@gslsentinel.bsky.social
The Great Salt Lake's unofficial watchdog, blending hydrology with weather watch, advocating for natural precipitation and better water management over conservation myths.
Pinned
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm Grounded in the Great Salt Lake Basin
Impoundments represent the largest unmeasured source of anthropogenic inflow loss to Great Salt Lake. Using satellite imagery, aerial datasets, and surface‑area‑based evaporation modeling, we quantifi...
doi.org
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm.
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures. Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures. Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
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I’ve identified another uncounted anthropogenic loss to Great Salt Lake inflows: groundwater‑recharge pumping. It functions as another form of non‑return storage. Some recharge eventually reaches the lake, but only after a long delay. Much of it never returns at all, depending on the aquifer.
I’ve identified another uncounted anthropogenic loss to Great Salt Lake inflows: groundwater‑recharge pumping. It functions as another form of non‑return storage. Some recharge eventually reaches the lake, but only after a long delay. Much of it never returns at all, depending on the aquifer.
February 4, 2026 at 6:16 PM
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I’ve identified another uncounted anthropogenic loss to Great Salt Lake inflows: groundwater‑recharge pumping. It functions as another form of non‑return storage. Some recharge eventually reaches the lake, but only after a long delay. Much of it never returns at all, depending on the aquifer.
I’ve identified another uncounted anthropogenic loss to Great Salt Lake inflows: groundwater‑recharge pumping. It functions as another form of non‑return storage. Some recharge eventually reaches the lake, but only after a long delay. Much of it never returns at all, depending on the aquifer.
The #GreatSaltLake gets invoked constantly as a justification for spending money, but almost never with quantification. How much water do these actions actually deliver to the lake?
February 4, 2026 at 6:58 AM
The #GreatSaltLake gets invoked constantly as a justification for spending money, but almost never with quantification. How much water do these actions actually deliver to the lake?
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Myth Buster — #GreatSaltLake edition
Myth: “If the lake dries further, it automatically becomes a dust bowl.”
Reality: That’s not how playas work.
The playa does not need to be covered in water to be protected from dust lift.
This is the core misconception driving the “dry = dust bowl” narrative.
Myth Buster — #GreatSaltLake edition
Myth: “If the lake dries further, it automatically becomes a dust bowl.”
Reality: That’s not how playas work.
The playa does not need to be covered in water to be protected from dust lift.
This is the core misconception driving the “dry = dust bowl” narrative.
February 3, 2026 at 7:49 PM
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Myth Buster — #GreatSaltLake edition
Myth: “If the lake dries further, it automatically becomes a dust bowl.”
Reality: That’s not how playas work.
The playa does not need to be covered in water to be protected from dust lift.
This is the core misconception driving the “dry = dust bowl” narrative.
Myth Buster — #GreatSaltLake edition
Myth: “If the lake dries further, it automatically becomes a dust bowl.”
Reality: That’s not how playas work.
The playa does not need to be covered in water to be protected from dust lift.
This is the core misconception driving the “dry = dust bowl” narrative.
The “Could” Paradigm Broke #GreatSaltLake — Twice
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For 40+ years, Utah has managed Great Salt Lake around a single idea:
what could happen.
The lake could flood.
Reservoirs could help next year.
Stored water could reach the lake someday.
But the “could” never happens.
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For 40+ years, Utah has managed Great Salt Lake around a single idea:
what could happen.
The lake could flood.
Reservoirs could help next year.
Stored water could reach the lake someday.
But the “could” never happens.
February 2, 2026 at 8:57 PM
The “Could” Paradigm Broke #GreatSaltLake — Twice
1/
For 40+ years, Utah has managed Great Salt Lake around a single idea:
what could happen.
The lake could flood.
Reservoirs could help next year.
Stored water could reach the lake someday.
But the “could” never happens.
1/
For 40+ years, Utah has managed Great Salt Lake around a single idea:
what could happen.
The lake could flood.
Reservoirs could help next year.
Stored water could reach the lake someday.
But the “could” never happens.
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm.
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures. Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures. Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm Grounded in the Great Salt Lake Basin
Impoundments represent the largest unmeasured source of anthropogenic inflow loss to Great Salt Lake. Using satellite imagery, aerial datasets, and surface‑area‑based evaporation modeling, we quantifi...
doi.org
January 31, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm.
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures. Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures. Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
1/
Evaporation is a phase change, not a disappearance.
Great Salt Lake accounting has treated evaporation as a one‑way exit, collapsing the atmospheric leg of the water cycle and obscuring the real question: how much water actually leaves the basin, and how much recycles within it.
Evaporation is a phase change, not a disappearance.
Great Salt Lake accounting has treated evaporation as a one‑way exit, collapsing the atmospheric leg of the water cycle and obscuring the real question: how much water actually leaves the basin, and how much recycles within it.
