Long-Term Spatiotemporal Monitoring and Analysis of Chlorophyll-a Concentrations in Utah Lake

Utah Lake is a unique and valuable natural resource in the semi-arid Utah Valley. Shallow, turbid, eutrophic, and slightly saline, the lake degrades and stabilizes pollution well [1]. The lake is a highly productive ecosystem and provides ecological habitats, water storage, and recreation. Detection of harmful algal blooms (HABs), however, has closed Utah Lake beaches every summer since 2016 [2] and raised concerns over the health of the lake ecosystem [3, 4]. HABs, which involve excessive algal growth that can cause hypoxic and/or toxic water conditions [5], have numerous detrimental effects [6] on lakes and reservoirs in the United States and throughout the world [7, 8]. They are most prevalent during warm periods, and studies indicate that global climate change could be a catalyst for these blooms [8, 9] as lake and reservoir surface temperatures increase [10, 11]. Utah Lake experiences intense blooms with severe consequences for recreational revenue and downstream agriculture