Publications

Lang, OI; Naple, P; Mallia, D; Hosler, T; Adams, B; Skiles, SM (2025). Two Decades of Dust Radiative Forcing on Snow Cover Across the Great Salt Lake Basin. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-EARTH SURFACE, 130(2), e2024JF007957.

Abstract
Seasonal snowpacks in mountain drainages of the Great Salt Lake Basin (GSLB), western United States, are the primary surface water supply to regional agriculture, the metropolitan Wasatch Front, and the terminal Great Salt Lake. Spring dust emissions from the eastern Great Basin result in a dust-darkened GSLB snowpack, locally accelerating snowmelt relative to dust-free conditions. Such acceleration has been linked to streamflow forecasting errors in the adjacent Colorado River Basin, but snow darkening impacts within the GSLB are largely uninvestigated. To quantify the dust impact, we analyzed patterns in dust radiative forcing (RFdust) over the MODIS record (2001-2023) using spatially and temporally complete RFdust and fractional snow-covered area products. For validation, retrievals were cross-referenced with in situ RFdust observations. Results showed that RFdust was present every year and had no significant trend over the record. Spatially, RFdust was similar across all three subbasins. Temporally, RFdust exhibited high interannual variability (-30 to +40 Wm-2 from record means) and has declined slightly in regions of the eastern GSLB. Controls of RFdust may be linked to seasonal meteorology and drought conditions, but drivers remain uncertain. Further understanding of the distribution and controls of RFdust in the GSLB during changing climate and weather patterns may allow us to predict snowmelt more accurately.

DOI:
10.1029/2024JF007957

ISSN:
2169-9011