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F.K. Fields

Publications and source records attributed to F.K. Fields.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Water resources of the northern Uinta Basin area, Utah and Colorado, with special emphasis on ground water supply

The northern Uinta Basin area covers about 5,200 square miles (13,470 square kilometers) in northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado. Much of the lowlands are arid to semiarid, but the highest parts of the Uinta Mountains have a humid climate. During 1941-70, the average annual precipitation ranged from less than 8 inches (203 millimeters) in the lowest part of the area at the Green River to more than 38 inches (965 millimeters) in the high west-central Uinta Mountains.

Colorado, Utah↗

Climatologic and hydrologic data, southeastern Uinta Basin, Utah and Colorado, water years 1975 and 1976

This report contains climatologic and hydrologic data that were collected as a part of an investigation of the southeastern Uinta Basin, Utah and Colorado, by the U.S. Geological Survey. The data apply mainly to water years 1975 and 1976, which includes the period from October 1974 through September 1976. Included also are some earlier ground-water data not previously published. Similar reports will be published periodically during the data-collection phase of the project, which ends September 1979. The investigation encompasses the collection and interpretation of a variety of climatologic, hydrologic, and geologic information in and near the southeastern Uinta Basin in order to (1) define the natural hydrologic system according to the occurrence, use, quantity, and quality of water; (2) define various hydrologic characteristics such as the seasonal and areal distribution of temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration, and streamflow; (3) determine the water demands that might be imposed on the hydrologic system as a result of oil-shale development; and (3) develop simulation models that could be used to predict the effects of various water-use plans that would satisfy these demands . The data collection during water years 1975 and 1976 was carried out in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the U. S. Environmental Protect:ion Agency.

Colorado, Utah↗

Estimates of temperature and precipitation for northeastern Utah

Estimates of temperature and precipitation were made for northeastern Utah from information that was collected at 67 locations. The variable-length records were converted to the common-time base of 1941-70; then general relations were developed to extend the converted point values to unsampled sites. Regression techniques were used to fill voids in the temperature-data base. Incomplete precipitation records were adjusted to the 1941-70 average on the assumption that the ratio of concurrent data is directly proportional to the ratio of the respective 1941-70 average annual values at nearby sites. Equations were then developed through a computer program to express the relationship of temperature and precipitation with altitude and location and to extend the information to unsampled sites. Two-thirds of the observed and estimated average annual temperature and precipitation values are within ±1.5°F (1.0°C) and 2.08 in (53 mm), respectively, of the calculated averages. Schematic diagrams, plotted by computer, were prepared to show variations of altitude, temperature, and precipitation; and maps, also plotted by computer, show lines of equal altitude, precipitation, and temperature.

Utah↗

Map showing flood and surface water information in the Sugar House quadrangle, Salt Lake County, Utah

In the past man has built on land that might be covered by floodwaters, with little consideration of the consequences. The result has been disastrous to those in the path of floodwaters and has cost the loss of thousands of lives and untold billions of dollars in property damage in the United States. Salt Lake County, of which the Sugar House quadrangle is a part, has had many floods in the past and can be expected to have more in the future. Construction has taken place in filled or dried-up marshes and lakes, in spring areas, and even in stream channels. Lack of prior knowledge of these and other forms of surface water (water at the surface of the ground) can increase construction and maintenance costs significantly. The map shows the area that probably will be covered by floods at least once in every 100 years on the long-term average (unit IRF, intermediate regional flood), the area that probably will be covered by floods from the worst possible combination of very wet weather and high streamflow reasonably expected of the area (unit SPF, standard project flood), the mapped extent of streamflow by channel shifting or flooding in the past 5,000 years (unit fa), and the probable maximum extent of damaging flash floods and mudflows from small valleys in the Wasatch Range. The map also shows the location of water at the surface of the ground: lakes, streams, springs, weep holes, canals, and reservoirs. Lakes and marshes that existed within the past 100 years, but now are drained, filled, or dried up, are also shown. The following examples show that the presence of water can be desirable or undesirable, depending on how the water occurs. Floods, the most spectacular form of surface water, may result in great property damage and loss of life. Lakes normally are beneficial, in that they may support plant growth and provide habitats for fish and other wildlife, provide water for livestock, and can be used for recreation. Springs may or may not be desirable: they may provide a source of water for domestic or stock use but are undesirable if they appear in a foundation excavation for a building. Thus, the location of areas that may be affected by floods and other surface water is important to people concerned with land-use planning, zoning, and legislation, and with the environment in which we must live.

Utah↗