NASA images show Utah’s Great Salt Lake shrinking dramatically
The good folks at NASA never miss a chance to let us know when vital bodies of water around the world are shriveling up and vanishing. First it was Lake Mead. Then it was the Aral Sea.
Now it’s poor Utah’s turn.
Earlier this week, NASA’s Earth Observatory posted satellite images showing the dramatic decline of Utah’s Great Salt Lake over the past five years. As the two images below from 2011 and 2016 show, water levels at Farmington Bay have plummeted, exposing three-fourths of the lakebed and threatening a key waterfowl habitat:
(NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey)
Suffice to say, that’s not good. The Great Salt Lake is one of the natural wonders of the West. It’s a terminal bay, which means rivers and streams flow in, but there’s nowhere for water to leave — except through evaporation. As a result, the minerals left behind just keep piling up. Today, the lake’s water is three to five times saltier than the ocean’s, creating a rich ecosystem that sustains brine shrimp, millions of migratory birds, waterfowl hunting, and so on. Mineral industries rely on it. It’s a key part of Utah’s economy, worth some $1.2 billion per year.
http://www.vox.com/2016/11/5/13528698/great-salt-lake-drying
