Haunting Satellite Imagery Shows Turkey’s Second-Largest Lake Has Dried Up

A unexampled satellite icon of Turkey ’s Lake Tuz is gorgeous — and , if you know more about what it ’s portraying , worrying . The stunning capture from the European Space Agency ’s Sentinel-2 satellite shows Turkey ’s second - large lake hascompletely dried up this twelvemonth , exposing a haunting expanse of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks .

While Lake Tuz , one of the world ’s magnanimous saltwater lake , normally grow and recedes with the time of year — it ’s how the saltiness in the lake is created — it ’s been getting littler and small each class . That ’s thanks to less and less water entering the lake , a side essence of climate change as well as increased Agriculture Department .

The image above , process by the EU Copernicus Program , show the state of Lake Tuz in its currently desiccated state . But before and after imagery really position the spectacular transformation in context . The gif below uses the same Sentinel-2 satellite to show the lake in January of this year , when rain and snowmelt filled it to a beautiful low-cal bluing . Compare that to a stark simulacrum root for from October 30 , where the lake is almost entirely a snow - white expanse of saltiness .

Image:European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks lakes like Lake Tuz are formed when a lakebed has no way for water that flows in to get out . The water , which carry salt and other minerals , flow into the lake via rivers and flow . It then eventually evaporates , entrust those substances behind . For Lake Tuz , water from rain and snowmelt flows into the lake in the spring , filling in the lake . It ’s a middling shallow lake , with water depths of around 3 feet ( 1 time ) . But much of that water melt by summer , forget a 3 - in ( 8 - centimeter ) bed of salinity in its wake .

All that remainder also creates a major industry on Lake Tuz : salt mining . With anestimated 250 million tons of table salt reticence , the lake is one of the saltiest in the world . One industrywebsiteputs the share of salt in the lake at more than 32 % . The lake provides 60 % of the salt used in Turkey , with the restexported to more than 60 body politic .

Those common salt deposit bet on replenishment from water coming into the lake . But Tuz has been shrivel in recent years . This seems to be have by a double whammy of mood change and drouth bear upon water system supply , as well as increased agriculture and industry stress that diverts much of the water system before it can even attain the lake . Astudyconducted in 2007 found that Lake Tuz is now half the size it was 40 year ago .

Image: Brian Kahn/SentinelHub

Image: Brian Kahn/SentinelHub

The drouth has had serious impacts on the lake ’s wildlife . Lake Tuz , which is on the list to beconsidered a UNESCO World Heritage Site , provides valuable habitat for multiple species of bird , includingan iconic population of flamingoes . This summer , the government activity estimated that 1,000 young birds kick the bucket due to low water grade , while conservationist say just 5,000 bird hatched , compare to more than 12,000 in 2018 .

Muazzez Çelik Karakaya , who is on the faculty of geoengineering and natural sciences at Konya Technical University , told Turkish news outletHurriyet Daily Newsthat the lake is in danger of experimental extinction within 30 years if action mechanism is not taken .

“ As water decrease due to world-wide thaw , salt precipitation will also decrease , ” she said “ This will have negative cultural consequences . Because more than a hundred shuttle species live on in the realm . If saltiness precipitation does not hap as the water decreases , a clayey sediment country will make on the Earth’s surface of the lake . This means carry a destiny of dust , which can lead to many respiratory disease . ”

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