Award Date

1-1-1992

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Geoscience

First Committee Member

Neil L. Ingraham

Number of Pages

115

Abstract

Environmental isotope techniques have been used to study the water resources in Great Basin National Park in Nevada in an attempt to understand the recharge and mixing characteristics of the creeks, lakes and shallow groundwater in the park. The results have been used to trace the sources of the springs and creek discharges and also to determine the isotopic behavior of the alpine lakes, as well as groundwater exchange with the lakes; Winter snow is the major contributor to groundwater and makes up about 80% of groundwater recharge while summer rains contribute about 20%; The isotopic compositions of the lakes are quite dependent on the evaporation-inflow rates and are shown to be a qualitative measure of the degree of openness or closure of the particular lake; Three different values of maximum isotopic enrichment attainable in the park were obtained using three different methods. The differences in values suggest two kinds of closed lakes which behave isotopically differently. Water balance calculation using stable isotopes was performed for a closed alpine lake, showing that it has considerable interaction with groundwater and is not a completely closed lake. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Keywords

Baker; Basin; Creeks; Drainages; Great; Hydrology; Isotope; Lehman; National; Nevada; Park

Controlled Subject

Hydrology; Geochemistry; Geology

File Format

pdf

File Size

4136.96 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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