Hydrologic Technicians are the backbone of the USGS mission of collecting reliable water data. Mike is a senior technician providing guidance to the Salt Lake Field Office. He also teaches and mentors many.
Science and Products
Density-stratified flow events in Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA: implications for mercury and salinity cycling
Density stratification in saline and hypersaline water bodies from throughout the world can have large impacts on the internal cycling and loading of salinity, nutrients, and trace elements. High temporal resolution hydroacoustic and physical/chemical data were collected at two sites in Great Salt Lake (GSL), a saline lake in the western USA, to understand how density stratification may influence
Monitoring change in Great Salt Lake
Despite the ecological and economic importance of Great Salt Lake, only limited water quality monitoring has occurred historically. To change this, new monitoring stations and networks—gauges of lake level height and rate of inflow, moored buoys, and multiple lake-bottom sensors—will provide important information that can be used to make informed decisions regarding future management of the Great
Two-dimensional streamflow simulations of the Jordan River, Midvale and West Jordan, Utah
The Jordan River in Midvale and West Jordan, Utah, flows adjacent to two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund sites: Midvale Slag and Sharon Steel. At both sites, geotechnical caps extend to the east bank of the river. The final remediation tasks for these sites included the replacement of a historic sheet-pile dam and the stabilization of the river banks adjacent to the Superfund sites.
Assessment of nonpoint source chemical loading potential to watersheds containing uranium waste dumps and human health hazards associated with uranium exploration and mining, Red, White, and Fry Canyons, southeastern Utah, 2007
During May, June, and July 2007, 58 solid-phase samples were collected from abandoned uranium mine waste dumps, background sites, and adjacent streambeds in Red, White, and Fry Canyons in southeastern Utah. The objectives of this sampling program were to (1) assess the nonpoint-source chemical loading potential to ephemeral and perennial drainage basins from uranium waste dumps and (2) assess pote
Estimation of selenium loads entering the south arm of Great Salt Lake, Utah, from May 2006 through March 2008
Discharge and water-quality data collected from six streamflow-gaging stations were used in combination with the LOADEST software to provide an estimate of total (dissolved + particulate) selenium (Se) load to the south arm of Great Salt Lake (GSL) from May 2006 through March 2008. Total estimated Se load to GSL during this time period was 2,370 kilograms (kg). The 12-month estimated Se load to GS
Assessment of nonpoint source chemical loading potential to watersheds containing uranium waste dumps associated with uranium exploration and mining, San Rafael Swell, Utah
During July and August of 2006, 117 solid-phase samples were collected from abandoned uranium waste dumps, geologic background sites, and adjacent streambeds in the San Rafael Swell, in southeastern Utah. The objective of this sampling program was to assess the nonpoint source chemical loading potential to ephemeral and perennial watersheds from uranium waste dumps on Bureau of Land Management pro
Great Salt Lake Elevations
Great Salt Lake Elevations The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been collecting water-surface-elevation data from Great Salt Lake since 1875 and continuously since October 1902. By combining USGS data with other data sources, a water-surface elevation record dating back to 1847 is associated with USGS Station 10010000, a gage in the Saltair Boat Harbor, at the southern end of the lake...
General Information, Facts, News, Publications and Partners
In July 2021, the southern portion of the Great Salt Lake reached a new historic low, with average daily water levels dropping about an inch below the previous record set in 1963, according to U.S. Geological Survey information collected at the SaltAir gage. The lake continued to recede until October 2021, and in July 2022, the level of the lake fell below the October 2021 record low.
Streamflow Information Program
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates and maintains a national network of about 8,000 streamgages (2018) to provide long-term, accurate, and unbiased streamflow information (often called discharge) to meet the multiple needs of many diverse users. Streamflow information is fundamental to national and local economic well-being, protection of life and property, and efficient and effective...
Great Salt Lake - Fifty years of change through satellite images
The completion of the Railroad Causeway in 1959 divided the Great Salt Lake in half. Because all of the freshwater inflows enter the southern part of the lake, the north arm became much more saline than the south; well defined in the satellite images. Several years of greater than normal precipitation resulted in a large increase in the lake’s area during the early 1980's and the creation of a new...
Deep Brine Layer
In 1959, a solid-fill railroad causeway was constructed across the middle of the Great Salt Lake. The construction of the causeway divided the lake into two parts; the north (Gunnison Bay) and the south (Gilbert Bay). By 2013, water flowed from one side to the other through only two culverts near the center of the causeway. In December 2013, concern about the structural integrity of the culverts...
