Relative yields of water, sediment, and salt (as indexed by electrical conductivity) were determined using simulated rainfall plots on three soil landform units on Mancos shale in the Price River Basin, Utah. Final infiltration rates on residual shale derived soils were between 0.13 and 0.50 cm/hr. No runoff was generated on cracked soils derived from aeolian deposits. Suspended sediment concentrations and elehcal conductivities were 180 and 68 times greater, respectively, for a steep dissected Mancos shale upland than for a low relief shale pediment and recent alluvial surface. Riling accounted for approximately 80 percent of the sediment produced on the steep, dissected shale surface. Channel scow and soil creep also produced measurable mounts of sediment. A survey of sediment basins in steep, dissected shale up lands indicated that an average of 1.25 Mg/ha/year of sediment is produced by that landform unit Carefully designed and located basin plugs can be used effectively to trap sediment, water, and salt from dissected shale uplands.
Snow data collection systems in the western United States were originally designed to forecast water supply and may be subject to several sources of bias. In addition to climate change and weather modification effects, site-specific effects may be introduced from vegetation changes, site physical changes, measurement technique, and sensor changes. This paper examines changes in Utah's snowpack conditions over the past decade compared with all previous measurement years, focusing on the 15 snow courses with the longest observational record within the state of Utah. Although patterns in snowpack data consistent with those that would be expected due to temperature increases-such as greater declines at lower elevations and latitudes-were not identified, snow water equivalent decreased at sites with significant increases in vegetation coverage. Additionally, we provide a list of 22 snow courses in Utah that are best-suited for long-term climate analysis.
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