Water quality summary for the Snake River and alpine lakes in Grand Teton National Park and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway: Preliminary analysis of 2015 data
Levandowski M, Ray A, Mellander K, Whaley C, Roy R. 2017. Water quality summary for the Snake River and alpine lakes in Grand Teton National Park and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway: Preliminary analysis of 2015 data. Natural Resource Report. NPS/GRYN/NRR—2017/1510. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report summarizes discharge and water quality monitoring data for the Snake River and water quality monitoring data for representative alpine lakes in Grand Teton National Park and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway for calendar year 2015. Results presented include annual and long-term discharge summaries and an evaluation of chemical conditions relative to state and federal water quality standards. These results are considered provisional, and therefore may be subject to change. - River Discharge. Hydrographs for the Snake River at Flagg Ranch, WY, and Moose, WY, exhibit a general pattern of high early summer flows and lower baseflows occurring in late summer and fall. During much of 2015, flows at the Flagg Ranch monitoring location were similar to the 25th percentile of daily flows at that site. Peak flows at Flagg Ranch were similar to average flows from 1983-2014, but occurred twenty-four days earlier in the year compared to the long-term average. Peak flows at the Moose monitoring station were similar to the long-term average and daily flows mirrored 25th percentile daily flows. Peak flows occurred five days earlier than the long-term average. During summer months, the unnatural hydrograph at Moose exhibited signs of flow regula-tion associated with the management of Jackson Lake. - Water Quality Monitoring in the Snake River. Water quality in the Snake River exhibited seasonal variability over the sampling period. Specifically, total iron peaked during high flows. In contrast, chloride, sulfate, dissolved sodium, total magnesium, and total calcium levels were at their annual minimum during the period of snowmelt. - Water Quality Monitoring of Alpine Lakes. Water quality in three monitored lakes (Amphitheater, Delta, and Surprise lakes) varied by lake and sampling date. Amphitheater and Surprise lakes had total nitrogen and total phosphorus levels below the EPA reference conditions for the Middle Rockies Ecoregion. Delta Lake had the highest total nitrogen and total phosphorus levels and generally exceeded EPA reference condition criteria for these nutrients.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Levandowski, Mary; Ray, Andrew; Mellander, Kathryn; Whaley, Chad; Roy, Rodney
- Date of Issue
- 2017-09
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- GRTE , GRYN , JODR , NRSS
- Keywords
- alpine lakes, monitoring, natural resources, river discharge, sampling, Snake River, water quality
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Water Chemistry , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Nutrient Dynamics