Page 6 | Great Salt Lake Worth $75-90 Billion Terminal lakes (lakes without outlets like Great Salt Lake) were once regarded as ‘‘dead seas,”’ places so desolate and useless that they held little attraction for man. That idea has changed in recent years as the true value of these lakes has become apparent due to the discovery of their mineral resources and other assets. ‘‘A terminal lake can even be used to convert solar energy into electricity,’’ said Dr. Deon Greer, chairman of the WSC GeologyGeography Department. “‘In addition the Great Salt Lake contains many billions of dollars worth of chemicals. Terminal lakes can, however, face problems such as dessication (drying up into mud flats), and pollution.”’ These are just a few of the subjects to be covered at an International Conference on Terminal Lakes to be held on the Weber State College campus May 2-5, funded by the NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration). The basic aim of the Conference is to utilize as fully as _ possible the resources of terminal lakes. Dr. Greer feels that to better understand the Great Salt Lake and its problems it would be helpful to understand other terminal lakes. For this reason he started working on a conference proposal four years ago. Scientists will be attending from such diverse places as the Soviet Academy of Science Water Problems Institute in the USSR; the Weizmann Institute in Rehovoth, Israel; the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources; the United States Geological and Mineralogical Survey; Utah Water Laboratory and various other universities and _ institutions around the world. Papers will be given on terminal lakes located on every continent including Antartica. One of the participants, Dr. Gad Assaf, from Israel, will present a paper on “A Working Floating Deep Solar Pond.” He represents a team of Israeli scientists who are now designing a power plant to produce electricity directly from the dead sea brines. “There is great potential for solar energy using salt lakes,’ said Dr. Greer. It has been discovered that in solar ponds the brine stratifies, with the lighest brine on top and the heaviest at the bottom. Floating ““srids’”’ are then used to keep the brine from mixing so that no heat is lost.” “The light brine on top allows sunlight to penetrate while the dense brine underneath traps the sun’s energy. The Israelis have achieved temperatures in excess of 90 degrees centigrade (194 degrees fahrenheit) from test ponds. They propose to circulate this hot brine through a converter using alcohol or some other medium with a lower boiling point than water to drive a turbine and create electricity. A pilot plant is being built in Israel now and there is no reason why it couldn’t work here,” ' Drama, vaudeville rograms, circus we presentatio House in C Jrpheum 7 Ogden ci " thriving cit | Today We Sommunity ivited to u or its pr ector, showers to conserve water. A about the p reat Salt Le : ontinued f, arious leve “Tsrael is unnel to c Jead Sea t ind the R High and low levels of the Great Salt Lake have been mapped by Dr. Deoringing w: hrough the Greer. ferring it Dr. Greer pointed out that it is im-Greer said. said Dr. Greer. portant for man to maintain a stable) “There a The principal deterent for the use of level on terminal lakes in order tofative sol this type of energy in Utah is that we develop their resources. The Deadproblem of « have a large supply of cheap fossil Sea in Israel and the Caspian Sea inGreat Salt fuels, said Dr. Greer. Solar energy Russia are drying up. While in recent*Pumping s would have to prove itself cheaper years the Great Salt Lake has beenlake, speed than oil or coal but such a possibility rising after falling for many years. Atbuilding fre does exist. It is conceivable that its highest level (1870’s) the lake was§tream dive chemical firms already located on 10 feet higher than the present timefhree is to | Great Salt Lake could supply their and at its lowest level (1960’s) it wasWestern des own electrical needs in this manner. Another subject to be considered at (continued on Page 7)lakelevels_ | the conference is lake level control. iiternatives vater from | Dry Spell Could Curtail Activities Dr. Ray Rhead and Dr. Wally Nalder check taps and faucets of WSC gym Prospec me flock December, Severe water restrictions would curtail many forms of recreation, including camping in forests, observes Dr. Raymond E. Rhead, WSC professor of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. “‘We have already experienced a disaster in our skiing program because of lack of snow,”’ he said. Not a single organized PE class in skiing was held during the past winter months on the slopes of Powder Mountain, Nordic. Valley or Snow Basin for the first time since Weber State conducted its training sessions at those resorts. Dr. Rhead said he could not say for certain the affect the drought would have on recreation until the exact extent of water shortage is known. But if the dry spell does continue, sailing classes, golf and other outdoor recreation activities will suffer. Even hiking and camping could be curtailed because camp stoves and open fires- would be banned in mountains and other areas. If reservoirs are critically low, sailing would be prohibited. Burned out and hard golf links would not beckon players and Bein ir the Colun One of the salt Lake is | companies | course owners might ban playinge because of the heavy damage thatp would result to the turf. An exception would o, ea be the WSC; - Sdis extr: swimming pool, Dr. Rhead said, noting that the pool is only drained a Volks and refilled once a year because of the ee oa circulation system that keeps the a water at required purity standards. | Great _ “Of course we lose some water ketimated ‘ through splashing and evaporation,” } orth of ch he said. “But if drinking water sup-fhat we've plies are critically low, we'd have newa® nocott C problems that could cut the pool out 1% on eart! the program eventually.”’ omprehens Another Shortage closely concern related water is use the showers, and everybody who PE classes douses off after hat so muc Ofjn innocent takes == their ved 4 various activities. Much water is Mil be disec wasted by students and others who) 18€ Popt allow the shower to run while soaping ® though no their bodies. “It might be that we'll AVity, also have to put timers on the showers, or *©4™ flow enforce rules that require users to#@ded with turn off the water while soaping™ er to showers M©Y dhave« down,”’ Dr. Rhead said. A critical PS°TVOlS water shortage could mean na (continued on Page 7);etting awa)