2026/03/10 by James Ferrin · 1 voice
Environmental Science · #Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies #Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics #Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
paper · doi:10.5281/zenodo.18931251
openalex publication_date 2026/03/10 · openalex created_date 2026/03/11 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
This study presents a mechanism‑first architectural framework for understanding and remediating anthropogenic inflow losses to Great Salt Lake. Traditional accounting frameworks have focused on municipal, industrial, mineral, and agricultural depletions, leaving the largest human‑caused losses — reservoir storage, reservoir evaporation, groundwater buffering loss, and return‑flow elimination — outside formal measurement. Using basin‑scale evidence, including long‑term groundwater declines, impoundment footprints, and non‑return storage, the analysis identifies the dominant mechanisms that prevent water from reaching the lake. Building on the empirical findings of Ferrin (2025), the study outlines a four‑pillar remedy architecture: reservoir reallocation and evaporation reduction, groundwater discharge protection, depletion offsets, and institutional accounting reform. Together, these structural corrections realign management with hydrologic reality and provide a pathway to stabilize Great Salt Lake by restoring the mechanisms that deliver water to it.