The Great Salt Lake Basin Hydrologic Observatory

David G Tarboton (1), William P Johnson (2), Danny Marks (3), Charlie Luce (4), Tim Link (5) and others on the GSLBHO planning group

(1) [email protected], Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84321, (2) [email protected], University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, (3) USDA-ARS Northwest Watershed Research Center, Boise, ID, (4) USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Boise, ID 94701, (5) University of Idaho, Moscow, ID.

Abstract Through the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences, Inc. (CUAHSI), NSF plans to establish a network of hydrologic observatories. The mountain west is a high priority area for detailed observations because of the sensitivity, uncertainty and vulnerability of mountain systems and rapid human population growth with critical dependence of human and natural ecosystems on mountain water resources. The Great Salt Lake basin serves as a microcosm for much of the western U.S. in that the hydrologic system is driven by snowmelt in the mountains that supplies water to the relatively arid valleys. The region is dominated by nonlinear interactions between snow deposition and loss in the mountains, streamflow and groundwater recharge at high and mid- elevations, and evaporation from the desert floor. A planning group is working on a multi-million dollar long term plan and proposal for the Great Salt Lake Basin Hydrologic Observatory which would include a focus on mountain and snow hydrology. Hydrologic Observatories would be shared national facilities and our planning group welcomes participation and A Hydrologic Observatory to measure the suggestions from the wider community with a stake in mountain and snow Hydrology of the Modern West focused on hydrology and related fields. the interactions between human influences and hydrologic processes

What is a Hydrologic Observatory?

A principal goal of CUAHSI is the development of the observational and data systems infrastructure necessary to acquire knowledge sufficient to address large scale hydrologic science problems. The global scale and complexity of hydrologic processes requires an open and integrated community effort.

A Hydrologic Observatory (HO) is a large scale (>10,000 km2) experimental watershed designed to integrate observations of water processes, fluxes and flow paths at an unprecedented scale to provide a richly detailed observational basis for breakthroughs in understanding of the large scale interactions that control the hydrologic cycle.

Why locate a Hydrologic Observatory in the Great Salt Lake Basin?

The steep topographic, climatic, and land-use gradients in the Great Salt Lake Basin provide the opportunity to examine hydrologic processes across a wide range of elevations, precipitation values, vegetation, and land uses. The Great Salt Lake Basin has a compactness that is unparalleled in the U.S., and that is more proximal to logistical support than any other comparable location in the U.S. For example, a 30 km transect can span from regional base-level to alpine catchment while remaining within 50 km of major research universities, an international airport, and major government agencies.

Located in one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States, the Great Salt Lake Basin provides the opportunity to observe climate and human-induced land-surface changes affecting water availability, water quality, and water use.

The Great Salt Lake Basin is tractable as a hydrologic observatory because it is closed and the lake serves as an integrator. The vast majority of inflow to the lake is contributed by the three major subwatersheds to the east, and characterization of the major fluxes in the basin can be accomplished with high density monitoring to the east of the lake with lower density monitoring to the west.

The Great Salt Lake Basin Hydrologic Observatory development team is highly committed to the concept of openness. It is our hope that researchers from across the United States will involve themselves and even lead aspects of the proposed observatory. Please contact us if you would like to become part of the Great Salt Lake Basin Hydrologic Observatory Team or for more information regarding the Proposed Great Salt Lake Basin Hydrologic Observatory A Community Research Platform for Mountain Climate Sciences

Hydrologic scientists working together for the greater good in the intermountain region http://greatsaltlake.utah.edu Science Themes Measurement Approach Multi-Scale Nested Sampling Design Deseret Ranch Paired Overarching Questions Great Salt Lake Basin Watersheds 20 km2 58,000 km2 Weber Basin • How do climate variability and human-induced landscape 2 6,400 km Frost Canyon changes affect hydrologic processes, water quality and 9 km2

availability, and aquatic ecosystems over a range of Bear Canyon 11 km2 scales? • What are the resource, social and economic consequences

of these changes? White Pine Canyon 15 km2 Complex Terrain Hypsometric Area-Elevation Distribution