January 28, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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Evaporation is a phase change, not a disappearance.
Great Salt Lake accounting has treated evaporation as a one‑way exit, collapsing the atmospheric leg of the water cycle and obscuring the real question: how much water actually leaves the basin, and how much recycles within it.
Evaporation is a phase change, not a disappearance.
Great Salt Lake accounting has treated evaporation as a one‑way exit, collapsing the atmospheric leg of the water cycle and obscuring the real question: how much water actually leaves the basin, and how much recycles within it.
Tightening up the language to reduce misinterpretation and misrepresentation has been difficult. Sometimes I wish I had a team helping me complete the study.
I think I am really close to being there as I upload version 8.
I think I am really close to being there as I upload version 8.
January 27, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Tightening up the language to reduce misinterpretation and misrepresentation has been difficult. Sometimes I wish I had a team helping me complete the study.
I think I am really close to being there as I upload version 8.
I think I am really close to being there as I upload version 8.
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm. This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures. Grounded in the Great Salt Lake Basin.
V7
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
V7
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm Grounded in the Great Salt Lake Basin
Impoundments represent the largest unmeasured source of anthropogenic depletion to Great Salt Lake inflow. Using satellite imagery, aerial datasets, and surface‑area‑based evaporation modeling, we qua...
doi.org
January 26, 2026 at 4:45 AM
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm. This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures. Grounded in the Great Salt Lake Basin.
V7
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
V7
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures.
Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures.
Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm Grounded in the Great Salt Lake Basin
Impoundments represent the largest unmeasured anthropogenic source of depletion in the Great Salt Lake Basin. Using satellite imagery, aerial datasets, and surface‑area‑based evaporation modeling, we ...
doi.org
January 24, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures.
Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures.
Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures.
Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
V4 Link:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures.
Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
V4 Link:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm Grounded in the Great Salt Lake Basin
Impoundments represent the largest unmeasured anthropogenic source of depletion in the Great Salt Lake Basin. Using satellite imagery, aerial datasets, and surface‑area‑based evaporation modeling, we ...
doi.org
January 22, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Impoundment Depletion: A New Hydrologic Paradigm
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures.
Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
V4 Link:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
This study reframes how we account for evaporative losses from reservoirs, levees, and lagoons, losses long excluded from official depletion figures.
Grounded in the #GreatSaltLake Basin.
V4 Link:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Credibility is not bestowed by titles; credibility is earned by the quality of their work.
Is the work grounded in evidence, transparent, reproducible or is it speculative?
Is the work grounded in evidence, transparent, reproducible or is it speculative?
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Anniversary
Three years since the ‘#GreatSaltLake could dry up in 5 years’ claim — amplified by the GSL Collaborative and given institutional legitimacy by UTDNR, the GSL Strike Team, university signatories and environmental organizations.
Anniversary
Three years since the ‘#GreatSaltLake could dry up in 5 years’ claim — amplified by the GSL Collaborative and given institutional legitimacy by UTDNR, the GSL Strike Team, university signatories and environmental organizations.
January 22, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Credibility is not bestowed by titles; credibility is earned by the quality of their work.
Is the work grounded in evidence, transparent, reproducible or is it speculative?
Is the work grounded in evidence, transparent, reproducible or is it speculative?
1/
Anniversary
Three years since the ‘#GreatSaltLake could dry up in 5 years’ claim — amplified by the GSL Collaborative and given institutional legitimacy by UTDNR, the GSL Strike Team, university signatories and environmental organizations.
Anniversary
Three years since the ‘#GreatSaltLake could dry up in 5 years’ claim — amplified by the GSL Collaborative and given institutional legitimacy by UTDNR, the GSL Strike Team, university signatories and environmental organizations.
January 22, 2026 at 4:31 AM
1/
Anniversary
Three years since the ‘#GreatSaltLake could dry up in 5 years’ claim — amplified by the GSL Collaborative and given institutional legitimacy by UTDNR, the GSL Strike Team, university signatories and environmental organizations.
Anniversary
Three years since the ‘#GreatSaltLake could dry up in 5 years’ claim — amplified by the GSL Collaborative and given institutional legitimacy by UTDNR, the GSL Strike Team, university signatories and environmental organizations.
The Zoo Logic of #GreatSaltLake Marshes
A look at one of the human-caused depletion subsets to GSL's inflow system.
#utah #fullaccounting #environment #ecology
sway.cloud.microsoft/INSPFYae7YBj...
A look at one of the human-caused depletion subsets to GSL's inflow system.
#utah #fullaccounting #environment #ecology
sway.cloud.microsoft/INSPFYae7YBj...
