaAnn_m2 and SAreaAnn_m2, in square meters. - NVolAnn_m3. Average North Arm volume for values interpolated using bathymetry and monthly North Arm WSE within the water year, in cubic meters. - SVolAnn_m3. Average South Arm volume for values interpolated using bathymetry and monthly South Arm WSE within the water year, in cubic meters. - VolAnn_m3. Combined volume of North and South Arms summing above two quantities, NVolAnn_m3 and SVolAnn_m3, in cubic meters. - DVol_wy_m3. Change in volume from end of previous water year level (October) to end of current water year level (October) for volumes interpolated using bathymetry and monthly WSE, in cubic meters. - Qmeas_m3. Annual volume of streamflow into GSL using values from https://www.hydroshare.org/resource/bb2bba84e1d5424db9211a991a7e5dd8/, in cubic meters. - PMPAnn_m3. Annual volume of lake water pumped out of the lake during the West Desert Pumping Project, in cubic meters. - WDRAnn_m3. Annual volume of lake water returned to the lake during the West Desert Pumping Project, in cubic meters. - MPWNAnn_m3. Annual volume of withdrawal due to mineral extraction in the North Arm, in cubic meters. - MPWSAnn_m3. Annual volume of withdrawal due to mineral extraction in the South Arm, in cubic meters. - MPRETNAnn_m3. Annual volume of return flow due to mineral extraction in the North Arm, in cubic meters. - MPRETSAnn_m3. Annual volume of return flow due to mineral extraction in the South Arm, in cubic meters. - TotalLoadAnn_kg. Average mass of salt in the lake within the water year, in kilograms. - TotDisLoadAnn_kg. Average mass of dissolved salt in the lake within the water year, in kilograms. - SCFmPenTDSAnn. Average salinity correction factor within the water year estimated using modified Penman equation developed by Mohammed and Tarboton (2012), no units. - PRISM_lake_mm. Annual depth of precipitation over the lake within the water year based on PRISM interpolated estimates, in mm. - PRISM_BWJrivers_mm. Annual depth of precipitation over the contributing watersheds (Bear, Weber, Jordan) within the water year based on PRISM interpolated estimates, in mm. - PRISM_GSLbasin_mm. Annual depth of precipitation over the full GSL Basin within the water year based on PRISM interpolated estimates, in mm. GSLAreaVol_extended.csv Lake area and lake volume are functions of water surface elevation. They were tabulated in 0.15 m (0.5 foot) increments, for elevations from 1269.5 m to 1286.45 m, from the lakebed bathymetry digital elevation model (Tarboton and Merck, 2023, ttp://www.hydroshare.org/resource/582060f00f6b443bb26e896426d9f62a) using methods detailed in Merck and Tarboton (2023, http://doi.org/10.3390/w15081488). This DEM is incomplete above 4212 ft (1283.82 m) so area and volume were extrapolated linearly up to 4223.5 ft (1287.3 m) needed for the level reconstructions from hindcast inflows. Columns in GSLAreaVol_extended.csv are - Stage_ft. Lake water surface elevation for north or south arm in ft. - Stage_m. Lake water surface elevation converted to meters - NorthArea_m2. Area of north arm in square meters - NorthVol_m3. Volume of north arm in cubic meters - SouthArea_m2. Area of south arm in square meters - SouthVol_m3. Volume of south arm in cubic meters
Related Resources
| Title | Owners | Sharing Status | My Permission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collection of Great Salt Lake Data | David Tarboton | Public & Shareable | Open Access |
How to Cite
This resource is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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