Full Basin Bear How does complex terrain Weber Jordan/Provo affect the spatial patterns and West Desert dynamics of hydrologic processes? How well can we Elevation Integration through co-location of measurements for different quantify the spatial and disciplines of hydrologic science

temporal fluxes, storages and 1500 2000 2500 3000 Snow and Mountain Processes flow paths of water in all its 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 phases (vapor, ice/snow and #0 36 SNOTEL Stations Examples of some of the planned additional Fraction of area above elevation NOHRSC Flightlines liquid) in complex terrain? Dots show elevations of SNOTEL measurement infrastructure stations in each Watershed • SNOTEL Upgrades to provide soil moisture, solar #0 radiation, Soil temperature, relative humidity, wind speed #0 Water and Mass #0 and direction. #0 • Flux towers to measure above and below canopy ET Balance Closure #0 #0#0#0 #0 #0 fluxes • Tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer to measure The terminal Great Salt Lake #0#0 #0 #0 stable oxygen isotope content of atmospheric water vapor Basin presents a unique #0#0 #0 #0 #0 #0 #0 to allow tracking of the components of the vapor flux. opportunity to close the water, #0#0 #0 #0 #0#0 #0 • Continuous streamflow and water quality stations solute and sediment balances #0 #0 • Spread-Spectrum communications network that is rarely possible in a #0 watershed of a size sufficient #0 NOHRSC gamma Snow Water Equivalent average SNOTEL Maximum Snow Water Equivalent average #0 #0 #0 of flight lines within each basin each year of stations within each basin for the study of land surface- Kilometers atmosphere interactions. 0408020 mm

Source: Baskin, R. L, et al., (2002), USGS Water-Resources Investigations Report 02–4115 1970-2000 PRISM Annual mm http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/wri/wri024115/. Precipitation mm Bear Jordan/Provo Weber West Desert The Great Salt Lake acts as a 0 200 400 600 800 Bear Bear Jordan/Provo Weber Weber West Desert

0 2001980 400 600 800 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 collector and integrator of 0 50 100 200 300 Provo/Jordan year 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 hydrologic signals from the year year surrounding basin providing the SNOTEL date of Maximum Snow Water Equivalent University of Washington Gridded Precipitation opportunity to investigate average of stations within each basin (Maurer, et al., 2002, J. Climate 15: 3237-3251)

Jun 1 fundamental hydrologic processes Bear Weber at scales that have been previously Jordan/Provo unexplored. Lake sediments in May 1 mm closed basin lakes extend our Apr 1 knowledge of hydrologic processes Mar 1 Bear Jordan/Provo West Desert Lake and water quality Weber West Desert 0 200 400 600 800 1000 Source: Waddell, K. M., et al., (2004), U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1236. 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 year Water year

PRISM Unit Annual per unit area streamflow (USGS gages) Sustainability and 1970-2000 Precip Runoff Bear R near Corinne Weber River near Plain City Human Dynamics (mm) (mm) Provo River at Provo UT Bear 563 93 Spanish Fork at Castilla, UT Weber 679 90

How do hydrologic fluxes, mm flow paths, and residence West Desert 351 - times change in response Strawberry 484 - Jordan 540 127 to land use change and 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Salt Lake 308 - development that is 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 year prevalent in much of the Total 493 western U.S. Nonlinear Dynamics and Mountain Front Processes

Source: http://www.doi.gov/water2025/ How does the aggregate water balance reflect the integrated effect of nonlinear dynamic interactions among runoff, vegetation, mountain Fragile Mountain and block groundwater, urbanization and water use? arid Ecosystems Lake (south arm) Bear River Flow Logan Precipitation How are aquatic and terrestrial species and resources related to topography and geology,

and how will these systems m Lake Level 0 20406080110 0 20406080 1278 1280 1282 1284 Bear River Flow m3/s Bear Flow River respond to changes in the Logan Precipitation cm magnitude and timing of 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 seasonal hydrologic processes Year