"Water"

Zhangziajie, China, 2012 by Lydia Goetze
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/the_synthesis_of_chinese_landscape_painting_and_photography.shtml
IDS 330:
“Environmental Leadership”
March 19, 2015

Components of the Earth System

“What is the atmosphere?”
“The atmosphere is the thin veil of gas molecules that separates the Earth
from the cold void of space. Its heat trapping ability helps to keep the Earth
warm enough for life, and it also protects the Earth from harmful shortwave
solar radiation and cosmic rays. This protective layer was initially formed by
gases vented during the geologic tumult of the young Earth but was later
altered by the work of photosynthesizing organisms of the early biosphere
providing the oxygen we depend upon. The atmosphere is a dynamic body
that interacts with all the “spheres” of Earth. The dynamism of the
atmosphere can be witnessed everyday as it transfers solar heat from the
equator toward the poles creating regular wind patterns such as the trade
winds. Locally, we experience this mass movement of air molecules as a
gentle breeze or the rare extreme of a tornado. The atmosphere in motion
also transfers water evaporated from the oceans to the continents, providing
precipitation critical to sustain terrestrial ecosystems. Without the
atmosphere, the Earth would be like a bigger version of the moon – cold and
lifeless.”
http://www.agci.org/classroom/atmosphere/

Composition of the Atmosphere
http://www.agci.org/classroom/atmosphere/

“Atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa Observatory”
http://www.earthonlinemedia.com/ebooks/tpe_3e/atmosphere/atmo
spheric_composition.html

L.A. Civic Center masked by smog on January 6, 1948. Courtesy of UCLA
Library Special Collections - Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/history/los-angeles-smoggy-past-photos-31321.html
SMOG

“Air pollution from automobiles, industrial processes, and the burning of coal in
factories and in homes has also been a serious problem. In the 19th century,
episodes of "smog" (a combination of smoke and fog) in cities like New York and
London resulted in many deaths. Air pollution continued to be a significant
problem up through the middle of the 20th century. In late October of 1948, 20
people were asphyxiated and more than 7,000 became seriously ill as the result of
severe air pollution over Donora, Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection, 2005).”
“What is ‘Pollution’ ?”
“This eerie photograph was
taken at noon on Oct. 29,
1948 in Donora, PA as deadly
smog enveloped the town. 20
people were asphyxiated and
more than 7,000 became
seriously ill during this
horrible event.”
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/pollution/02history.html

Highland Park Optimists Club 1954
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/history/los-angeles-smoggy-past-photos-31321.html

SMOG
“ ‘Smog’ is a common form of air pollution found mainly in urban
areas and large population centers. The term refers to any type of
atmospheric pollution—regardless of source, composition, or
concentration—that creates a significant reduction in atmospheric
visibility. Smog encompasses a broad category of air pollutants
created through a multitude of processes that relate specifically to
the atmospheric conditions of the formation region. In the early
1900s, London was plagued by a particular type of smog that
resulted from a combination of dense fog and soot from coal
combustion. In modern times, the Los Angeles Basin is often
associated with dense photochemical smog, produced through a
combination of vehicle exhaust and sunlight. These are two of many
examples of pollution classified as smog, but they are in no way
chemically related. Smog refers to a diverse category of air
pollutants with varying chemical composition; however, all types of
smog form a visible haze that reduces atmospheric visibility.”
http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/Kinetics/Case_Studies%3A_Kinetics/Smog

London Smog
“London Smog
“London-type smog is mainly a product of burning large amounts of
high sulfur coal. Clean air laws passed in 1956 have greatly reduced
smog formation in the United Kingdom; however, in other parts of
the world London-type smog is still very prevalent. The main
constituent of London-type smog is soot; however, these smogs
also contain large quantities of fly ash, sulfur dioxide, sodium
chloride and calcium sulfate particles. If concentrations are high
enough, sulfur dioxide can react with atmospheric hydroxide to
produce sulfuric acid, which will precipitate as acid rain.
(1) SO2 + OH → HOSO2
(2) HOSO2 + O2 → HO2 + SO3
(3) SO3 + H2O → H2SO4”
http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/Kinetics/Case_Studies%3A_Kinetics/Smog

