In recent years, scientists have only been talking about the climate crisis looming over the planet.. As a result, the world was faced with incredible waves of heat and drought, moreover, scientists believe that in the future extreme weather cataclysms will become even more destructive. Another evidence of climate changes is a large salty lake, which has now reached a record low level, writes ScitechDaily.

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In 2022, scientists recorded that the level of the Great Salt Lake, which is considered the largest in the Western Hemisphere, reached its negative record. Researchers believe that the drying of the lake in the future will have a number of problems, including:.

The new study was conducted by a team from Portland State University and is believed to be the first peer-reviewed study to quantify the factors behind historically low water levels.. The study authors also note that their findings provide valuable information for predicting and managing future changes in the lake..

According to the study's lead author, Siiri Bigalka, the Great Salt Lake is of great social and economic importance to the region.. It is this reservoir that provides more than 1.9 billion dollars of annual economic income, and also serves as a vital place for feeding millions of migratory birds, and also increases the amount of snow of the naga by the Uasatch mountain ridge - the location of 11 ski resorts of the world class.

During the study, the team developed and applied a model that simulates the change in the lake from year to year due to water intake. Basically, we are talking about the influence of river runoff, precipitation and evaporation of water from the lake.

According to Bigalk, he and his colleagues developed a model that created alternative scenarios in which only one of the input or output variables changed. In this way, scientists tried to isolate the relative contributions of river flow, precipitation and evaporation to record low volumes in 2022.

Earlier, scientists believed that the historical minimum of the volume of the lake is associated with the low runoff of the three main tributaries of the lake due to the combination of drought, drainage and climate change. However, new work from scientists suggests that low flows are responsible for only two-thirds of the lake's decline. The remaining losses, according to scientists, occurred due to evaporation caused by higher temperatures. It is especially anxious that, as heated by the planet, the influence of this factor will only grow.

According to the authors of the study, without a record heat in 2022, the water level in the lake would not be so low. Although river flow dominates, increased evaporation was necessary to reach record low levels. Researchers stated that the results show that an increase in flow can lead to rapid recovery of volume in the short term, but with continuing warming, it is expected that evaporation will lead to additional long -term loss of water.

More alarmingly, the drying up of the Great Salt Lake poses a health risk to 1.2 million people in the Salt Lake City area.. Researchers note that a reservoir can turn into a source of toxic dust. As the lake dries, this dry lake bed is exposed, which could lead to an increase in dust events in the metropolitan area, affecting air quality for nearby residents.

Previously, Focus wrote that scientists have found a new type of creature in a large salty lake.