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 “grids” 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 programs, €ircus : Ogden ci prospec ( (Ored showers to conserve water. flock December, thriving cit Today Ws Jommunity invited to u ior its pr director, A about the rp ‘Breat Salt L« ee. aa continued f 10 feet lowe irst comp Salt Lake v arious lev« “Israel unnel i: to c Dead Sea t and the R High and low levels of the Great Salt Lake have been mapped by Dr. Dec ringing w: hrough the Greer. said Dr. Greer. The principal deterent for the use of this type of energy in Utah is that we have a large supply of cheap fossil fuels, said Dr. Greer. Solar energy would have to prove itself cheaper than oil or coal but such a possibility does exist. It is conceivable that chemical firms already located on Great Salt Lake could supply their own electrical needs in this manner. Another subject to be considered at the conference is lake level control. sferring it Dr. Greer pointed out that it is im-Greer said. portant for man to maintain a stable) “There level on terminal lakes in order tofative 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 a soll develop their resources. The Deadproblem of ¢ Sea in Israel and the Caspian Sea inGreat Salt Russia are drying up. While in recent*Pumping s years the Great Salt Lake has beenlake, speed rising after falling for many years. Atbuilding fré its highest level (1870’s) the lake wasstream dive 10 feet higher than the present timethree is to | and at its lowest level (1960’s) it waswestern des (continued on Page 7)iakelevels | alternatives water from | Dry Spell Could Curtail Activities Dr. Ray Rhead and Dr. Wally Nalder check taps and faucets of WSC gym we or the Colun 3asin.”’ One of the salt Lake is. zompanies | course owners might ban playing Be can because of the heavy damage thata emicals would result to the turf. F ricultural An exception would be the WSC;- ad is extr: swimming pool, Dr. Rhead said,py e Volks noting that the pool is only drained,, ample us and refilled once a year because of the &- eae stre circulation system that keeps the ersatile me water at required purity standards. “Of course we lose some Great water sstimated fe through splashing and evaporation,” §, rth of ch he said. ‘But if drinking we've water sup- that plies are critically low, we'd have neWwa® nocott C on cart! problems that could cut the pool out 1 the program eventually.” omprehens' so muc Another closely related water that Shortage concern is the use Ofjn innocent showers, and everybody who takes PE classes various douses activities. off Much after their ==>—~ ee === water is ¥H! be disec wasted by students and others who pThe : popt allow the shower to run while soaping ##hough no their bodies. “It might be that we'll ¥ItY, also have to put timers on the showers, or eam flow enforce rules that require users to#@ded with turn off the water while soaping*? asier to ca down,” Dr. Rhead said. A critical ®S€VOirs water shortage could mean showers =<» d have < (continued on Page 7)* pang awa)