Mojave Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring streams and lakes protocol: 2014 monitoring data.
Bailard JL and Moret GJ. 2015. Mojave Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring streams and lakes protocol: 2014 monitoring data.. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/MOJN/NRDS—2015/973. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The Mojave Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring Program (MOJN I&M) is a National Park Service (NPS) program that monitors ecological vital signs in eight parks located in Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona. The MOJN I&M Streams and Lakes protocol focuses on monitoring water quality and water quantity in headwater streams and sub-alpine lakes in Great Basin National Park (GRBA), located in eastern Nevada. Pilot testing of the protocol was completed in the summer of 2009, and the protocol was formally approved in 2012. This report presents Streams and Lakes protocol data collected in the 2014 field season. The report includes water quality and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage data for GRBA streams, and water quality, water level, clarity, and ice-free period data for GRBA lakes. Stream discharge data will be published in a separate report, as the processing, analysis, and review of discharge records can delay their availability for reporting. The water quality in GRBA streams and lakes is generally excellent, with the measured water quality and chemistry parameters in compliance with regulatory limits. The benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages observed in the streams are consistent with healthy ecosystems. Water year 2014 had greater-than-average precipitation, with the weather station at Lehman Caves recording the wettest July and August on record. The largest summer storms resulted in brief periods of high stream discharge, but no major changes to stream chemistry were observed. Five of the six lakes exhibited water level increases of less than 0.1 m in response to the summer storms. The level of Baker Lake, however, rose by more than 0.5 m. No major changes in water chemistry were observed in any of the lakes.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Bailard, Jennifer; Moret, Geoff
- Date of Issue
- 2015-09
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- GRBA , MOJN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Acid Neutralizing Capacity, ANC, benthic macroinvertebrate, BMI, Discharge, Dissolved Organic Carbon, Dissolved Oxygen, GRBA, Great Basin National Park, ice-out, ice-over, Ions, Lake Level, Lakes, Mojave Desert Network, Monitoring, nitrate + nitrite, Nutrients, Perennial, pH, Secchi depth, specific conductance, Stream and Lake Report, Streams, Subalpine, Sulfate, Temperature, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, Water Quality, Water Quantity
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Water | Hydrology | Surface Water Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Water Chemistry , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Nutrient Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Aquatic Macroinvertebrates and Algae