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Modeled subaerial shoreline area and potential dust emissions within Lake Mead and Lake Powell (ver. 2.0, July 2026)

Published by U.S. Geological Survey | Department of the Interior | Catalog Last Checked: August 01, 2026 at 05:30 AM | Dataset Last Updated: July 23, 2026 at 12:00 AM
These data were compiled in support of the Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead (Post-2026) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). These data were used to illustrate how six operational strategies (one baseline and 5 alternatives) could affect subaerial shoreline exposure and potential dust emissions at the Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs. The objective of our study was to predict subaerial shoreline area and potential dust emissions from 2027 to 2060 under the different alternatives representing different Colorado River water management scenarios. The scenarios were implemented under multiple hydrologies (for a total of 1200 unique possible futures per scenario). These data represent the potential total amount of subaerially exposed shoreline in square meters for each reservoir, model iteration, and operational strategy. These data represent the monthly total potential dust emissions in kilograms for each reservoir, model iteration, and operational strategy. These data can be used to compare alternatives relatively in terms of more or less suberially exposed shoreline and potential dust emissions. The data revision was completed in July 2026 to evaluate a seventh operational strategy under 400 possible hydrological futures.

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