scholarly journals Multidecadal Drought Cycles in the Great Basin Recorded by the Great Salt Lake: Modulation from a Transition-Phase Teleconnection

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1711-1721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shih-Yu Wang ◽  
Robert R. Gillies ◽  
Thomas Reichler
Keyword(s):  
Phase Shift ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Wave Train ◽  
Great Salt Lake ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Moisture Flux ◽  
Gulf Of Alaska ◽  
The North ◽  
Circulation Anomalies

This study investigates the meteorological conditions associated with multidecadal drought cycles as revealed by lake level fluctuation of the Great Salt Lake (GSL). The analysis combined instrumental, proxy, and simulation datasets, including the Twentieth Century Reanalysis version 2, the North American Drought Atlas, and a 2000-yr control simulation of the GFDL Coupled Model, version 2.1 (CM2.1). Statistical evidence from the spectral coherence analysis points to a phase shift amounting to 6–9 yr between the wet–dry cycles in the Great Basin and the warm–cool phases of the interdecadal Pacific oscillation (IPO). Diagnoses of the sea surface temperature and atmospheric circulation anomalies attribute such a phase shift to a distinctive teleconnection wave train that develops during the transition points between the IPO’s warm and cool phases. This teleconnection wave train forms recurrent circulation anomalies centered over the southeastern Gulf of Alaska; this directs moisture flux across the Great Basin and subsequently drives wet–dry conditions over the Great Basin and the GSL watershed. The IPO life cycle therefore modulates local droughts–pluvials in a quarter-phase manner.

scholarly journals Connectivity between Historical Great Basin Precipitation and Pacific Ocean Variability: A CMIP5 Model Evaluation

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (15) ◽  
pp. 6096-6112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Smith ◽  
Courtenay Strong ◽  
Shih-Yu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
The North ◽  
Sst Variability ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Cmip5 Model Evaluation

Abstract The eastern Great Basin (GB) in the western United States is strongly affected by droughts that influence water management decisions. Precipitation that falls in the GB, particularly in the Great Salt Lake (GSL) basin encompassed by the GB, provides water for millions of people living along the Wasatch Front Range. Western U.S. precipitation is known to be influenced by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) as well as the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) in the North Pacific. Historical connectivity between GB precipitation and Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures (SSTs) on interannual to multidecadal time scales is evaluated for 20 models that participated in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). While the majority of the models had realistic ENSO and PDO spatial patterns in the SSTs, the simulated influence of these two modes on GB precipitation tended to be too strong for ENSO and too weak for PDO. Few models captured the connectivity at a quasi-decadal period influenced by the transition phase of the Pacific quasi-decadal oscillation (QDO; a recently identified climate mode that influences GB precipitation). Some of the discrepancies appear to stem from models not capturing the observed tendency for the PDO to modulate the sign of the ENSO–GB precipitation teleconnection. Of all of the models, CCSM4 most consistently captured observed connections between Pacific SST variability and GB precipitation on the examined time scales.

On the Westward Turning of Hurricane Sandy (2012): Effect of Atmospheric Intraseasonal Oscillations

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (20) ◽  
pp. 6859-6873
Author(s):  
Liudan Ding ◽  
Tim Li ◽  
Baoqiang Xiang ◽  
Melinda Peng
Keyword(s):  
Wave Train ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillation ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Circulation Pattern ◽  
Hurricane Sandy ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Observational Analysis ◽  
The North ◽  
Steering Flow

Abstract Hurricane Sandy (2012) experienced an unusual westward turning and made landfall in New Jersey after its northward movement over the Atlantic Ocean. The landfall caused severe casualties and great economic losses. The westward turning took place in the midlatitude Atlantic where the climatological mean wind is eastward. The cause of this unusual westward track is investigated through both observational analysis and model simulations. The observational analysis indicates that the hurricane steering flow was primarily controlled by atmospheric intraseasonal oscillation (ISO), which was characterized by a pair of anticyclonic and cyclonic circulation systems. The anticyclone to the north was part of a global wave train forced by convection over the tropical Indian Ocean through Rossby wave energy dispersion, and the cyclone to the south originated from the tropical Atlantic through northward propagation. Hindcast experiments using a global coupled model show that the model is able to predict the observed circulation pattern as well as the westward steering flow 6 days prior to Sandy’s landfall. Sensitivity experiments with different initial dates confirm the important role of the ISO in establishing the westward steering flow in the midlatitude Atlantic. Thus the successful numerical model experiments suggest a potential for extended-range dynamical tropical cyclone track predictions.

scholarly journals Dynamical Evolution of North Atlantic Ridges and Poleward Jet Stream Displacements

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 954-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Woollings ◽  
Joaquim G. Pinto ◽  
João A. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Rossby Wave ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Wave Breaking ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Wave Train ◽  
Jet Stream ◽  
Rossby Wave Breaking ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Circulation Anomalies

Abstract The development of a particular wintertime atmospheric circulation regime over the North Atlantic, comprising a northward shift of the North Atlantic eddy-driven jet stream and an associated strong and persistent ridge in the subtropics, is investigated. Several different methods of analysis are combined to describe the temporal evolution of the events and relate it to shifts in the phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation and East Atlantic pattern. First, the authors identify a close relationship between northward shifts of the eddy-driven jet, the establishment and maintenance of strong and persistent ridges in the subtropics, and the occurrence of upper-tropospheric anticyclonic Rossby wave breaking over Iberia. Clear tropospheric precursors are evident prior to the development of the regime, suggesting a preconditioning of the Atlantic jet stream and an upstream influence via a large-scale Rossby wave train from the North Pacific. Transient (2–6 days) eddy forcing plays a dual role, contributing to both the initiation and then the maintenance of the circulation anomalies. During the regime there is enhanced occurrence of anticyclonic Rossby wave breaking, which may be described as low-latitude blocking-like events over the southeastern North Atlantic. A strong ridge is already established at the time of wave-breaking onset, suggesting that the role of wave-breaking events is to amplify the circulation anomalies rather than to initiate them. Wave breaking also seems to enhance the persistence, since it is unlikely that a persistent ridge event occurs without being also accompanied by wave breaking.

