MSGID: 1:317/3 642f08ab   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   April 6, 2023 - Shrinking Lake Urmia   
      
      [image04062023_2001.jpg] [image04062023_main.jpg]   
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      Seated near the Zagros Mountain range in northwestern Iran, Lake Urmia   
      was once the second-largest lake in the Middle East, supporting a rich   
      ecosystem filled with fish, birds, and plants, and held shores studded   
      with tourist centers and hotels. Concerns about how excessive water use   
      and drought might affect the lake were expressed as early as the 1970s.   
      Only eight permanent rivers flow into the lake, and more than 50 dams   
      have been constructed on those rivers, severely reducing water flow   
      into the lake.   
      
      In 2015, estimates from satellite imagery showed that the lake had lost   
      about 88 percent of its size between 2006 and 2015. In 2016, Scientific   
      American published an interview with Iranian botanist Hossein Akhani,   
      who described the changes he had seen over years visiting the lake. In   
      1987, he first visited to perform studies in the saline waters of Lake   
      Urmia. When asked when he realized the lake was shrinking, he replied,   
      “In 2001, when I visited the northeastern part of the lake to collect   
      plants, I saw that the lake is receding and there were many areas where   
      the salt was exposed to earth. It was completely different from what I   
      saw in 1987.”   
      
      Lake Urmia has continued to shrink, and today is barely a   
      mineral-encrusted remnant of its former self. The complete loss of this   
      lake would be tragic in many ways, from the flamingos who feed on the   
      unique crustaceans that live in the saline waters, to the loss of   
      biodiverse wetlands, to the damage to agriculture in the basin. In   
      addition, the mineral crust and bottom sediments contain not only salt,   
      but heavy toxic metals used in industry and toxic agricultural   
      substances. As the lakebed is exposed and desiccated, these may become   
      airborne and pose a risk to the environment and people.   
      
      In response to the shrinking of this valuable resource, the Urmia Lake   
      Restoration National Committee (ULRNC) was established in 2013 to study   
      and fund a response to slow water loss and try to restore at least some   
      water to the lake. In 2016, the Committee approved more than 80   
      projects in the basin, including release of water from dams and plans   
      to create a canal to bring water into Urmia. In mid-February 2023, a   
      long-delayed project designed to divert water from the Kanisib Dam in   
      the West Azarbaijan province finally began to carry water. The project   
      consists of a 40 km long tunnel and 17 km long canal, and promises to   
      bring at least a little water to the shriveling lake.   
      
      The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board   
      NASA’s Terra satellite acquired two true-color images of Lake Urmia,   
      one on March 29, 2023, and another on April 14, 2001. For today's Image   
      of the Day, the two different images fade into each other to help   
      illustrate the dramatic changes over time. In the center of each image   
      is a dark round area. This is an inactive volcano. At one time, Lake   
      Urmia completely surrounded the volcano, so that visitors would have to   
      take a boat to reach it. Even in the earliest (2001) image, waters had   
      receded so dramatically that the volcano would be easily accessible by   
      any tourist, with no risk of getting their shoes damp.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 3/29/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (94.6 KB),  500m (226 KB),  250m (162.5 KB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-04-06   
       
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