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Threats to inland seas are detailed at Utah conference

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 13, 2008 at 5:51 am

From Deseret News:

Climate change and increasing demand for fresh water are two of the biggest threats to saline lakes worldwide, a marine scientist said Monday.

Robert Jellison of the Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, was a keynote speaker at this week’s International Conference on Salt Lake Research and Friends of Great Salt Lake Issues Forum at Fort Douglas/University of Utah.

“It will threaten salt lakes,” Jellison said of the rising demand for fresh water. He noted that issue is particularly grim in developing nations. He said many saltwater lakes have become smaller or desiccated in recent years because of water diversion for agriculture.

Jellison also said saline lakes are particularly sensitive to global climate change. That’s because they respond quickly to climate changes, and global climate models consistently predict decreased precipitation over subtropical land masses. He said some salt lakes will be losers and others will be winners in global climate change. Even the increased use of biofuels will impact saline lakes, by using more water resources.

“The future of many saline lakes will be decided over the next several decades, as the direct economic value of freshwater inflows are weighed against the less easily measured ecosystem goods and services provided by these unique ecosystems,” he said.