The Great Salt Lake, the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, reached historic low levels in 2022, raising economic, ecological and public health concerns for Utah.
The Great Salt Lake, the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, reached historic low levels in 2022, raising economic, ecological and public health concerns for Utah. New research from Portland State is believed to be the first peer-reviewed study that quantifies the contributing factors to the record low water volume levels, which the researchers say is important for anticipating and managing future lake changes.
“The lake has a lot of social and economic relevance for the region and Utah,” said Siiri Bigalke, the lead author and a Ph.D. candidate in PSU’s Earth, Environment and Society program who built on research she started while a master’s student at Utah State University. “It provides over $1.9 billion in annual economic revenue, serves as a vital feeding ground for millions of migratory birds and enhances snowfall over the Wasatch Mountain Range” — home to 11 world-class ski resorts which are a big reason why the 2034 Winter Olympics are returning to Salt Lake City.
Bigalke and co-authors Paul Loikith, an associate professor of geography and director of PSU’s Climate Science Lab, and Nick Siler, an associate professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University, developed and applied a model that simulates lake volume change year over year from water inputs primarily from streamflow into the lake and precipitation onto the lake and output from water evaporating off the lake.
Read more at Portland State University
Photo Credit: Pixabay
