WATER TEMPERATURE CORRELATION BETWEEN A SINK AND DEEP REMOTE SPRING ON THE NORTH RIM OF GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA

The North Rim of Grand Canyon, Arizona is comprised of a shallow and a deep karst aquifer system. Regional snowmelt is the primary recharge source for these aquifers. North Canyon Wash and Vasey’s Paradise are located off the east side of the monocline forming the Kaibab Plateau. North Canyon Wash is in the surficial Coconino (C) aquifer while Vasey’s Paradise appears in the deep Redwall-Muav (R) aquifer. Previous fluorescent dye tracer studies have delineated flow paths between the Kaibab Plateau and the spring at Vasey’s Paradise. The tracer study showed a lag in response time for the recharge of springs. North Canyon Wash and Vasey’s Paradise springs showed a much faster lag in response time from one another than other springs located in the two karst aquifer systems. Collecting temperature data at the two spring sources provided a better understanding of the relationship between North Canyon Wash and Vasey’s Paradise. The results will be used to inform future introduced dye tracer studies.