Great Salt Lake Research Grants

The Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands at the recommendation of the Research and Grants subcommittee of the Great Salt Lake Technical Team, awarded grants for research project work on the Great Salt Lake. Proposals came from universities, government agencies, and private consulting and/or research firms.

The “hot topics” the Great Salt Lake Technical Team addressed with this round of funding were:

1. Extremes of salinity matrix–To inform/improve management, we need to understand:
1. The effects of very low and/or high salinity on key species (brine flies, brine shrimp, corixids, some vegetation), especially with respect to life cycle phases
2. Other
2. Microbialites–To inform/improve management, we need to understand:
1. Spatial and elevation distribution throughout lake
2. Recovery rates and conditions after prolonged exposure to air or salinity extremes
3. Relationship to brine flies: when and where are microbialites most key to brine fly life cycles
4. Other
3. Water budget and management–To inform/improve management, we need to understand:
1. Baseline historic natural and return inflows to the lake
2. Quantity, chemistry, location and mode of groundwater flow to GSL. What is the role of groundwater in sustaining wetlands and microbialites, and GSL water levels, and GSL brine chemistry balance?
3. Quantity and timing of water needed to support healthy, functioning wetlands of different types
4. Elevation and gaging measurements for Bear River Bay and Willard Spur
5. Relationships between vegetation and water budget
6. Other
4. Brine flies–To inform/improve management, we need to understand:
1. Population and health
2. Spatial distribution, success rates of maturation, microbialite health, correlation with bird populations, and/or correlations with environmental parameters like salinity and temperature, especially with respect to life cycle stage
3. Effective monitoring techniques through ground truthing various methods
4. Other
5. Salt balance–To inform/improve management, we need to understand:
1. Salt loss from the lake due to erosion of playa salt and aerosols from lake
2. Other
6. Phragmites and wetland vegetation–To inform/improve management, we need to understand:
1. Spatial extent and temporal distribution of phragmites in GSL wetlands
2. Reestablishment of native vegetation at treated sites through both active and passive reestablishment
3. Changes in water availability in response to phragmites treatment
4. Bird responses to managed areas
5. Effectiveness of novel techniques (e.g., drone imagery and data collection, tasked satellite imagery, computer learning algorithms) applied to GSL vegetation modeling
6. Other
7. Lake bathymetry–To inform/improve management, we need to understand:
1. Temporal and physical scales and variation of sediment distribution, thickness (salt layers vs. other) and control factors for the variation
2. Sub-lake floor expressions of key features such as flooding vs. exposure surfaces, microbialite and other mounds
3. Location of major fault systems, their slip history, and potential impact of future slip events
4. Subbottom expression and distribution of fluid flow, seeps, gases, etc.
5. Other
8. Microbiome inventory and database–To inform/improve management, we need to understand:
1. Baseline microbial taxonomy biodiversity in lake and wetlands
2. Impacts of salinity extremes and low water levels on microbial communities
3. Impacts on food web
4. Other
9. Dust characterization–To inform/improve management, we need to understand:
1. Surface crust dynamics, dust-associated contaminants, and dust hot spots
2. Remote sensing to estimate and monitor crust and hot spot development, and identify areas to monitor mitigation effectiveness
3. Other
10. Other
1. Other areas not included that could inform/improve management of Great Salt Lake

The Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands at the recommendation of the Research and Grants subcommittee of the Great Salt Lake Technical Team awarded grants for research project work on the Great Salt Lake. Proposals came from universities, government agencies, and private consulting and/or research firms.

The “hot topics” the Great Salt Lake Technical Team addressed with this round of funding were:

1. Impacts of Water Level and Water Quality on GSL Biota
2. Mapping, Surveying, and Data Repository
3. Ecosystem Dynamics
4. Water Budget and In-Lake Routing

The Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands at the recommendation of the Research and Grants subcommittee of the Great Salt Lake Technical Team awarded grants for research project work on the Great Salt Lake. Proposals came from universities, government agencies, and private consulting and/or research firms.

The “hot topics” the Great Salt Lake Technical Team addressed with this round of funding were:

1. Causeway breach flow
2. Microbialites
3. Water delivery to GSL wetlands
4. Wetland health and shorebird use
5. GSL and dust
6. Lakebed mapping

The Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands at the recommendation of the Research and Grants subcommittee of the Great Salt Lake Technical Team awarded grants for research project work on the Great Salt Lake. Proposals came from universities, government agencies, and private consulting and/or research firms.

The “hot topics” the Great Salt Lake Technical Team addressed with this round of funding were:

1. Great Salt Lake salt mass balance
2. Nest success on Great Salt Lake marshes
3. Assessing water delivery and water needs of Great Salt Lake wetlands
4. Native wetland revegetation to restore wetland habitat
5. Invasive plants in wetlands
6. Sources of microplastics to Great Salt Lake
7. Water banking to increase or maintain flows to Great Salt Lake
8. Archaeological investigation

The Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands at the recommendation of the Research and Grants subcommittee of the Great Salt Lake Technical Team awarded grants for research project work on the Great Salt Lake. Proposals came from universities, government agencies, and private consulting and/or research firms.

The “hot topics” the Great Salt Lake Technical Team addressed with this round of funding were:

1. Gunnison Bay salt crust
2. Great Salt Lake waterfowl production
3. Wetland revegetation and restoring ecosystem services
4. Microbial primary production
5. Quantifying the connection between groundwater input to Great Salt Lake and active microbialite communities
6. Groundwater and shoreline surface crust mechanics
7. Modeling the flow through the openings in the causeway

The Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands at the recommendation of the Research and Grants subcommittee of the Great Salt Lake Technical Team awarded grants for research project work on the Great Salt Lake. Proposals came from universities, government agencies, and private consulting and/or research firms.

The “hot topics” the Great Salt Lake Technical Team addressed with this round of funding were:

1. Effects of low lake levels on air quality
2. Salt balance in Great Salt Lake
3. Dynamics of the deep brine layer
4. Heavy metal distribution in soils and plants of Great Salt Lake wetlands
5. Wetland revegetation and restoring ecosystem services
6. Causeway flow
7. Farmington Bay inundation
8. Microplastics in the Great Salt Lake