The International Society for Salt Lake Research (ISSLR) brings attention to two recent pieces in Nature that underscore a critical, often overlooked reality: the world’s saline lakes are not uniformly shrinking. While catastrophic drying dominates the narrative, rapid expansion is wreaking equal havoc elsewhere.
In a book review published on 9 March 2026 (Nature 651, 301-302), science writer Josie Glausiusz examines Caroline Tracey’s new work, Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History. The review highlights the well-documented tragedy of desiccating lakes, from California’s Owens Lake—drained to supply Los Angeles, now a toxic dust source—to the Aral Sea, decimated by Soviet-era irrigation diversions, and the Great Salt Lake in Utah, endangered by water diversion for agriculture and climate-exacerbated drought. Tracey’s book introduces a provocative lens—queer ecology—suggesting that even heavily engineered, “unnatural” interventions (such as the dust-suppression bubblers at Owens Lake) can foster surprising biological resurgence, including brine flies, algae, and migratory birds.
Two weeks later, on 24 March 2026 (Nature 651, 1124), ISSLR President Dr. Egor Zadereev published a direct response, warning that the desiccation narrative is dangerously incomplete.
“As the president of the International Society for Salt Lake Research, I know that desiccation is only half the story,” Dr. Zadereev writes. He notes that climate change is creating a paradox: some salt lakes are shrinking while others are rapidly expanding. Intense rainfall and accelerated glacial melt are funneling excess freshwater into terminal basins, diluting salinity, disrupting endemic species, and flooding human infrastructure.
Dr. Zadereev cites Mar Chiquita lake in Argentina as an example. After high rainfall began in the 1970s, the lake expanded from less than 2,000 km² to nearly 6,000 km² by the 1980s, flooding parts of a nearby town and devastating the local tourism economy.
The ISSLR emphasizes that management strategies must move beyond a singular focus on water loss. Both extreme desiccation and uncontrolled expansion outpace the adaptive capacity of communities, conservation frameworks, and industrial operations. The Society calls for a broader scientific conversation—one that embraces the full, dynamic variability of saline lake ecosystems.
Reference:
- Glausiusz, J. The world’s salt lakes are drying up, but solutions are hard to come by. Nature 651, 301-302 (2026).
- Zadereev, E. Salt lakes are shrinking and expanding, causing havoc in conservation. Nature 651, 1124 (2026).