Using Stable Isotopes to Determine the Water Balance of Utah Lake (Utah, USA)

Zanazzi, Alessandro; Wang, Weihong; Peterson, Hannah; Emerman, Steven H.

doi:10.3390/hydrology7040088

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Two tributaries contribute over half of the inflow into Utah Lake: the Spanish Fork River where the megafire occurred (24% of flow), and the Provo River which was unaffected by the megafire (30% of flow). Almost half of the water that flows into Utah Lake returns to the atmosphere via evaporation, with the remainder of the water moving as surface or subsurface flow into the Jordan River valley northward toward the Great Salt Lake [ 100 , 101 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Megafire affects stream sediment flux and dissolved organic matter reactivity, but land use dominates nutrient dynamics in semiarid watersheds

et al. 2021

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Climate change is causing larger wildfires and more extreme precipitation events in many regions. As these ecological disturbances increasingly coincide, they alter lateral fluxes of sediment, organic matter, and nutrients. Here, we report the stream chemistry response of watersheds in a semiarid region of Utah (USA) that were affected by a megafire followed by an extreme precipitation event in October 2018. We analyzed daily to hourly water samples at 10 stream locations from before the storm event until three weeks after its conclusion for suspended sediment, solute and nutrient concentrations, water isotopes, and dissolved organic matter concentration, optical properties, and reactivity. The megafire caused a ~2,000-fold increase in sediment flux and a ~6,000-fold increase in particulate carbon and nitrogen flux over the course of the storm. Unexpectedly, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration was 2.1-fold higher in burned watersheds, despite the decreased organic matter from the fire. DOC from burned watersheds was 1.3-fold more biodegradable and 2.0-fold more photodegradable than in unburned watersheds based on 28-day dark and light incubations. Regardless of burn status, nutrient concentrations were higher in watersheds with greater urban and agricultural land use. Likewise, human land use had a greater effect than megafire on apparent hydrological residence time, with rapid stormwater signals in urban and agricultural areas but a gradual stormwater pulse in areas without direct human influence. These findings highlight how megafires and intense rainfall increase short-term particulate flux and alter organic matter concentration and characteristics. However, in contrast with previous research, which has largely focused on burned-unburned comparisons in pristine watersheds, we found that direct human influence exerted a primary control on nutrient status. Reducing anthropogenic nutrient sources could therefore increase socioecological resilience of surface water networks to changing wildfire regimes.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Megafire affects stream sediment flux and dissolved organic matter reactivity, but land use dominates nutrient dynamics in semiarid watersheds

et al. 2021

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“…The primary issues pertaining to Sturgeon Lake health that have motivated hydrologic restoration efforts include sedimentation, bacteria and organic matter buildup, high concentrations of nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen), algal blooms, and high concentrations of cyanobacteria (Klingeman, 1987;HDR Engineering, Inc., 2013). Directly correlated to these issues are the throughflow index (ratio of evaporation to inflow, E/I) and residence time of lake water, both of which can be constrained using stable isotope measurements (Brooks et al, 2014;Zanazzi et al, 2020). Typically, higher values of E/I coincide with increased nutrient concentration.…”

Section: Stable Isotopes Of Meteoric Water and Applications To Lake H...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Typically, higher values of E/I coincide with increased nutrient concentration. Also, longer residence times may increase nutrient concentration, encourage sedimentation, and increase growth of cyanobacteria (Brooks et al, 2014;Zanazzi et al, 2020).…”

Section: Stable Isotopes Of Meteoric Water and Applications To Lake H...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating the Efficacy of Manmade Canals at Maintaining Lake Habitats for Salmon and Birds Using Seasonal Variations in Isotopes of Meteoric Water

Jimenez,

Bershaw,

Saslaw

et al. 2023

Preprint

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We investigated whether hydrologic restoration at Sturgeon Lake, Oregon, USA has sufficiently increased water flux and reduced stagnation, improving environmental conditions for juvenile salmon and waterfowl. This 19.2km lake is a pivotal environmental feature in the area, providing a haven for salmon on the Columbia River before reaching the Pacific Ocean and winter habitat for hundreds of thousands of waterfowl and migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway. The Oregon Conservation Strategy names restoring natural hydrology to Sturgeon Lake as a key step toward conservation in this area. We use stable isotopes of water from the lake, surrounding water bodies, and precipitation to understand the restoration work’s efficacy and whether further efforts are necessary to restore healthy habitats. Because of its importance to bird migration and salmon spawning, we focus on seasonal patterns in lake hydrology. We determined that approximately 36.5% and 9.5% of water input was lost to evaporation during the summer and winter, respectively, after restoration. We estimate the residence time of water in the lake to average ~43.2 days during the study period. Based on these results, we determined that the lake habitat is being adequately maintained in the winter, when it is most valuable to local fauna, but that some stagnation and potential ecosystem degradation occurs in the summer. Neither juvenile salmonids nor migratory birds utilize the lake during the summer, therefore the restoration work is effective at maintaining habitat for these species, but further summer-focused work could be beneficial.

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“…At the base of the mountains, where rivers flow into Lake Bonneville sediment deposits at the outer perimeter of the prehistoric lake, reaches become primarily losing, and water transport occurs largely through shallow groundwater flowpaths [69]. Near the lake, streams once again become gaining, mixing with new streams generated by natural and artificial recharge that feeds many springs flowing into the lake [70,71].…”

Section: The Utah Lake Watershedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen science reveals unexpected solute patterns in semiarid river networks

et al. 2021

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Human modification of water and nutrient flows has resulted in widespread degradation of aquatic ecosystems. The resulting global water crisis causes millions of deaths and trillions of USD in economic damages annually. Semiarid regions have been disproportionately affected because of high relative water demand and pollution. Many proven water management strategies are not fully implemented, partially because of a lack of public engagement with freshwater ecosystems. In this context, we organized a large citizen science initiative to quantify nutrient status and cultivate connection in the semiarid watershed of Utah Lake (USA). Working with community members, we collected samples from ~200 locations throughout the 7,640 km2 watershed on a single day in the spring, summer, and fall of 2018. We calculated ecohydrological metrics for nutrients, major ions, and carbon. For most solutes, concentration and leverage (influence on flux) were highest in lowland reaches draining directly to the lake, coincident with urban and agricultural sources. Solute sources were relatively persistent through time for most parameters despite substantial hydrological variation. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus species showed critical source area behavior, with 10–17% of the sites accounting for most of the flux. Unlike temperate watersheds, where spatial variability often decreases with watershed size, longitudinal variability showed an hourglass shape: high variability among headwaters, low variability in mid-order reaches, and high variability in tailwaters. This unexpected pattern was attributable to the distribution of human activity and hydrological complexity associated with return flows, losing river reaches, and diversions in the tailwaters. We conclude that participatory science has great potential to reveal ecohydrological patterns and rehabilitate individual and community relationships with local ecosystems. In this way, such projects represent an opportunity to both understand and improve water quality in diverse socioecological contexts.

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Using Stable Isotopes to Determine the Water Balance of Utah Lake (Utah, USA)

Cited by 10 publications

References 54 publications

Megafire affects stream sediment flux and dissolved organic matter reactivity, but land use dominates nutrient dynamics in semiarid watersheds

Megafire affects stream sediment flux and dissolved organic matter reactivity, but land use dominates nutrient dynamics in semiarid watersheds

Evaluating the Efficacy of Manmade Canals at Maintaining Lake Habitats for Salmon and Birds Using Seasonal Variations in Isotopes of Meteoric Water

Citizen science reveals unexpected solute patterns in semiarid river networks

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