Abstract
The Great Salt Lake (GSL) has undergone a reduction in size, from 1046.0 miles2 on January 1, 2015, to 940.5 miles2 on January 1, 2022, exposing 105.5 miles2 of playa that was once covered. This emerging playa raises concerns regarding the toxicity of the ensuing dust. While considerable efforts have been made to understand aeolian dust in urban areas along the Wasatch Front, located just east of the GSL, there is still a need to consolidate existing research and conduct a compositional analysis of the dust found in these urban areas. In this study, we investigated the dust reaching urban monitoring sites around the GSL, managed by the Utah Division of Air Quality. By analyzing historical data dating back to 1988, we found no evidence to support the idea that the decrease in the GSL’s surface area has led to an increase in dust events in urban areas. Backwind trajectories align with prior research, indicating that heightened dust levels in urban areas coincide with winds originating from the south or west, passing over identified playas and deserts such as the Milford flats, Sevier Dry Lake, Tule Dry Lake, Great Salt Lake Desert, Dugway Proving Grounds, and the West Desert of Utah. Conducting a compositional analysis of urban dust revealed no concentrations of metals that raise health concerns, with the highest health quotient being four orders of magnitude lower than a level of concern.