US EPA:
“Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act:
Retrospective Study”
“Using a sophisticated array of computer models, EPA found that by 1990 the differences
between the scenarios were so great that, under the so-called "no-control" case, an
additional 205,000 Americans would have died prematurely and millions more would
have suffered illnesses ranging from mild respiratory symptoms to heart disease,
chronic bronchitis, asthma attacks, and other severe respiratory problems. In
addition, the lack of Clean Air Act controls on the use of leaded gasoline would have
resulted in major increases in child IQ loss and adult hypertension, heart disease, and
stroke. Other benefits which could be quantified and expressed in dollar terms
included visibility improvements, improvements in yields of some agricultural crops,
improved worker attendance and productivity, and reduced household soiling
damage.
“When the human health, human welfare, and environmental effects which could be
expressed in dollar terms were added up for the entire 20-year period, the total
benefits of Clean Air Act programs were estimated to range from about $6 trillion to
about $50 trillion, with a mean estimate of about $22 trillion. These estimated
benefits represent the estimated value Americans place on avoiding the dire air
quality conditions and dramatic increases in illness and premature death which
would have prevailed without the 1970 and 1977 Clean Air Act and its associated
state and local programs. By comparison, the actual costs of achieving the pollution
reductions observed over the 20 year period were $523 billion, a small fraction of
the estimated monetary benefits. “
http://www.epa.gov/oar/sect812/design.html

“WHO Warns Beijing of Hazardous Pollution Risk
Urges Residents to Stay Indoors on Sixth Day of Hazardous-Level
Air Pollution” Wall Street Journal Feb 25, 2014
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303426304579405092877173138?mod=e2fb
As of Tuesday night, levels of tiny,
hazardous particulate matter known as
PM2.5 averaged 452 micrograms per cubic
meter over a 24-hour period, according to
readings from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
That was more than 18 times the WHO's
recommended level of 25 micrograms per
cubic meter.
Heavily pollution has plagued much of
northern and central China since Thursday.
Since the weekend, governments in the
northeastern city of Tianjin and northern
Hebei province have taken steps that
include reducing the number of cars on the
road and suspending some production in
industries such as steel.

Drought?
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/AboutUs/ClassificationScheme.aspx

“Drought” (West narrative)
March 17, 2015
“West, Northwest and Southwest”
“Precipitation did fall along the northern tier of the region during the week;
however, aside from the highest elevations, temperatures were too warm
to support much-needed snowfall. Degradation was made in Oregon and
Utah due to low snowpack amounts that have plagued the west coast this
past winter. Mountain snowpack across the Olympic, Cascade, Coastal
Range, and Sierra Nevada is at least 25 percent below the 30-year normal.
In the Sierra Nevada, precipitation amounts for the water year are 10
inches or more below normal. To exacerbate matters, average
temperatures were well above normal. Temperatures in Los Angeles
reached 90 degrees F for a March record four consecutive days. This just
after California besting their winter (Dec-Feb) average temperature, set
just last year (2013/14), by 1.5 degrees F. Washington State also had one
of their warmest winters on record with an anomaly 6.0F above the 20th
century average. The average temperature in Nevada, Utah, and Arizona
was also record warm this past winter.”
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/Narrative.aspx

http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152861/

Global Water Distribution
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/gallery/global-water-volume.html

Source and Use of Freshwater in the U.S.
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/wateruse-diagrams.html

Hydrosphere
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152861/

USGS: Freshwater Storage
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/gw/compar.html

What is a “watershed”?
“A creek's watershed is
the area of land from
which water drains into
that creek. Every creek
has a watershed
defined by the lay of
the land and bounded
by ridge lines that
separate it from the
next watershed. So no
matter where you live,
work, or play, that
place is part of a
watershed. “
http://www.uky.edu/OtherOrgs/KRWW/Educational%20Resources/About%20Watersheds.html

“What is a ‘river’ ?”
“What is a river?”
“A river is nothing more than surface water
finding its way over land from a higher
altitude to a lower altitude, all due to
gravity. When rain falls on the land, it
either seeps into the ground or becomes
runoff, which flows downhill into rivers and
lakes, on its journey towards the seas. In
most landscapes the land is not perfectly
flat—it slopes downhill in some direction.
Flowing water finds its way downhill
initially as small creeks. As small creeks
flow downhill they merge to form larger
streams and rivers. Rivers eventually end
up flowing into the oceans. If water flows
to a place that is surrounded by higher land
on all sides, a lake will form. If people have
built a dam to hinder a river's flow, the lake
that forms is a reservoir.”
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthrivers.html

http://www.dameffects.org/index.html

How Groundwater occurs…
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/gw/how_a.html

“Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation
in the US High Plains and Central Valley”
“A newly developed High Plains recharge map shows
that high recharge in the northern High Plains results
in sustainable pumpage, whereas lower recharge in
the central and southern High Plains has resulted in
focused depletion of 330 km3 of fossil groundwater,
mostly recharged during the past 13,000 y. Depletion
is highly localized with about a third of depletion
occurring in 4% of the High Plains land area.
Extrapolation of the current depletion rate suggests
that 35% of the southern High Plains will be unable to
support irrigation within the next 30 y.”
B Scanlon, et al. PNAS June 12, 2012 V. 109: 24 9320-9325
http://www.pnas.org/content/109/24/9320.full.pdf+html

“Measured groundwater level changes from predevelopment (∼1950) to 2007 in the
High Plains aquifer” AND “Simulated groundwater level changes from predevelopment
(∼1860) to 1961 in the confined aquifer (17). Groundwater basins include the
Sacramento, Delta/East sides, San Joaquin, and Tulare.”
http://www.pnas.org/content/109/24/9320.full.pdf+html

“Groundwater depletion
in the confined Central Valley aquifer”
Scanlon et al. www.pnas.org/cgi/content/short/1200311109
“Supporting Information”

Southern California Groundwater Basins

Freshwater?
“How extensive are global freshwater systems and how have they been modified?
“Surface waters — as rivers, lakes, and wetlands — occupy 0.08% of Earth's surface
and account for only 0.01% of the world's freshwater; more than 90% is locked in
polar ice. To maximize the potential of the water at our disposal, we've modified
rivers and lakes by altering waterways, draining wetlands, and constructing dams
and irrigation channels. In fact, the number of large dams increased sevenfold
since 1950. We've also built canals and pipelines to connect water basins to make
it possible to transfer water between basins. These changes enabled us to increase
farm yields and hydropower and control flooding. But they've also changed the
natural hydrological cycle in most of the world's rivers. In many cases rivers have
become disconnected from their wetlands and floodplains, key components of
freshwater ecosystems. Wetlands provide flood control, carbon storage, water
purification and goods such as fish, shellfish, timber, and fiber. It is estimated that
in the last 100 years, half the world's wetlands were converted to agroecosystems
or urban areas.
http://www.pbs.org/earthonedge/ecosystems/freshwater1.html

What about water availability and quality?
“Many experts, governments, and international organizations predict
that water availability will be one of the major challenges facing
humanity in the 21st century.
“Humans withdraw about 4,000 cubic kilometers (km3) of water per
year from global freshwater sources. Scientists estimate that the
amount of runoff (the renewable supply of water that flows
through rivers after evaporation and infiltration) totals between
39,500 km3 and 42,700 km3 per year.
“But only about 9,000 km3 is readily available for us to use; another
3,500 km3 is stored in reservoirs. Scientists view as problematic
those regions where water availability is less than 1,700 km3 per
person per year. Currently 2.3 billion live in such regions. It is
estimated that by 2025 that number will increase to 3.5 billion, 48%
of the world's projected population. Between 1950 and 2000, water
availability per person per year went from 16,800 m3 to 6,800 m3.”
http://www.pbs.org/earthonedge/ecosystems/freshwater1.html

http://www.americanrivers.org/initiatives/dams/why-remove/

http://www.americanrivers.org/initiatives/d
ams/why-remove/
How do dams damage
rivers???

Geologic
Map of
California
http://www.consrv.ca.gov/cgs
/cgs_history/Pages/geologicm
aps.aspx

Soil Map of
California
http://casoilre
source.lawr.uc
davis.edu/drup
al/node/776

Precipitation in
California
http://www.geologycaf
e.com/images/precipita
tion&relief&water_sma
ll.jpg

http://frap.
cdf.ca.gov/
webdata/m
aps/statewi
de/fvegwhr
13_map.pd
f

California Watershed Browser
(California State Department of Conservation)
http://www.co
nservation.ca.g
ov/dlrp/waters
hedportal/Wat
ershedBrowser
/Pages/Waters
hedBrowser.as
px

Alluvial Groundwater Basins and Sub-basins
within the South Coast Hydrologic Region

