This is just one post in the International Water Issues Category

Salt lakes around world in danger, especially the Dead Sea

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 14, 2008 at 6:12 am

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Around the world, salt lakes - bodies of water that harbor some of the most fascinating ecosystems in the world - are under assault from humans, particularly in the developing world.

Like the Great Salt Lake, the Middle East’s Dead Sea is fed by a river called Jordan. But unlike Utah’s much-abused inland sea, many fear the Dead Sea is in mortal danger of ecological collapse thanks to water diversions to thirsty populations and extractive industries in Jordan and Israel. The water level is expected to drop another 100 meters in the future, wrecking lakeside infrastructure as sinkholes form under roads and buildings and drying up the Dead Sea’s southern basin, said Israeli geologist Ittai Gavrieli Tuesday at a conference of the International Society on Salt Lake Research.

About 200 scientists from 20 nations are at the triennial event, held this year at the University of Utah’s Fort Douglas in conjunction with the Friends of the Great Salt Lake Issues Forum.

Salt lakes dot the arid American West, which boasts iconic names like California’s Mono Lake and Salton Sea and Nevada’s Pyramid Lake. In the last several years, Americans have shown a growing appreciation for these lakes, which provide crucial habitat for migratory birds, and a willingness to preserve them. But globally the prognosis is far from secure, said Bob Jellison, a society board member who gave Monday’s keynote address.