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The Gran Desierto region of the Sonoran Desert is the largest extent of sand dunes in North America. An array of freshwater springs, or pozos, punctuate the salt flats where the dunes meet the sea. Unresolved in origin, and essential to countless species, their waters rise up inextricably out of the dunes. This transdisciplinary collaboration between a botanist, hydrologist, and artist seeks to document the origin of the pozo's water, determine how long it has resided below the dunes, and show how the pozo's and the riparian vegetation they support has changed through time. Likewise, the project, a part of the Next Generation Sonoran Desert Researchers 6&6 art-science collaboration (nextgensd6and6.com) will document this wide range of dependent themes as part of the 6&6 art show at the UAMA opening in January 2019. From the traditional salt pilgrimage of the Tohono O'odham people, to nesting raptors, generations of cottonwood trees, and the future of water in the binational Sonoran Desert desert; these springs are central to the larger story of how humanity interacts with water in the arid west.
Photo: Ben Johnson