Southern California Groundwater Basins
Elinor Ostrom,, Governing the Commons: the Evolution of Institutions for
Collective Action, Cambridge, Cambridge Univ Press, 1990. p.37

San Gabriel
Valley Water
Company:
Service Area

http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/02ocean/swcomposition.htm
Ocean Layers

Composition of Seawater
http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/02ocean/swcomposition.htm

Ocean Processes / Ocean Acidification
“…the chemistry of the Earth's
oceans is changing as a result of
the absorption of anthropogenic
carbon dioxide emissions. The
ocean's absorb about 25% of the
carbon dioxide released from
human activities each year. The
result is a decrease in pH and
acidification of ocean water
leading to severe consequences
for ocean ecosystems.”
http://www.earthonlinemedia.com/ebooks/tpe_3e/earth_system/digging_deeper_ocean_acidification.html

Los Angeles: The Fight for Water
– Long court battles establish Pueblo water rights in 1890s
• Right to full flow of Los Angeles River
• Including surface and groundwater
• Could not be sold to groups outside the city limits
– Expand city limits through annexation
– 1898 - City charter changed to require public control of
water system
– Established Board of Water Commissioners appointed by
mayor, approved by city council
• Appointed William Mulholland superintendent of
water system
– Owens Valley Aqueduct
• Former LA mayor Fred Eaton advocated aqueduct
starting in 1890s
– Began buying options on land in Owens
Valley around 1901
– Hoped to sell rights to half of water to LA,
market other half to other S. Cal. cities
– Failed to raise enough capital to gain
control of enough land
• U.S. Reclamation Service considers building
reservoir for local irrigation
– Drops plan in favor of LA aqueduct plan
– Reclamation Service supervising engineer,
J. B. Lippincott, also consultant for Los
Angeles and good friend of Eaton
• 1904 - LA agents secretly buy options on land
with water rights
• 1905 - Preliminary bond measure approved
• 1906 - Congress grants aqueduct right of
way over federal land with strong backing
from President Theodore Roosevelt
• 1907 - Full bond measure for $25M
approved
• 1913 - Construction of aqueduct completed
• 1915 - San Fernando Valley annexed into LA
• Resentment built among Owens Valley
ranchers
– National sympathy generated by
author Mary Austin, one-time
associate of Lummis
– Drought in early 1920s led to
increased diversions by LA
– Owens Valley bankers tried to
secure water rights to sell to LA
– First dynamiting of aqueduct in
1924
– Mulholland refused to deal with
ranchers
– Ranchers seized Alabama gates to
divert water back into river
– Bombings and economic battles
continued into 1927
– Owens Valley banks finally collapsed
– LA forced to buy much more of
Owens Valley
» Tinnemaha Reservoir and
valley floor
• 1930 - $40M bond issue approved to
expand aqueduct into Mono Basin
• 1940 - Extension completed, diversions
begun
http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~joel/g148_f09/lecture_notes/urban_water/urban_water.html

Owens Lake
“Construction of the Jawbone siphon of
the Los Angeles Aqueduct, 1912.
[courtesy of the Joseph Barlow Lippincott
collection, UC Berkeley Water Resources
Center Archives]”
“Manufacturing Dust: The dry bed of what was once
Owens Lake contains the detritus of Los Angeles’s
fantasies. Starting in 1913, the City of Los Angeles,
which historian Kevin Starr has called “the most
exquisite invented garden in history,” gradually drained
the enormous lake, located two hundred miles to the
north of the city. [1] It was a monumental act of
engineering: an aqueduct was constructed and then,
like a garden hose that was picked up and moved, the
Owens River was shifted, so that instead of watering
Owens Lake it was watering Los Angeles. In this way
the Owens River also began to supply an emerging
area called “Hollywoodland,” its water used to create,
in the arid landscape of Southern California, a version
of the English Lake District. The river fed by the lake
supplied 100 percent of Los Angeles’s water, and as a
result the 110-square-mile lake gradually dried up and
became a howling wasteland of toxic dust. The farmers
of Owens Valley fought tenaciously to keep their lake
and their river, even resorting to dynamiting the
aqueduct (a drama depicted in Chinatown). But they
lost. “
http://places.designobserver.com/fe
ature/dreams-dust-and-birds-the-
trashing-of-owens-lake/23328/

