students at the Great Salt Lake

About Great Salt Lake


Great Salt Lake (GSL) is an incredible ecosystem. Ten million birds visit these salty waters to eat the invertebrates which thrive here and walk on the unique plants that inhabit the salty shoreline. The lake is endangered by a loss of elevation brought on by water diversions and climate change impacts. This has resulted in increased salinity that can be detrimental to biota of the lake in the water and the plants on the shore.

Great Salt Lake Institute science students study many aspects of the system including the brine flies and microbialites that feed them and the shoreline plants and microbes that live among their roots.