Created using Microsoft Sway
For decades we’ve called them nature preserves, waterfowl management areas, and bird refuges, names that suggest untouched landscapes, native marshes, and ecosystems shaped by the Great Salt Lake itse
sway.cloud.microsoft
January 20, 2026 at 2:36 AM
The Zoo Logic of #GreatSaltLake Marshes
A look at one of the human-caused depletion subsets to GSL's inflow system.
#utah #fullaccounting #environment #ecology
sway.cloud.microsoft/INSPFYae7YBj...
A look at one of the human-caused depletion subsets to GSL's inflow system.
#utah #fullaccounting #environment #ecology
sway.cloud.microsoft/INSPFYae7YBj...
Lol! The other day I calculated that over the last 10-year period GSL had lost an average of 1.3" per year. At that pace it would take over 230 years for GSL to desiccate.
Remember that the next time the news media tries to tell you the sky is falling. (Dry in 5 years🤣😂🤣)
Remember that the next time the news media tries to tell you the sky is falling. (Dry in 5 years🤣😂🤣)
January 18, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Lol! The other day I calculated that over the last 10-year period GSL had lost an average of 1.3" per year. At that pace it would take over 230 years for GSL to desiccate.
Remember that the next time the news media tries to tell you the sky is falling. (Dry in 5 years🤣😂🤣)
Remember that the next time the news media tries to tell you the sky is falling. (Dry in 5 years🤣😂🤣)
For anyone following the #GreatSaltLake, this study is worth reading: a decade of PM10 data showing no dust trend and no lake-level correlation. It adds important context to the conversation. #Utah
doi.org/10.1016/j.sc...
doi.org/10.1016/j.sc...
Redirecting
doi.org
January 16, 2026 at 4:50 AM
For anyone following the #GreatSaltLake, this study is worth reading: a decade of PM10 data showing no dust trend and no lake-level correlation. It adds important context to the conversation. #Utah
doi.org/10.1016/j.sc...
doi.org/10.1016/j.sc...
1/13/2025 Audit of:
#GreatSaltLake Data and insight summary document ~UTDNR
A synthesized resource document for the 2026 General Legislative Session.
Audit lines captured in highlighted Yellow.
#Utah #utleg #utpol
drive.google.com/file/d/1DCo3...
#GreatSaltLake Data and insight summary document ~UTDNR
A synthesized resource document for the 2026 General Legislative Session.
Audit lines captured in highlighted Yellow.
#Utah #utleg #utpol
drive.google.com/file/d/1DCo3...
GSLaudit-Jan2026.pdf
drive.google.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:36 AM
1/13/2025 Audit of:
#GreatSaltLake Data and insight summary document ~UTDNR
A synthesized resource document for the 2026 General Legislative Session.
Audit lines captured in highlighted Yellow.
#Utah #utleg #utpol
drive.google.com/file/d/1DCo3...
#GreatSaltLake Data and insight summary document ~UTDNR
A synthesized resource document for the 2026 General Legislative Session.
Audit lines captured in highlighted Yellow.
#Utah #utleg #utpol
drive.google.com/file/d/1DCo3...
UTDNR is trying to claim M&I depletions are 26%, this is far from the truth of 7%.
It is not math; it is narrative manipulation.
It is not math; it is narrative manipulation.
January 12, 2026 at 4:38 PM
UTDNR is trying to claim M&I depletions are 26%, this is far from the truth of 7%.
It is not math; it is narrative manipulation.
It is not math; it is narrative manipulation.
Story came across my feed today; I found it intriguing.
I have no desire for monetary gain or dragging things into court, but I really like finding gaps, overstepping evidence and calling out exaggerations and speculation.
I totally understand the hobby.
www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...
I have no desire for monetary gain or dragging things into court, but I really like finding gaps, overstepping evidence and calling out exaggerations and speculation.
I totally understand the hobby.
www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...
Amateur sleuth earns £2m reward for exposing research fraud
A British scientist has forced a leading US cancer research institute to pay a $15m legal settlement after trawling through scientific papers in his spare time
www.thetimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:47 AM
Story came across my feed today; I found it intriguing.
I have no desire for monetary gain or dragging things into court, but I really like finding gaps, overstepping evidence and calling out exaggerations and speculation.
I totally understand the hobby.
www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...
I have no desire for monetary gain or dragging things into court, but I really like finding gaps, overstepping evidence and calling out exaggerations and speculation.
I totally understand the hobby.
www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...
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Three years ago, I started encircling the concept of "non-return storage". The biggest value paradigm in my study. The pushback was that "water could reenter the system".
Unfortunately, that sidelined me from perusing that line framework.
Three years ago, I started encircling the concept of "non-return storage". The biggest value paradigm in my study. The pushback was that "water could reenter the system".
