Reconstructing the water level record at MC Spring since 1990: Mojave National Preserve
Bailard JL and Moret GJ. 2015. Reconstructing the water level record at MC Spring since 1990: Mojave National Preserve. Natural Resource Report. NPS/MOJN/NRR—2015/1006. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
MC Spring is located on the edge of Mojave National Preserve (MOJA) near the Desert Studies Center at Zzyzx. The spring is one of a handful of refugia for the endangered Mohave tui chub (Siphateles bicolor mohavensis) and represents an important aquatic resource for the preserve. In June 2013, the Mojave Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring Program (MOJN I&M) installed a new staff gage and pressure transducer to monitor water level in the spring as part of the MOJN I&M Selected Large Springs protocol. At the same time, we removed an old staff gage that had been in the spring since before 1986. The old staff gage was a length of 3/4-inch PVC pipe that had markings painted on it at regular intervals. These markings faded into distinctive patterns over time. Photographs that show the old staff gage can be used to estimate historical water levels and tie them into the modern record. The data obtained from 21 photographs taken between 1990 and 2013 show that the water level in the spring varied by at least 1.25 feet over that time. The highest stage (6.65 feet) was observed in a photo from May 1990, while the lowest stage (5.40 feet) was observed in a photo from May 2010. Comparing these stages with the readings from the new staff gage and pressure transducer indicates that recent water levels are within the historical norms.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Bailard, Jennifer; Moret, Geoffrey
- Date of Issue
- 2015-08
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- MOJA , MOJN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Ecology, Endangered, Historic, Hydrology, inter-annual variability, limnocrene, Mohave tui chub, MOJA, Mojave Desert Network, Mojave National Preserve, MOJN, pressure transducer, Refugia, Selected Large Springs Report, Soda Dry Lake, Spring, staff gage, Water Level
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Water | Hydrology | Surface Water Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | At-risk Biota | T&E Species and Communities