Aral Sea syndrome desiccates Lake Urmia: Call for action

Authors

Amir AghaKouchak, University of California, Irvine
Hamid Norouzi, New York City College of Technology
Kaveh Madani, Imperial College London
Ali Mirchi, Michigan Technological UniversityFollow
Marzi Azarderakhsh, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Ali Nazemi, University of Saskatchewan
Nasrin Nasrollahi, University of California, Irvine
Alireza Farahmand, University of California, Irvine
Ali Mehran, University of California, Irvine
Elmira Hasanzadeh, University of Saskatchewan

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2015

Department

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Abstract

Lake Urmia, one of the largest saltwater lakes on earth and a highly endangered ecosystem, is on the brink of a major environmental disaster similar to the catastrophic death of the Aral Sea. With a new composite of multi-spectral high resolution satellite observations, we show that the area of this Iranian lake has decreased by around 88% in the past decades, far more than previously reported (~ 25% to 50%). The lake's shoreline has been receding severely with no sign of recovery, which has been partly blamed on prolonged droughts. We use the lake basin's satellite-based gauge-adjusted climate record of the Standardized Precipitation Index data to demonstrate that the on-going shoreline retreat is not solely an artifact of prolonged droughts alone. Drastic changes to lake health are primarily consequences of aggressive regional water resources development plans, intensive agricultural activities, anthropogenic changes to the system, and upstream competition over water. This commentary is a call for action to both develop sustainable restoration ideas and to put new visions and strategies into practice before Lake Urmia falls victim to the Aral Sea syndrome.

Publication Title

Journal of Great Lakes Research

Recommended Citation

AghaKouchak, A., Norouzi, H., Madani, K., Mirchi, A., Azarderakhsh, M., Nazemi, A., Nasrollahi, N., Farahmand, A., Mehran, A., & Hasanzadeh, E. (2015). Aral Sea syndrome desiccates Lake Urmia: Call for action. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 41(1), 307-311. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2014.12.007
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