Science and Products
- Publications
Density-stratified flow events in Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA: implications for mercury and salinity cycling
Density stratification in saline and hypersaline water bodies from throughout the world can have large impacts on the internal cycling and loading of salinity, nutrients, and trace elements. High temporal resolution hydroacoustic and physical/chemical data were collected at two sites in Great Salt Lake (GSL), a saline lake in the western USA, to understand how density stratification may influenceMonitoring change in Great Salt Lake
Despite the ecological and economic importance of Great Salt Lake, only limited water quality monitoring has occurred historically. To change this, new monitoring stations and networks—gauges of lake level height and rate of inflow, moored buoys, and multiple lake-bottom sensors—will provide important information that can be used to make informed decisions regarding future management of the GreatTwo-dimensional streamflow simulations of the Jordan River, Midvale and West Jordan, Utah
The Jordan River in Midvale and West Jordan, Utah, flows adjacent to two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund sites: Midvale Slag and Sharon Steel. At both sites, geotechnical caps extend to the east bank of the river. The final remediation tasks for these sites included the replacement of a historic sheet-pile dam and the stabilization of the river banks adjacent to the Superfund sites.Assessment of nonpoint source chemical loading potential to watersheds containing uranium waste dumps and human health hazards associated with uranium exploration and mining, Red, White, and Fry Canyons, southeastern Utah, 2007
During May, June, and July 2007, 58 solid-phase samples were collected from abandoned uranium mine waste dumps, background sites, and adjacent streambeds in Red, White, and Fry Canyons in southeastern Utah. The objectives of this sampling program were to (1) assess the nonpoint-source chemical loading potential to ephemeral and perennial drainage basins from uranium waste dumps and (2) assess poteEstimation of selenium loads entering the south arm of Great Salt Lake, Utah, from May 2006 through March 2008
Discharge and water-quality data collected from six streamflow-gaging stations were used in combination with the LOADEST software to provide an estimate of total (dissolved + particulate) selenium (Se) load to the south arm of Great Salt Lake (GSL) from May 2006 through March 2008. Total estimated Se load to GSL during this time period was 2,370 kilograms (kg). The 12-month estimated Se load to GSAssessment of nonpoint source chemical loading potential to watersheds containing uranium waste dumps associated with uranium exploration and mining, San Rafael Swell, Utah
During July and August of 2006, 117 solid-phase samples were collected from abandoned uranium waste dumps, geologic background sites, and adjacent streambeds in the San Rafael Swell, in southeastern Utah. The objective of this sampling program was to assess the nonpoint source chemical loading potential to ephemeral and perennial watersheds from uranium waste dumps on Bureau of Land Management pro - Science
Great Salt Lake Elevations
Great Salt Lake Elevations The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been collecting water-surface-elevation data from Great Salt Lake since 1875 and continuously since October 1902. By combining USGS data with other data sources, a water-surface elevation record dating back to 1847 is associated with USGS Station 10010000, a gage in the Saltair Boat Harbor, at the southern end of the lake...General Information, Facts, News, Publications and Partners
In July 2021, the southern portion of the Great Salt Lake reached a new historic low, with average daily water levels dropping about an inch below the previous record set in 1963, according to U.S. Geological Survey information collected at the SaltAir gage. The lake continued to recede until October 2021, and in July 2022, the level of the lake fell below the October 2021 record low.Streamflow Information Program
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates and maintains a national network of about 8,000 streamgages (2018) to provide long-term, accurate, and unbiased streamflow information (often called discharge) to meet the multiple needs of many diverse users. Streamflow information is fundamental to national and local economic well-being, protection of life and property, and efficient and effective...Great Salt Lake - Fifty years of change through satellite images
The completion of the Railroad Causeway in 1959 divided the Great Salt Lake in half. Because all of the freshwater inflows enter the southern part of the lake, the north arm became much more saline than the south; well defined in the satellite images. Several years of greater than normal precipitation resulted in a large increase in the lake’s area during the early 1980's and the creation of a new...Deep Brine Layer
In 1959, a solid-fill railroad causeway was constructed across the middle of the Great Salt Lake. The construction of the causeway divided the lake into two parts; the north (Gunnison Bay) and the south (Gilbert Bay). By 2013, water flowed from one side to the other through only two culverts near the center of the causeway. In December 2013, concern about the structural integrity of the culverts... - Multimedia