Source Identification of Particulate Metals/Metalloids Deposited in the San Juan River Delta of Lake Powell, USA

Frederick, Logan; Cerling, Thure E.; Fernández, Diego P.; VanDerslice, James

doi:10.1007/s11270-019-4176-z

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Baseflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin is expected to face a significant decline in the near future , and the influence of a declining baseflow on water quality, such as salinity (Rumsey et al, 2017(Rumsey et al, , 2021, is not understood. Similarly, the fate of reservoir sediment under further drawdown conditions, including potential remobilization of large volumes of fine-grained sediment, and implications for solute, contaminant, and nutrient transport (e.g., Frederick et al, 2019;Deemer et al, 2020), pose significant concerns and highlight the need for further study of this and analogous sedimentary records of anthropogenic activity. Resultant exposure of fluvial-lacustrine deposits complemented by an excellent instrumental record provides a unique opportunity for sedimentologic and stratigraphic analysis.…”

Section: Discussion Stratigraphic Controls and Signalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Questions regarding the future fate of reservoir sediment in Lake Powell are becoming tractable due to both spatially extensive modern datasets and low lake level (e.g., Andrews et al, 2018;Hynek et al, 2021). There is concern about remobilization of large volumes of fine sediment and the possible impacts of contamination to water quality caused by metal and nutrient cycling of mining waste that is part of some of the Lake Powell delta sediments (Stanford & Ward, 1991;Vernieu, 1997;Frederick et al, 2019;Kasprak & Schmidt, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sedimentary record of annual-decadal timescale reservoir dynamics: Anthropogenic stratigraphy of Lake Powell, Utah, U.S.A.

Johnson¹,

Root²,

Hynek³

et al. 2022

TSR

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The tributaries of Lake Powell were impounded following construction of Glen Canyon Dam, resulting in deposition of reservoir sediment over a ∼650 km2 area since 1963. These units have been exposed through erosion as water storage in Lake Powell has decreased since 2000. This anthropogenic sedimentary record reflects the complex interplay among wet and dry periods of Colorado River runoff and the reservoir operating rules of Lake Powell. The relevant sedimentary exposures are mapped at reconnaissance level over 300 river-km above Glen Canyon Dam in canyons of the Colorado, San Juan, Escalante, and Dirty Devil Rivers. A detailed reference section measured in Calf Canyon, a tributary to the Colorado River, preserves more than 12 m of lacustrine, mainstem Colorado River, and local tributary sediment in an up-river location and elevation that is determined to have been inundated only during the highest reservoir level periods. At Calf Canyon, exposed reservoir sediment is comprised of cyclic sand-mud interbeds that record periods of deposition when reservoir level was at or above full pool. Six depositional cycles are identified in Calf Canyon, and each of these is interpreted to represent rapid sand deposition during Colorado River flood events (likely related to spring snowmelt runoff) followed by deposition of lacustrine mud while reservoir levels were high. The lacustrine mud units display significant pedogenic modification, indicating exposure and colonization dominated by tamarisk plants, prior to deposition of the next sand unit. High-precision elevation surveys of the 6 main lacustrine marker beds in Calf Canyon are correlated to multiple lake level highstands between 1975 and 2000. Preliminary observations suggest that age-equivalent strata are widespread within the reservoir-affected zones of all major tributaries including the Colorado and San Juan River arms as well as the Escalante and Dirty Devil Rivers. We predict that future mapping in other Lake Powell side canyons will demonstrate strong local control on sediment provenance, dictated by side canyon lithology, as well as time-transgressive deposition (and erosion) moving up and down the main canyons.

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