Unfortunately, that sidelined me from perusing that line framework.
January 11, 2026 at 4:51 PM
1/
Three years ago, I started encircling the concept of "non-return storage". The biggest value paradigm in my study. The pushback was that "water could reenter the system".
Unfortunately, that sidelined me from perusing that line framework.
Three years ago, I started encircling the concept of "non-return storage". The biggest value paradigm in my study. The pushback was that "water could reenter the system".
Unfortunately, that sidelined me from perusing that line framework.
U of U junk science infiltrates the GSL strike team report.
"water-free approaches"
Using different language to claim the lake will dry up in a couple of years so they can get more funding for future junk science.
Swear to god U of U professors are not fit to teach 3rd grade science. Parasites.
"water-free approaches"
Using different language to claim the lake will dry up in a couple of years so they can get more funding for future junk science.
Swear to god U of U professors are not fit to teach 3rd grade science. Parasites.
January 11, 2026 at 12:55 AM
U of U junk science infiltrates the GSL strike team report.
"water-free approaches"
Using different language to claim the lake will dry up in a couple of years so they can get more funding for future junk science.
Swear to god U of U professors are not fit to teach 3rd grade science. Parasites.
"water-free approaches"
Using different language to claim the lake will dry up in a couple of years so they can get more funding for future junk science.
Swear to god U of U professors are not fit to teach 3rd grade science. Parasites.
1/
Mark my words
The placement of monitoring will be used to manipulate the public perception of GSL dust affecting the Wasatch front.
A lot of monitoring between GSL and the Wasatch Front.
Large gaps in monitoring on the other sides of the lake.
Mark my words
The placement of monitoring will be used to manipulate the public perception of GSL dust affecting the Wasatch front.
A lot of monitoring between GSL and the Wasatch Front.
Large gaps in monitoring on the other sides of the lake.
January 10, 2026 at 8:20 AM
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Mark my words
The placement of monitoring will be used to manipulate the public perception of GSL dust affecting the Wasatch front.
A lot of monitoring between GSL and the Wasatch Front.
Large gaps in monitoring on the other sides of the lake.
Mark my words
The placement of monitoring will be used to manipulate the public perception of GSL dust affecting the Wasatch front.
A lot of monitoring between GSL and the Wasatch Front.
Large gaps in monitoring on the other sides of the lake.
They tell us one thing; actual measuring tells us another.
2023 was the highest water level in this set of years, yet PM10 showed higher than other years.
The opposite of matching lake decline.
Harrisville monitoring station.
2023 was the highest water level in this set of years, yet PM10 showed higher than other years.
The opposite of matching lake decline.
Harrisville monitoring station.
January 9, 2026 at 10:50 PM
They tell us one thing; actual measuring tells us another.
2023 was the highest water level in this set of years, yet PM10 showed higher than other years.
The opposite of matching lake decline.
Harrisville monitoring station.
2023 was the highest water level in this set of years, yet PM10 showed higher than other years.
The opposite of matching lake decline.
Harrisville monitoring station.
Even at a low relatively low elevation, Great Salt Lake produces Lake effect snow.
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 AM
Even at a low relatively low elevation, Great Salt Lake produces Lake effect snow.
2026 #GreatSaltLake strike team report came out.
2 pages on Phragmites challenges.
Phragmites Paradox can be fixed. Anthropogenic impoundments create the lateral seepage zones that proliferate the spread of phragmites.
Rotating areas of wetting can dry out zones inhibiting and declining spread.
2 pages on Phragmites challenges.
Phragmites Paradox can be fixed. Anthropogenic impoundments create the lateral seepage zones that proliferate the spread of phragmites.
Rotating areas of wetting can dry out zones inhibiting and declining spread.
January 8, 2026 at 7:37 AM
2026 #GreatSaltLake strike team report came out.
2 pages on Phragmites challenges.
Phragmites Paradox can be fixed. Anthropogenic impoundments create the lateral seepage zones that proliferate the spread of phragmites.
Rotating areas of wetting can dry out zones inhibiting and declining spread.
2 pages on Phragmites challenges.
Phragmites Paradox can be fixed. Anthropogenic impoundments create the lateral seepage zones that proliferate the spread of phragmites.
Rotating areas of wetting can dry out zones inhibiting and declining spread.
1/
I used to think peer review was a guarantee of scientific reliability. Working on #GreatSaltLake has taught me something different.
#science
I used to think peer review was a guarantee of scientific reliability. Working on #GreatSaltLake has taught me something different.
#science
January 4, 2026 at 11:06 PM
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I used to think peer review was a guarantee of scientific reliability. Working on #GreatSaltLake has taught me something different.
#science
I used to think peer review was a guarantee of scientific reliability. Working on #GreatSaltLake has taught me something different.
#science