A new study found that the drying Great Salt Lake in Utah is now a major source of the gas emissions that are causing the climate to warm.
Boat docks sit on dry cracked earth at the Great Salt Lake’s Antelope Island Marina in 2021 near Syracuse, Utah.
Due largely to water diversions by farmers and Utah’s booming population growth, the Great Salt Lake has shrunk by almost half in recent years. “The significance of lake desiccation as a driver of climate change needs to be addressed in greater detail and considered in climate change mitigation and watershed planning,” Brothers addedThe researchers found that the drying lake bed emitted 4.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which would translate to a 7% increase in Utah’s human-caused emissions.
Agriculture has also played a huge role in the lake’s decline. Upstream water diversions for expanding alfalfa farms and dairies has resulted in less flows into the lake. Utah’s rapid population growth has also been to blame.The loss of water has serious impacts on the lives of animals and people.sharp declines in shorebird populations, such as burrowing owls and snowy plovers, as a result of brine shrimp dying out.
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