Mojave Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring streams and lakes protocol: 2015 monitoring data
Steiner MS. 2017. Mojave Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring streams and lakes protocol: 2015 monitoring data. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/MOJN/NRDS—2017/1106. 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 nine 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 2015 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 2015 (October 2014 – September 2015) had below average precipitation, with the weather station at Lehman Caves recording unusually low precipitation in October 2014, November 2014 and September 2015. Snow Pack recorded on April 1st was the second lowest on record during Water year 2015. Dead Lake was recorded as dry during the annual WY2015 annual visit. This is the first time over the course of the Streams and Lakes monitoring (2009 to present that one of the lakes has been observed to go dry.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Steiner, Michael
- Date of Issue
- 2017-06
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- GRBA , MOJN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Acid Neutralizing Capacity, benthic macroinvertebrate, Discharge, Dissolved Organic Carbon, Dissolved Oxygen, GRBA, Great Basin National Park, ice-out, ice-over, Ions, Lake Level, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Lakes, Mojave Desert Network, Monitoring, nitrate+nitrite, Nutrients, Perennial, pH, regulatory status, Secchi depth, specific conductance, Stream and Lake Report, Streams, Subalpine, Sulfate, Surface Water, 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