March 2017
Trace-element and nutrient cycling in northern Utah: windblown dust, snowmelt runoff, and harmful algal blooms
Resource ID
501
Access
Open
Contributed by
Admin User
Volume
49
Named person(s)
Greg Carling
Date
13 March 17
Number
3
Abstract
Dust storms carry trace elements and nutrients from deserts of western Utah to the Wasatch Front, with implications for human health, water quality, and snowpack characteristics. Further, the urban area is a major source of nutrients through wastewater treatment plants and other runoff. These issues have come to the forefront over the past several years with concerns about dust emissions from the dry lakebed of Great Salt Lake, mercury consumption advisories in a number of Utah waterways, and harmful algal blooms in Utah Lake. In this talk, I will discuss ongoing research projects related to these problems including: 1) dust emissions from Great Salt Lake and potential impacts on the Wasatch Front; 2) trace metals in the upper Provo River watershed from snowpack to snowmelt runoff; and 3) phosphorus cycling in Utah Lake sediments.