Changing Properties of Snowpack in the Great Salt Lake Basin, Western United States, from a 26-Year SNOTEL Record

Abstract

Daily observations from automated snowpack telemetry (SNOTEL) stations from within the drainage basin of the Great Salt Lake over the period from 1982 to 2007 are analyzed. The major finding is a shift toward an earlier date of peak snow water equivalent (SWE) by around fifteen days. Less robust findings are reductions in the amounts of peak SWE and 1 April SWE. This suggests increased chances of late-summer water shortages, especially when combined with rapid recent population growth. Less freshwater is likely to be available to flow into the Great Salt Lake, increasing its salinity and potentially affecting its ecology.

Se analizaron las observaciones diarias de estaciones de telemetría de la cubierta de nieve (“snowpack”), SNOTEL (de SNOwpack TELemetry), desde el interior de la cuenca de drenaje del Gran Lago Salado durante el periodo de 1982 a 2007. El principal hallazgo es un desplazamiento hacia una fecha anterior del valor máximo del equivalente en agua de la nieve (snow water equivalent, SWE) de aproximadamente quince días. Entre los hallazgos menos sólidos se encuentran las reducciones de las cantidades del SWE máximo y del SWE del 1.^ˆ de abril. Esto sugiere mayores probabilidades de escasez de agua a finales del verano, especialmente cuando se considera el rápido crecimiento reciente de la población. Es posible que haya menos agua dulce disponible para fluir al Gran Lago Salado, aumentando así su salinidad y posiblemente afectando su ecología.

Key Words:

• climate change
• Great Salt Lake
• mountain snowpack

关键词:

• 气候变化
• 大盐湖
• 山区积雪

Palabras claves:

• cambio de clima
• Gran Lago Salado
• acumulación de nieve en las montañas

Acknowledgments

DANIEL BEDFORD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Weber State University, Ogden, UT 84408. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include the environmental–societal system of the Great Salt Lake, and of the Aral Sea in central Asia.

ANDREA DOUGLASS received her Bachelor of Science degree in geography from Weber State University in 2005, and is currently a GIS specialist for Ogden City, UT 84401. E-mail: [email protected].

Notes

¹Although the U.S. Geological Survey classifies the GSL and Bear River drainage basins as separate units (both are subbasins of the Great Basin), both drain water into the GSL. In this article, the term GSL drainage basin is used to apply to the area draining into the GSL.