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<br />001931 <br /> <br />BAUCH & SPAHR: SALINITY TRENDS IN SURFACE WATERS OF THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN <br /> <br />651 <br /> <br /> <br />dissolved-solids loads in the Colorado River Basin, in- <br />cluding the Cameo site and the Gunnison River Basin, <br />is channel evolution and hydrologic variation. Ac- <br />cording to Gellis et al. (1989, 1991) and Hayes (1995), <br />early in this century, many stream channels in the Colo- <br />rado Plateau region of the Colorado River Basin (Fig. <br />1) were downcut to form deep arroyos, resulting in high <br />sediment and salt loads in the river. Since the 1940s, <br />sediment and salt production have decreased because of <br /> <br />Water Years 1970-93 <br /> <br />Water Years 1986-93 <br /> <br />reduced erosion and storage of sediment and dissolved <br />solids. Hydrologic variation in the early 19408, in terms <br />of smaller peak floods, permitted sediment and salt stor- <br />age and floodplain development, which triggered fur- <br />ther sediment and salt storage in the Colorado River <br />and its tributaries. <br />The downward trends in dissolved-solids concentra- <br />tions and loads reported for the Cameo site by Butler <br />(1996) may be caused by channel evolution and hydro- <br /> <br />Water Years 1980 - 93 <br /> <br />EXPLANATION <br /> <br />10 <br />~ Downward Trend <br />10 <br />... Upward Trend <br />10 <br />. No Trend <br /> <br />. Salinity-Control Projects <br /> <br />o 20 40 MilES <br />I .'. . <br />o 20 40 KILOMETERS <br /> <br />Fig.6. Trends in flow-adjusted annual dissolved-solids loads in the Colorado and Gunnison River Basins, water years 1970-1993, 1980-1993, <br />1986--1993. Number adjacent to symbol designates site number listed in Table 1. Data for Sites 9 and 13 from Butler (1996). <br />