PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER INTERACTIONS OF THERMAL SPRINGS WITHIN UTAH LAKE VIA THE USE OF UAVS

Utah Lake is a shallow lake system near the Wasatch Front in northern Utah. The lake has many hot springs surrounding the lake that flow into the lake and originate from upwelling waters along fault lines. Some of these springs have been developed for economic uses and additional springs have proposed developments that will disallow public access to these springs. The goal of this research was to better understand the thermal interactions with the ground and surface water that discharges into Utah Lake and how these proposed developments may impact the ecosystem surrounding these springs. A Matrice 210 V2 sUAS (small unmanned aerial system) was utilized with a Zenmuse X5s 15 mm (30 mm equivalent) visible camera and a Zenmuse XT2 R thermal imager to map the individual hot springs in the region and to determine how the springs interact with the nearby lake. The researchers collected and created orthomosaic’s for both RGB and thermal imagery at 2 sites (Saratoga Springs and Lincoln Beach, Utah) that have hot springs that flow directly into Utah Lake. The individual springs exhibit different temperatures depending on where the spring interacts with the surface. Based on the analysis of the different temperatures it has been determined that some of the springs interact and mix with the colder groundwater whereas others emit directly to a series of hot pools. The location of the springs that do mix with the local groundwater have been shown to migrate based on the water levels in Utah Lake. Additional studies are being done on these springs to better understand how the springs impact the ecosystem and how they contribute to the chemistry of the lake's waters. As we continue to analyze these hot springs we are hoping that our hydrologic analysis of the springs will help us determine how the springs interact with both the groundwater and surface water sources and how the proposed developments may impact the system.