Dirtiest snow-year in the Wasatch accelerated snowmelt by 17 days
Professor McKenzie Skiles' Research Featured in UNews
The dry lakebed of the Great Salt Lake contributed the highest dust emissions per surface area during the 2022 season, which had the most dust deposition events and highest dust concentrations of any year since observations began in 2009.
As the shrinking Great Salt Lake exposes an ever-growing area of its lakebed, wind-blown dust becomes more dangerous for those living in Utah’s most populous region. It also makes the snowpack dirty, which threatens the state’s most precious resource—water.
In a new study, University of Utah researchers analyzed the impact of dust on snow during the 2022 season. They found that 2022 had the most dust deposition events and the highest snowpack dust concentrations of any year since observations began in 2009.