Spatial variation of soil characteristics in upper Provo River watershed

Annual melting of the snow pack in the Uintah Mountain range flush trace metals from the soil profile into the Provo river. River sampling, in addition to sampling overland flow during melting events indicate the concentrations of trace metals in the watershed. This sampling offers many insights into the chemistry of the watershed, but does not help us locate the origins of trace metals as they are flushed from the soil profile into the Provo river. This study was done to measure spatial variations of physical and chemical soil characteristics that effect the mobility and bioavailability of trace metals during annual snow melt. Our goal is to use data to identify areas within the watershed where pockets of trace metals might be highest. This will allow future soil and water sampling to hone in on specific areas of the watershed. Future sampling will include XRD, static leaching, and isotope analysis. Furthering the knowledge of biogeochemical process in the Provo river watershed.
Sample sites were randomly and evenly distributed in the Upper Provo River Watershed. Using long/lat lines on google earth to create 10 quadrants. Two sites within each quadrant were selected to produce 20 sample sites. Four of these 20 sites were purposefully selected due to the presence of lysimeters where previous research had been done in relation to other Provo River iUTAH research projects. This created site ID's, an example being Q1.L1 referring to quadrant 1, and site one which contained a lysimeter. Q1.2 refers to the second site within quadrant one and does not contain a lysimeter. Soil samples were collected contemporaneously using a standard soil T-probe. Visual observations, such as slope, and basic ecological observations such as dominant vegetation type, and observable health of vegetation were also noted. Samples were dried and ground in the BYU Environmental Analytical Lab. Tests performed were: texture (particle fraction analysis), pH (saturated paste), electrical conductivity (EC), % Organic Matter (Wakley-Black titration), Total Carbon/Total Nitrogen (LECO CN Determinator), Nitrate (Chromotrophic Acid), and microwave digestion/ICP-OES. Results were hand recorded before being entered onto an excel spreadsheet.
All samples were collected on Monday June 26 2017 between the hours of 7am-7pm.

Uintah山脉年度雪被融化过程，将土壤剖面中的微量元素冲刷至普罗沃河。河流采样以及融化事件期间地表径流采样，揭示了流域内微量元素的浓度。此类采样为流域的化学特性提供了诸多洞见，但未能揭示微量元素从土壤剖面冲刷至普罗沃河的来源。本研究旨在测量年度雪融过程中，影响微量元素迁移性和生物可利用性的物理和化学土壤特性的空间变异性。我们的目标是通过数据分析，识别流域内可能微量元素浓度较高的区域。这将使未来的土壤和水样采样能够集中于流域的特定区域。未来的采样将包括X射线衍射（XRD）、静态浸提和同位素分析。进一步深化对普罗沃河流域生物地球化学过程的认知。样本点在普罗沃河上游流域内随机且均匀分布。利用谷歌地球上的经纬线创建10个象限。每个象限内选取两个样本点，共形成20个样本点。其中，由于存在 lysimeter 且与普罗沃河iUTAH研究项目相关，故意选取了其中的四个样本点。这产生了站点标识符，例如Q1.L1代表第一象限的站点一，其中包含 lysimeter。Q1.2代表第一象限内的第二个站点，不包含 lysimeter。土壤样本采用标准土壤T-probe同时收集。同时记录了视觉观察结果，如坡度，以及基本生态观察，如优势植被类型和植被的可见健康状态。样本在BYU环境分析实验室进行干燥和研磨。进行的测试包括：质地（颗粒分析）、pH（饱和糊）、电导率（EC）、有机物含量（Wakley-Black滴定）、总碳/总氮（LECO CN测定仪）、硝酸盐（染色酸）、微波消解/电感耦合等离子体质谱（ICP-OES）。在录入Excel电子表格之前，结果均以手工记录。所有样本均于2017年6月26日星期一上午7点至下午7点之间收集。