Dusk til dawn over the Middle East, including Dubai, Sharjah, and Syria - before the war started.
Color Changing Lake
These two satellite photos show Lake Urmai, a saline lake in Iran, as seen in April and July of this year. Fair to say something has changed between the two shots.
Lake Urmia used to be the largest saltwater lake in the Mideast, but water diversions in recent years have cut the flow of water into the lake and reduced its size (https://tmblr.co/Zyv2Js1bzMEJU). As less water flows in, the lake gets saltier, and as it gets saltier only certain organisms are able to thrive.
In the second photograph, taken in July, the lake is bright red. The saline water has prevented growth of anything that would outcompete a certain organism, most likely a type of algae called Dunaliella salina. In saline environments, that algae produces caretoids to protect its cells and those chemicals can dye the surrounding waters bright red. Other organisms may contribute as well.
The lake has shifted back and forth from green to red several times in recent years, and reddenings like this are likely to become more common as it approaches complete drying.
-JBB
Image credit: NASA/USGS/Landsat http://go.nasa.gov/2aeZfNy
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