Week 7 - Salt Flats - J.Haynes

This week, my Wife and I decided to visit the salt flats in Badwater Basin of Death Valley. Upon arrival, the widespread gleaming area of the light colored sediments was very prominent. Though this area is mostly flat, there are areas of uplift (pictured below) and accumulation of salt pools (pictured below) due to increasing growth of salt crystals from constant evaporation and sporadic rainfall. Additional locations of these specific elements would assist in geologically mapping the area. Along with this, the 'Devils Golf Course' (pictured below) is another element in which provides a current geological understanding of this area. This 'Golf Course' is mostly made up of salt and mud in which formed through wind and rain erosion.

With this experience, I began to wonder where did all of the water go from this once salty lake? Given the desert area in which this salt flat resides, water must have obviously been present at some point. With this, a question that would allow for better understanding of this area would be if global warming has provided the means to this desert like environment and evaporation of this once salty body of water?

Further internet research has allowed me to find information relating to the rise of Earth's temperature from 1880 to 2016. (NOAA, 2017) Though this increase is insignificant within this period, greenhouse gasses do have an impact on the warming of the Earth that is slightly sporadic. The likelihood of water returning to this area is low considering the constant environmental degradation and warming that is occurring from Earth's natural processes and increased human activity in areas such as deforestation, pollution, and fossil fuel burning.


[Picture Above Caption: 'Devil's Golf Course']
[Picture Above Reference: [B] (National Park Service, n.d.)


[Picture Above Caption: Salt Pool]
[Picture Above Reference: [C] (National Park Service, n.d.)]


[Picture Above Caption: Salty Uplift]
[Picture Above Reference: [D] (National Park Service, n.d.)

References:

[A] National Park Service. (28 Feb 2015). Death Valley: Salt Flats. Retrieved 23 Apr. 2020 from: https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/salt-flats.htm.

[B] National Park Service. (n.d.). Devils Golf Course. Retrieved 24 Apr. 2020 from: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=332354&id=F3AECFE1-155D-4519-3E1C00046A039FFB&gid=F3AECF9F-155D-4519-3EAABFC85829E3CB

[C] National Park Service. (n.d.). Salt Pool. Retrieved 24 Apr. 2020 from: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=332354&id=F3AECFE1-155D-4519-3E1C00046A039FFB&gid=F3AECF9F-155D-4519-3EAABFC85829E3CB

[D] National Park Service. (n.d.). Uplift on the salt flats. Retrieved 24 Apr. 2020 from: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=332354&id=F3AECFE1-155D-4519-3E1C00046A039FFB&gid=F3AECF9F-155D-4519-3EAABFC85829E3CB.

[E] NOAA. (17 Jan 2017). History of Earth's surface temperature 1880-2016. Retrieved 24 Apr. 2020 from: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/videos/history-earths-surface-temperature-1880-2016.