One of the main sources of greenhouse gases is the Great Salt Lake

Salt Lake City, Utah – A recent study found that the Great Salt Lake plays a significant role in greenhouse gas emissions.

According to study provided by the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, in 2020 4.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and other pollutants were produced due to emissions from the drying lake bed. According to the study’s findings, drying lake bottoms are a major but often-overlooked source of greenhouse gasses, and their concentration may rise as a result of climate change. This week, the journal One Earth published it.

“Human-caused desiccation of Great Salt Lake is exposing huge areas of lake bed and releasing massive quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” said Soren Brothers, who led the research, said in a statement put out by ROM. “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.”

From April to November 2020, the research team, which included Utah State University, evaluated the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from the exposed sediment and compared them with predictions of emissions from aquatic sources. According to the researchers’ findings, 4.1 million tons of greenhouse gasses were released into the atmosphere by the parched lake bed. It was 94% carbon dioxide, which the scientists calculated to be a 7% increase in Utah’s greenhouse gas emissions driven by humans.

The lake was getting close to reaching its lowest point ever measured when the survey was carried out in 2022. Experts have linked drought, increased water diversion, and climate change to the lake’s reductions. Since then, two exceptionally severe winters have raised the lake by around six and a half feet. The Great Salt Lake is still roughly three feet below what is thought to mark the beginning of a healthy biological range, though.

The most recent scholarly study to illustrate the effects of a drying Great Salt Lake is the one conducted by the Royal Ontario Museum. According to a different study from Utah State University, a drying lake bed has the capacity to cause a “lake effect drought” of its own that affects the whole Wasatch Front. According to a University of Utah research, the dust blowing off the dried lake bed has a greater overall impact on some areas around the lake than others.

The Great Salt Lake Commissioner’s Office recently brought together a group of experts and state representatives to devise an action plan to address the dust issue. The office is entrusted with implementing a strategy to preserve the lake and stop its deterioration. Apart from particle pollution, the lake bed contains harmful minerals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and copper that may be harmful to one’s health.