Owens Lake?
http://infrascapedesign.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/owens-lake-and-la-aqueduct-bibliography/
http://www.gbuapcd.org/owenslake/
“Owens Lake is one of the largest sources of PM10 in the
United States Water was first diverted from the Owens
River to the City of Los Angeles in 1913, and by 1926 Owens
Lake was dry. Today, the Owens lakebed produces
enormous amounts of windblown dust in exceedence of
federal air pollution standards for particulate matter.
Particulate pollution is generally associated with dust,
smoke and haze and is measured as PM-10 , which is an
acronym for particulate matter less than 10 microns in
diameter. Breathing PM-10 can cause a variety of health
problems. The National Ambient Air Quality Standard for
PM10 is set at 150 µg/m³ for a 24-hour average. Studies of
dust transport from Owens Lake show that the standard can
be exceeded more than 50 miles away and expose many
more people to violations of the PM-10 standard than just
the residents near Owens Lake. The dust from Owens Lake
affects about 40,000 permanent residents between
Ridgecrest and Bishop.”

http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/projects/sw/swdust/pdfs/toxic_dust_poster.pdf

Owens Lake Dust
http://www.csrl.ars.usda.gov/wewc/icarv/96.pdf

http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/geology/owens/
“BSNE Sampler” deployed
in Owens Lakebed
http://weru.ksu.edu/new_weru/
publications/Andrew_pdf/A%20fi
eld%20dust%20sampler.pdf

“Dust Deposition in Nevada, California, and Utah, 1984-2002,” Marith C. Reheis
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-138 Version 1.0
Table 1: “Information on locations of dust traps and composition of nearby dust sources.”
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/ofr-03-138/

http://www.csrl.ars.usda.gov/wewc/icarv/96.pdf

http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/geology/owens/
“ In addition to health problems, Owens (dry) Lake dust affects visibility in
many nearby areas, including three national parks (Sequoia, Kings Canyon,
and Death Valley) and several national forests and wilderness areas. For
example, dust plumes have been tracked to elevations of over 3,000 meters
in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains (fig. 1), 100
kilometers north of Owens Lake, and reports of dust-covered vegetation in
the White-Inyo Range are common (Gill, 1996). Owens dust storms regularly
cause suspension of operations at China Lake Naval Weapons Center (near
China Lake, fig. 2a) resulting in millions of dollars in economic losses. “

David Maisel: The Lake Project
http://www.davidmaisel.com/works/lak.asp
“The ground is bleeding. A red river cuts a path through a bleached valley,
winding toward a lake that is no longer there. Seen from the air, the river
and its dry terminus appear otherworldly. In actuality, this terrain is
located in Owens Valley, an arid stretch of land in southeastern California,
between the Sierra Mountains and the White-Inyo Range. The history of
this region is the stuff of California legend: a story of engineers,
politicians, and big land owners working together to divert water to the
rapidly growing desert city of Los Angeles, generating a thriving
agricultural industry and an environmental disaster in the process.”

THE COLORADO
RIVER
http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~joel/g148_f09/lecture_notes/colo_river/colo_river.html

The Colorado River
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-colorado-river-runs-dry-61427169/?no-ist

Colorado River Compact
• Negotiated by Commerce Secretary
Herbert Hoover in 1922
• Based on assumed average flow of
17.5 million acre feet
– Overestimate of 20th Century average
by 2-3 million acre feet
– Long term average from tree ring
reconstructions is about 14.5 MAF
– Some indications that 21st Century flow
will be considerably lower due to global
warming
• Divided basin into two sub-basins
– Lee's Ferry in northern Arizona
designated as boundary between basins
• Last place river is accessible before
Grand Canyon
– 7.5 million acre feet to upper basin
states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and
New Mexico
– At least 7.5 million acre feet to lower
basin states of Arizona, California and
Nevada
• Riverflow gauge at Lee's Ferry
– 1.5 million acre feet left in river for
Mexico
– Made no attempt to divide allocations
between states within basins
• States couldn't agree, so nothing
happened initially
• Congress took action in 1928
– Authorized building Boulder Dam and
All American Canal
– Established lower basin allocations
• 4.4 million acre feet to California
• 2.8 million acre feet to Arizona
• 300,000 acre feet to Nevada
• Required Compact be ratified by at least
six states before construction began
• Arizona refused but other six agreed

