This thesis project focuses on how weather events affect dissolved organic matter in Spanish Fork Canyon Central Utah. In 2018, a megafire (intense wildfire that burns more than 100,000 acres) burned across the Spanish Fork Canyon, affecting the environment and hydrology. Since then, the area has been monitored, and samples collected throughout the watershed. There are currently ~60 sites being monitored. In the near future, Anthropogenic climate change will cause an increase in megafires throughout the Southwest United States, including in Utah. Previous data collected found that Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) concentration increased substantially but returned to pre-burn levels within one year. DOM bioreactivity and photoreactivity also increased during the first year following the burn. In 2023, Utah experienced an increase in snow, which caused a historically wet year. The increase of snow and snow melt could cause a difference in DOM properties from 2023 to pre-2023 datasets.

As part of this project, I participated in research through the Brigham Young University REU-Critical Zone program. Water samples were collected throughout the Spanish Fork Canyon and used to extract DOM properties to quantify microbial reactivity. Furthermore, I analyzed previously collected data from a dry year throughout 2018-2022 and data I collected this summer from this year’s historically wet year. DOM properties can provide further insight into microbial reactivity and if weather causes deceleration or acceleration in reactivity. This research will undertake a time series study of variables from the dataset to understand the role of extreme weather events such as a dry and wet year.