Presenters: Tyler Hacking
Authors: Tyler Hacking, Jonathan Cook, Sung Kim, Clayton Rawson, Steven Emerman, Eddy Cadet
Faculty Advisor: Eddy Cadet
Institution: Utah Valley University
By surface area, Utah Lake is the third largest freshwater lake in the western United States. Although there are existing hydrologic models for Utah Lake, they do not include hot springs as a component. Since hot springs are abundant within, on the shores of, and within the watershed of Utah Lake, the objective of this study has been to develop a model for the origin of hot springs as a step towards a more comprehensive hydrologic model for Utah Lake. The objective was addressed by collecting samples from 12 cold, warm and hot springs, as well as eight streams upstream and downstream of the springs, in the vicinity of Diamond Fork canyon, about 18 and 30 kilometers southeast of the base of the Wasatch Mountains and Utah Lake, respectively. Measurements included temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, redox potential, and stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen. Measurements of metals and CFC concentrations are still in progress. Over a distance of about three kilometers, spring parameters varied widely, ranging from 14.5 to 52.4 °C, 6.76 to 7.95, 1176 to 11,640 μS/cm, 0.64 to 6.85 mg/L, and -8.0 to 194.5 mV for temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and redox potential, respectively. A strong negative correlation (R2 = 0.97) between spring temperature and deuterium composition δ2H implies that warmer springs are recharged through the longer and deeper flow paths originating at higher elevations. In the same way, a strong negative correlation (R2 = 0.65) between spring pH and δ2H implies that more alkaline springs are recharged at higher elevations with longer passage through the Paleocene-Eocene Flagstaff Limestone. These data enable a more accurate, complete and functional systemic hydrogeological model for the Utah lake watershed.