Riverflow gauge at Lee's Ferry

“Long term average from tree ring reconstructions is about 14.5 MAF
Some indications that 21st Century flow will be considerably lower due to global warming”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/opinion/where-the-colorado-river-runs-dry.html?_r=0

“Satellite view of the ending point of the Colorado River
near the Gulf of California, Mexico. The Colorado River can
be seen in dark blue at the topmost central part of this
image.” Credit: NASA Earth Observatory.
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/gallery/colorado-river-end.html
“One river that doesn't
participate anymore in this
normal cycle is the mighty
Colorado River, flowing from
Colorado to the Gulf of California
in Mexico. The Colorado River
certainly starts out as mighty—
mighty enough to have carved
out the Grand Canyon—but
nowadays it does not even end as
a trickle. Whereas it once flowed
into a large marshy area at the
Gulf of California, today it literally
disappears in the farmlands at
the base of the Sierra de Juarez
Mountains in Mexico. As the
Colorado River flows through the
desert Southwest, it gets used
and used by millions of thirsty
residents and for crop irrigation;
used until there is nothing left. In
this satellite view of the "exit
point" of the Colorado River, the
river itself is the dark blue patch
at the top.”

http://www3.cec.org/islandora/en/item/1136-vaquita-north-american-conservation-action-plan-en.pdf

California Environmental Protection
Agency,
Regional Water Quality Control
Board,
Colorado River Basin Region
“Staff Report: Water Quality Issues
in the
Salton Sea Transboundary
Watershed”
(February 2003)
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/color
adoriver/water_issues/programs/salt
on_sea/docs/salton_sea_watershed_
staff_report_2003.pdf
The Salton Sea

“The Salton Sea is a closed basin, saline lake that is about 35 miles long and 9 to 15 miles wide
with approximately 360 square miles of water surface area and 105 miles of shoreline. The
surface of the Sea lies approximately 227 feet below mean sea level.[MSL] The Salton Sea is a
designated repository for agricultural return flows from the Imperial and Coachella Valleys. In
1924 and 1928, President Coolidge executed Public Water Reserve Order Numbers 90 and 114,
respectively, for withdrawal of 123,360 acresof public land lying at an elevation of 220 feet
below MSL, in and surrounding the Salton Sea. These lands were designated as a repository to
receive and store agricultural, surface, and subsurface drainage waters. The State of California
designated the Sea for this same purpose in 1968. The current inflow into the Salton Sea is
about 1.3-million acre-feet per year, which is approximately equal to the rate of evaporation.
Currently, the Sea is 25% saltier than the ocean (total dissolved solids concentration ofn 44,000
milligrams per liter), with salinity increasing at approximately 1% per year. Over 70% of the
freshwater inflows to the Sea consist of agricultural drain water from Imperial Valley. Because
the Sea has no outlet, salts concentrate in it and nutrients enhance the formation of eutrophic
conditions. The Sea’s salinity problem cannot be directly addressed from a strictly regulatory
standpoint; rather a coordinated solution involving an engineered solution aimed at stabilization
and/or restoration of salinity levels must be developed. The Salton Sea can also be classified as
a eutrophic lake - impaired by nutrients, which result in low dissolved oxygen, high ammonia
levels, and foul odors...[a] National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1930 to preserve
wintering habitat for millions of waterfowl and other migratory birds. Today, the National
Wildlife Refuge is a critical stop on the Pacific Flyway for migrating birds, including several state-
and federally-listed endangered and threatened species. However, catastrophic die-offs of birds
and fish between 1992 and 1999 indicate the Sea is in serious trouble, and may be unable to
support these beneficial uses in the future.”
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/coloradoriver/wa
ter_issues/programs/salton_sea/docs/salton_sea_
watershed_staff_report_2003.pdf

“Great concern recently has been expressed about
the fate of the Salton Sea ecosystem because of
increasing salinity, contamination from
agricultural and urban sources, disease outbreaks,
and large die-offs of waterbirds.
Particularly hard hit in the 1990s were the Eared
Grebe (150,000 in 1992, unknown causes);
American White Pelican(9,000 in 1996, botulism);
Brown Pelican (1,200 in 1996, botulism); and
waterfowl, shorebirds, and waders (>11,000 in
1998, avian cholera). Concern is heightened
because connections with other important
ecosystems in western North America link the
health of populations of many species of
waterbirds to that of the Salton Sea. Additionally,
because of the loss or degradation of other major
wetland systems in the Pacific Flyway, including the
nearby Río Colorado Delta region, birds have
Become increasingly dependent on the Salton Sea.
“

