Saving the Salt

[64avanti]

Does anyone know how much money SCTA-BNI normally has on hand?  They are indicating that they are low on funds.  Perhaps they should consider soliciting donations from members and interested parties.

[WOODY@DDLLC]

http://www.savebonneville.com/

[4-barrel Mike]

http://www.savebonneville.com/

"Dan Warner" 

Mike

[64avanti]

http://www.savebonneville.com/

Yes I have seen that but I was thinking more about just soliciting donations.   Will buy the book and may place picture of car in it but if we all knew the status of SCTA-BNI I think quite a few people might donate!

[burbanite]

http://www.savebonneville.com/

I sent an email to Ron asking if it were possible to pre-order the set, that should help with cash flow.

[Clay Pitkin]

Found this on the net this morning

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-race-to-save-the-bonneville-salt-flats-from-a-slushy-demise-slide-show1/

Clay

[kiwi belly tank]

Another collection of incorrect statements!
  Sid.

[Ron Gibson]

With the exceptionally heavy rains (AKA fresh water which dissolves salt) this year. The rains dissolved virtually the last of the salt crust and washed it down the basin drain , AKA Intrepid's pumps. For all practical purposes there is no longer a salt flats, the salt is gone per Sid's pictures. Aerial pictures can't show anything. 1/4 inch of dry salt will show up on a picture as bright white, leading one to believe there is plenty of salt.  A couple more years of rains plus continued pumping and there will be NO salt, not even the 1/4 inch that's left now.
From what I have read the researchers keep talking about how there has been little change in the underground layers in their core samples. I see no mention of the thickness of the salt crust to get to the mud layers when it's went from feet thick, as in the picture Rick Vesco posted, to fractions of an inch.

Ron

[55chevr]

http://geology.utah.gov/popular/general-geology/great-salt-lake/




Good reading.

[sofadriver]

With the exceptionally heavy rains (AKA fresh water which dissolves salt) this year. The rains dissolved virtually the last of the salt crust and washed it down the basin drain , AKA Intrepid's pumps. For all practical purposes there is no longer a salt flats, the salt is gone per Sid's pictures. Aerial pictures can't show anything. 1/4 inch of dry salt will show up on a picture as bright white, leading one to believe there is plenty of salt.  A couple more years of rains plus continued pumping and there will be NO salt, not even the 1/4 inch that's left now.
From what I have read the researchers keep talking about how there has been little change in the underground layers in their core samples. I see no mention of the thickness of the salt crust to get to the mud layers when it's went from feet thick, as in the picture Rick Vesco posted, to fractions of an inch.

Ron

Uh-oh........a realist has mentioned the elephant in the room.

[Pickle]

I read on here a few pages back that someone is taking samples. I have contacts in UCLA in the appropriate departments is you would like assistance in sample testing. I have a degree in physics and have a lot of experimental experience, if you need assistance please send me an E mail.

James

[BasementBorn]

James, try sending a PM to SPDRACR. First response I found off hand was on page 54, reply 796 but I am sure there are more. He and his dad are the ones that have been doing the salt measurements for the last 10 years and are the ones with the samples from this year if I remember right. If they don't have what you need I may be making a trip there next week and would happily get you whatever samples you need.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Curious as to what the source of the water is that is used to pump brine back onto the salt, and if it's sustainable.

[Dakin Engineering]

Hydrology/Groundwater:
 Ground Water Hydrology: 
 Increasing the amount of water pumped from the alluvial fan aquifer to accommodate the salt laydown project may be depleting the aquifer and increasing the flow from the shallow brine aquifer to the alluvial aquifer.

Sam
#6062

[Milwaukee Midget]

If this is the aquifer Wendover and West Wendover uses as a source for drinking water, this is an argument we're not likely to win.

Harold's idea of bringing salt in by train from Salt Lake is starting to look . . . viable.

Another potential is to encourage the state of Utah to cycle some of the very saline water in the great salt lake (120 miles to the east of Bonneville) carried in tanker cars to be deposited on Bonneville salt flats. Some of the costs could be borne by Intrepid as it would assist in their "potash recovery". The state of Utah most assuredly wants to keep the salt flats salty! This type of cycling would enhance halide production on the flats as it would help momma nature speed up the natural deposition of salt on the surface of the flats. Note where the railroad goes making the process fairly direct. There are probably even some tax advantages in there for Intrepid as they could write off some of the efforts as "public interest" items.

Now would be a good time to try this approach, in that due to lower oil prices, there are currently a lot of tanker cars sitting idle, and the cost of transport would be low.  Additionally, it could be done off season to Intrepid's operation, run 24/7, and be adjustable to seasonal conditions.  A 200 car train running 4 trips a day, 25,000 gallons per car, puts 20 million gallons of salt water on the flats per day without risking the current fresh water resource.

The downside would be the EIS hurdle necessary to get started.