Salt Crust, Brine, and Marginal Groundwater of Great Salt Lake's North Arm (2019 To 2021)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliot Jagniecki ◽  
Andrew Rupke ◽  
Stefan Kirby ◽  
Paul I nkenbrandt
Keyword(s):  
Salt Lake ◽  
Great Salt Lake ◽  
Geological Survey ◽  
Seasonal Fluctuations ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
The North ◽  
Salt Crust ◽  
Past Data ◽  
Hydrodynamic Factors

Following the construction of the railroad causeway in 1959, a perennial halite (NaCl) bottom crust has been known to exist in the north arm (Gunnison Bay) of Great Salt Lake, Utah, but the lake conditions controlling accumulation or dissolution of the crust are not well defined, including how depth-controlled chemodynamic and hydrodynamic factors influence the degree of the halite saturation. Immediately prior to the opening of a new bridge in the causeway in early December 2016 when north arm lake elevation was at a historical low (just above 4189 feet), the north arm lake brine was at halite saturation. After the opening, inflow of less saline south arm water mixed with north arm water, raised lake elevation, and diluted the north arm lake brine to undersaturation with respect to halite. The following five years have resulted in annual and seasonal fluctuations of halite saturation states. Beginning in mid-2019, the Utah Geological Survey began a study of the north arm to better understand and document the transitions of halite saturation state following the bridge opening using newly collected data as well as reviewing available past data.

Early Holocene Great Salt Lake, USA

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles G. Oviatt ◽  
David B. Madsen ◽  
David M. Miller ◽  
Robert S. Thompson ◽  
John P. McGeehin
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Great Salt Lake ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Basin Floor ◽  
Lake Floor ◽  
Sulfate Salts ◽  
Brine Shrimp Cysts ◽  
Surficial Deposits ◽  
Apparent Conflict

Shorelines and surficial deposits (including buried forest-floor mats and organic-rich wetland sediments) show that Great Salt Lake did not rise higher than modern lake levels during the earliest Holocene (11.5–10.2 cal ka BP; 10–9 14C ka BP). During that period, finely laminated, organic-rich muds (sapropel) containing brine-shrimp cysts and pellets and interbedded sodium-sulfate salts were deposited on the lake floor. Sapropel deposition was probably caused by stratification of the water column — a freshwater cap possibly was formed by groundwater, which had been stored in upland aquifers during the immediately preceding late-Pleistocene deep-lake cycle (Lake Bonneville), and was actively discharging on the basin floor. A climate characterized by low precipitation and runoff, combined with local areas of groundwater discharge in piedmont settings, could explain the apparent conflict between evidence for a shallow lake (a dry climate) and previously published interpretations for a moist climate in the Great Salt Lake basin of the eastern Great Basin.

The Deep Creek Region, the Northwestern Frontier of the Pueblo Culture

1946 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-121
Author(s):  
Carling Malouf
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Great Salt Lake ◽  
Small Streams

The Deep Creek region is a pleasant Great Basin valley bordering the southwest edge of the Great Salt Lake Desert—that is, it is pleasant in contrast to the 10,000 square miles of stark desert which bound it on three sides. The Deep Creek Mountains, which attain an elevation of 12,101 feet, separate the valley from the desert proper. Two small streams, Fifteen-Mile Creek and Spring Creek, have their sources in these mountains and join at Ibapah, Utah, to form Deep Creek itself.

A field trip to observe features of Lake Bonneville, mountain glaciation, and Great Salt Lake near Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

2021 ◽  
pp. 71-94
Author(s):  
Charles G. (Jack) Oviatt ◽  
Genevieve Atwood ◽  
Benjamin J.C. Laabs ◽  
Paul W. Jewell ◽  
Harry M. Jol
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Great Salt Lake ◽  
Salt Lake City ◽  
Field Trip ◽  
Lake Bonneville ◽  
Salt Lake Valley ◽  
Mountain Glaciers ◽  
History Of ◽  
Lake City

ABSTRACT On this field trip we visit three sites in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah, USA, where we examine the geomorphology of the Bonneville shoreline, the history of glaciation in the Wasatch Range, and shorezone geomorphology of Great Salt Lake. Stop 1 is at Steep Mountain bench, adjacent to Point of the Mountain in the Traverse Mountains, where the Bonneville shoreline is well developed and we can examine geomorphic evidence for the behavior of Lake Bonneville at its highest levels. At Stop 2 at the mouths of Little Cottonwood and Bells Canyons in the Wasatch Range, we examine geochronologic and geomorphic evidence for the interaction of mountain glaciers with Lake Bonneville. At the Great Salt Lake at Stop 3, we can examine modern processes and evidence of the Holocene history of the lake, and appreciate how Lake Bonneville and Great Salt Lake are two end members of a long-lived lacustrine system in one of the tectonically generated basins of the Great Basin.

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