great salt lake toxic dust

Utah State University Winds whip toxic dust from the exposed lakebed left behind by the receding Great Salt Lake. But its not fiction.

In turn the water may kill off more marine life which 10 million migratory birds depend on for food.

. Research shows that 40 of the dust in the Salt Lake and Ogden areas comes from dry lake beds of the Great Salt Lake and that dust contains toxic elements such as arsenic. The Great Salt Lake recedes and an ecological disaster fanned by the wind hits the Wasatch Front. But its not fiction. According to scientists quoted by The New York Times the dust that will emerge from the bed of what was Great Salt Lake could create a large toxic cloud containing arsenic a highly poisonous.

This is exposing more arsenic on the lake bed which high winds and storms could whip into a toxic dust cloud around nearby Salt Lake City home to 75 of Utahs population. Toxic dust warnings might be our future as the Great Salt Lake shrivels up The University of Utahs KUER public radio reported on. DENVER the United States June 23 Xinhua -- The most iconic landmark of the US. With the Great Salt Lake at its lowest levels on record Utahns might have noticed extra dust flying around in the air.

When the wind blows as. Kevin Perry says the exposed lake bed is a large contributor to that dust. A team of graduate students at Utah State University is measuring airborne dust from the exposed lake bed as the water retreats and some of that dust is laden with toxins. SALT LAKE CITY Recent wind storms that hit the Wasatch Front brought dust from the West Desert and Great Salt Lake into communities state officials.

The dust from the exposed lake bed of the dwindling Great Salt Lake and the Dry Sevier Lake contain toxic metals. Researchers have found that for over a century the lake bed has been slowly accumulating byproducts of human activities like mining smelting and agricultural runoff. The scenario reads more like apocalyptic science fiction than reality. The dirt contains toxins that can become air-borne posing a health and environmental problem.

The lakes surface area which covered about 85469 sqkm in the late 1980s has since shrunk to less than 25899 sqkm according to the USGS. Theres now more than 800 miles of lake bed thats exposed says Perry. USU Associate Professor of Watershed Sciences Janice Brahney has been studying Great Salt Lake dust since 2017. As water levels at the Great Salt Lake reach a historic low concerns about arsenic-lake dust from the lake bed are mounting due to its potential to further disrupt the areas ecosystem and.

Other heavy metals like antimony and zirconium are also present in the lakebed. The salt covered lake bed and saline waters of the Great Salt Lake. LOGAN Utah A lot of unhealthy particulates in the air that we breathe could be coming from the drying bed of the Great Salt Lake. 1 day agoPublished June 27 2022 at 858 AM MDT.

University of Utah Associate Professor of Atmospheric Sciences Dr. When it washes downstream it lands in the lake Perry said. The water level in the Great Salt Lake reached its lowest point on record last summer. Utahs soil is naturally high in arsenic a toxic compound that causes a frightening range of health problems.

Utahs Great Salt Lake is disappearing - and it could turn the region into a toxic dust bowl. The two other US. The Great Salt Lake in the US state of Utah has shrunk by two-thirds since the 1980s because of climate change. The Great Salt Lake recedes and an ecological disaster fanned by the wind hits the Wasatch Front.

USU researchers point out these chemicals and metals have a high degree of toxicity with the capability of causing organ failure and different types of cancers. Researchers have found that for over a century the lake bed has been slowly accumulating byproducts of human activities like mining smelting and agricultural runoff. And last updated 347 PM Jun 21 2022. Local politicians and scientists are warning that climate change and rapid population growth are shrinking the lake creating a.

Great Salt Lake on verge of drying contaminating air for residents. The Great Salt Lake is drying up leaving large swaths of lakebed uncovered. As the Great Salt Lakes water levels continue to decline it could cause a toxic dust cloud to form around Salt Lake City. Experts have warned that dust from the exposed lake bed where there are metals and toxins like arsenic is potentially hazardous.

State of Utah the Great Salt Lake is. A more visceral threat for the 25 million people who live in Salt Lake City and its ever-expandingand thirstysuburbs are the arsenic-laden dust clouds that would intermittently rise off the dry lakebed poisoning the air and the remaining water. As the lake disappears the. Great Salt Lake.

The Great Salt Lake has decreased by two-thirds of its size since the 1980s and as it shrinks it has seen increasing salinity levels. Arsenic has been linked to a variety of cancers and the. This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative a solutions journalism initiative that partners news education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake. These include arsenic cadmium copper mercury and selenium which were all discovered in previous studies of the lakebed.

As the lake disappears the exposed bed turns into dust that contains elevated levels of potentially toxic heavy metals and chemicals like arsenic.