DOI: 10.5066/p1pwiz7s
title: Sediment core data from the Great Salt Lake, Utah

description: This data release includes measurements of properties from short (<2-m-long) sedimentary cores collected in 2021 from the Great Salt Lake, Utah. Data release files include (1) summary information about the cores (e.g., location, water depth, sub-bottom depth) in comma-separated value (CSV) format; (2) core scans and data, including x-ray computed tomography (CT), line image scans, and multisensory core log (MSCL) data; (3) particle-size measurements; (4) geochronological data, including radiocarbon ages, lead (210Pb), and fallout radionuclides (237Cs); and (5) a Readme text file with explanation of terms and data fields. These data are associated with Great Salt Lake cores collected under U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) field activity 2021-615-FA and archived at the Moffat Field, California, core facility.

Data release files include:
GSL21_CoreSummary.csv
This file contains information about the location, length, sub-bottom depth, diameter, and dates of cores collected beneath the Great Salt Lake, Utah.

GSL21_CTslices.zip
This folder contains PNG image files displaying single slice (i.e. at one predetermined intersection of the core cylinder) computed tomography (CT) data. The false color of these images represents radiodensity, where bright yellows are high density and dark purples are low density. The folder includes 52 files, named according to the core and section name (e.g., GSL21-01_XZ.png, GSL21-03-S1_XZ.png). CT slices generated using a Geotek Rotating X-ray Computed Tomography (RXCT) system at the USGS Pacific Coastal Marine Science Center.

GSL21_LineImageScans.zip
This folder contains PNG image files displaying image scans of each split core face. The folder includes 58 files, named according to the core and section name (e.g., GSL21-01.png, GSL21-03-S1.png). Images generated using a Geotek Geoscan VI Linescan imaging system within the Multi-Sensor Core logger (MSCL-S) system at the USGS Pacific Coastal Marine Science Center.
 
GSL21_MSCL_MSP.zip
This folder contains data files of both standard multisensory core log data (MSCL) and point magnetic susceptibility data (MSP). Data generated using a Geotek standard Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSLC-S) system at the USGS Pacific Coastal Marine Science Center.

GSL21_RadiocarbonAges.csv
This file contains radiocarbon ages for Great Salt Lake sediment cores produced from the National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility (NOSAMS) at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Dateable materials (e.g., charcoal fragments, seeds, Brine shrimp cysts) were isolated from core-sediment samples at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine and Geologic Hazards science centers.

GSL21_GrainSize.csv
This file contains particle size analyses for Great Salt Lake sediment core samples processed at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center Sediment and Carbon Laboratory. Grain size data were acquired using a Beckman Coulter LS 13 320 laser-diffraction particle size analyzer.
 
GSL21-07-FRN.csv
This file contains fallout radionuclide data from subsamples of core GSL21-07-S1. Data were collected at the USGS Survey Pacific Coastal Marine Science Center.

Disclaimers:
This database, identified as Sediment core data from the Great Salt Lake, Utah, has been approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Although this database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, the database is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use. 

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.