Pink-hued BSL water retrieved from 20 m depth (le)
and aer filtraon (right).
Pink-hued BSL water retrieved from 20 m depth (left) and after filtration (right)
31.2 Part 2
31.2.1 Mono Lake
A very strong El Nino winter (1982–1983) resulted in a large influx of freshwater
into Mono Lake in the ensuing spring and summer, causing its surface waters to
experience about an 18% decrease in salinity. It thereby became meromictic, and our
interest was definitely piqued. We thought we could apply what we had learned with
the much smaller BSL to Mono, although we needed to scale up in terms of our
capabilities to tackle a much larger system. Our eventual boat of choice was a 21 foot
Boston Whaler Revenge with twin 75 hp. Johnson outboards mounted off its stern
and a stowage area beneath its bow. It also had a removable canopy that extended
from its middle up to its windshield that could offer us some protection from the
elements when conditions grew inclement. Yet our early trips to Mono Lake still
made use of the 14 foot whaler, as the Revenge laid in our future plans once we fully
grasped what was entailed by the scope of Mono operations. Mono Lake is roughly
circular, with a diameter of ~15 miles (24 km), about an order of magnitude greater
scale than BSL. Hence, when the wind comes up off the Sierras in the afternoon, as it
often does, the lake’s greater fetch can make for rough seas and hazardous operating
conditions. Mark Twain noted this in his book “Roughing It” where he devoted an
entire chapter to Mono Lake that centered on his exploration of Paoha Island in
search of a rumored freshwater spring (it exists, but he never found it) and his
hilarious but nearly disastrous attempts to row back to shore when the wind came up
that afternoon.
So it was in the summer of 1984 that we (myself, Larry, and Chuck) decided to
link our BSL trip with a preliminary excursion to Mono Lake to scout out the lake’s
possibilities as a research site and to grasp some of the logistical/operational factors
664
R. S. Oremland
and aer filtraon (right).
Pink-hued BSL water retrieved from 20 m depth (left) and after filtration (right)
31.2 Part 2
31.2.1 Mono Lake
A very strong El Nino winter (1982–1983) resulted in a large influx of freshwater
into Mono Lake in the ensuing spring and summer, causing its surface waters to
experience about an 18% decrease in salinity. It thereby became meromictic, and our
interest was definitely piqued. We thought we could apply what we had learned with
the much smaller BSL to Mono, although we needed to scale up in terms of our
capabilities to tackle a much larger system. Our eventual boat of choice was a 21 foot
Boston Whaler Revenge with twin 75 hp. Johnson outboards mounted off its stern
and a stowage area beneath its bow. It also had a removable canopy that extended
from its middle up to its windshield that could offer us some protection from the
elements when conditions grew inclement. Yet our early trips to Mono Lake still
made use of the 14 foot whaler, as the Revenge laid in our future plans once we fully
grasped what was entailed by the scope of Mono operations. Mono Lake is roughly
circular, with a diameter of ~15 miles (24 km), about an order of magnitude greater
scale than BSL. Hence, when the wind comes up off the Sierras in the afternoon, as it
often does, the lake’s greater fetch can make for rough seas and hazardous operating
conditions. Mark Twain noted this in his book “Roughing It” where he devoted an
entire chapter to Mono Lake that centered on his exploration of Paoha Island in
search of a rumored freshwater spring (it exists, but he never found it) and his
hilarious but nearly disastrous attempts to row back to shore when the wind came up
that afternoon.
So it was in the summer of 1984 that we (myself, Larry, and Chuck) decided to
link our BSL trip with a preliminary excursion to Mono Lake to scout out the lake’s
possibilities as a research site and to grasp some of the logistical/operational factors
664
R. S. Oremland