Climate Change Impact

I found the article Low Flows, Hot Trout through the Big Sky Institute, which focuses on the Clark Fork Basin in Montana and how climate change affects the area: through increasing temperatures, earlier snowmelt, increased chance for wildfires, and impact on wildlife. The in-depth scientific analysis of climate change and what it means for the Clark Fork area can be applied to other areas facing similar problems, such as Yellowstone, Idaho, or even Bozeman. When I went to the USGS office in Boise, ID, for database training in groundwater programs, I was introduced to biological studies going on there in terms of trout and other fish, and their findings directly relate to this study.

Water Sources, Distribution, Pollution

San Diego is a large county in Southern California, consisting of a predominantly semi-arid, Mediterranean climate. Only about 10-20 percent of the water is supplied by rainfall collected in the county's reservoirs, while the remaining 80-90 percent comes from two separate sources. One source is the Colorado River, coming from Lake Havasu via aqueduct. The rest comes from Northern California via the State Water Project, and is carried via aqueduct from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The water is treated in San Diego's reservoirs for treatment and distributed to the people.

In California water is a big issue, and water rights are even bigger. Regulations in treatment and distribution of drinking water are a touchy subject for many drinking water providers.

Gallatin County in Montana is vastly different from San Diego, with a higher average rainfall (higher even than the rest of the state), and snow, of course. In particular, the City of Bozeman is supplied by Lyman Creek in the Bridger Mountains, and Sourdough and Hyalite Creeks in the Gallatin Mountains. The Lyman Creek source is ground-water. Water from Sourdough and Hyalite is treated at the Sourdough Water Treatment Plant, which provides about 75% of the water requirement for the city.

I am just learning about water rights and distribution in Montana, but from my research thus far, it seems that agricultural run-off is a major cause of pollution in streams and lakes, and the major effect on water quality.

Geysers!

I went to Yellowstone National Park for the first time this past summer (July '08) and I was absolutely amazed. The natural beauty of the park is stunning, and I was also impressed on a deeper level with the geology and geothermal features I saw.

Of course I made it a point to see Old Faithful and waited with hundreds of other tourists for the eruption to occur. The supervolcano that underlies the Yellowstone area is the cause of the amazing heights the geyser reaches, as precipitation seeps through the porous ground rock and comes into contact with rocks heated by the magma, which then rises through a series of cracks and fissures within the Earth. Pressure builds beneath the Earth due to the high temperatures, and pushes the water in the upper layers of the Earth's surface out and causes an overflow. This overflow relieves the pressure below and causes it to vaporize into steam, and the force of this vaporization causes the water to shoot into the air.

Yellowstone has the world's densest concentration of geysers, with over 200 within 1.5 square miles. One of my favorite areas was the Black Sand Basin, as I've always had an affinity for obsidian, and weathered volcanic glass makes up the black sand of its eponym.