Tucker Chapman, Brigham Young University
Physical Sciences
The Provo River provides the opportunity to study three systems from low to high anthropogenic activity. Its headwaters are in an undeveloped area of the Uinta Mountains. The river then moves into a valley that is developing from an agricultural to an urban system. The lower portion of the river moves into the urbanized Utah Valley. These systems give the ability to study the changes in trace element chemistry from a variety of sources. Trace element data were collected during the 2013 water year including the spring snow melt. Correlation was analyzed among the different trace elements using multivariate statistics in order to discover trace element sources. The element loads were calculated using USGS Load Estimator (LOADEST) software. The study has implications involving the drinking water of >2 million people in the Utah and Salt Lake valleys and the changes that the shift from agriculture to urban is causing.