Grebes, pelicans, shorebirds and
waders

http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Flyways-and-Wildlife-Corridors.aspx

http://www.pacificflyway.gov/Documents/Pacific_map.pdf

ASH MEADOWS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
http://vimeo.com/87197860

Devil’s Hole Pupfish”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMZgrLiTSZE

USGS: “What is Devils Hole?”
“Devils Hole is a subaqueous cavern in
south-central Nevada within
a geographically detached unit of
Death Valley National Park (fig. 1). The
cavern is tectonic in origin and has
developed in Cambrian carbonate
rocks bordering the Ash Meadows oasis
(Carr, 1988). The open fault zone
comprising the cave extends to a depth
of at least 130 meters below the water
table, which is about 15 meters below
land surface (Riggs and others, 1994).
The primary source of groundwater
flowing through Devils Hole, and
discharging from the major springs
within the oasis, is precipitation on the
Spring Mountains to the east of the
cavern. The Spring Mountains are the
highest mountain range in southern
Nevada (altitude 3,630 meters)”

Devil’s Hole Pupfish”
“A count in April 2013, estimated 35 Devils Hole pupfish remain in their natural
habitat. A September count estimated 65 fish. These record low spring and fall
counts indicate that this small, inch-long, iridescent blue fish could now be at
significant risk of extinction.
A Harsh Environment
“Devils Hole pupfish is one of the world’s rarest fishes, spending most of its life in the
top 80 feet of the 93 degree waters of cavern in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
Its habitat is one of the smallest natural ranges known for any vertebrate.
“Devils Hole is an extreme environment, with water temperatures and dissolved
oxygen concentrations near their lethal limits for fish. It is thought this fish has
survived and adapted to these harsh conditions for thousands of years.
“Although the surface of the Devils Hole pool is small, it is an aquifer over 400 feet
deep that is linked to groundwater important to Nevada and California. Scientist
have recently discovered a connection with Devils Hole to earthquakes thousands
of miles away. In 2012, violent pressure waves (mini-tsunami) were recorded in
Devils Hole as a result of earthquakes as far away as El Salvador and Mexico. “

Devil’s Hole Pupfish --
Efforts To Stop The Decline
“A Management Oversight Team that includes the Service, National Park Service and the Nevada Department
of Wildlife, is evaluating possible processes to analyze the risk of future management options that may be
implemented. Possible short-term actions for 2013 include:
1) Keep feeding pupfish in Devils Hole;
2) Increase early life state pupfish (ELS) hiding cover on the shallow shelf using artificial and natural cover
packets;
3) Do a survey of ELS every two weeks to ascertain reproduction;
4) Prepare the Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility (AMFCF) to accept eggs, ELS or adult pupfish; and
5) Move pupfish eggs to the AMFCF to reduce the risk of extinction by establishing an additional
population outside of Devils Hole.
“Establishing A Refuge Population
“Previous attempts to maintain captive populations of pure Devils Hole pupfish in 2006 and 2007 failed. A
captive hybrid population of Ash Meadows Armargosa pupfish crossed with Devils Hole pupfish, however,
has continued to thrive and remains at Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay.
Biologists are hopeful a new Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility will more closely mimic the conditions in
Devils Hole will provide a stable environment to establish a refuge population of the species.
The Service and its partners have developed protocols and procedures for operation of the facility and the
scientific work it will host. This includes protocols (when, how, why, etc.) for moving pupfish, including
their eggs and larvae, from Devils Hole to the man-made habitat in an attempt to establish a captive
population.
The first eggs were successfully moved to the facility this fall. As of November 2013, some larvae have
successfully hatched and are feeding and growing at the facility.”

Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility (AMFCF)
http://www.igshpa.okstate.edu/pdf_files/2013_conf/proceedings/10-10-
2013-1300-The_Ash_Meadows_Fish_Conservation_Facility-
Darrick_Weissenfluh.pdf
DEVIL’S
HOLE
AMFCF

"Water"

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to "Water"

Similar to "Water" (20)

More from Tom Moritz

More from Tom Moritz (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

"Water"