Earlier this week, there was a report of the normal blue color of the lake turning a rosy red. While tests need to be done to know the exact cause, experts say the salinity changes and the presence of a specific species of algae in the lake is the source of the problem.
Lake Lonar has changed his color.
According to local people’s knowledge and records, a similar color-changing event occurred around 2000, but it was neither noticed nor regarded as a prominent event.
This time, water samples from the lake were sent to the National Institute of Environmental Engineering Research (NEERI) of India for analysis, in order to find the exact reason for this phenomenon.
Local geologist Gajanan Kharat, meanwhile, gave his explanation of the event: "The salinity of the lake has increased as the water level has dropped sharply this year, and it is hot." More also leads to the overgrowth of algae. "The algae turned red in warmer temperatures, so the lake turned pink after just one night."
Indeed, other experts, such as Professor Suresh Mapari, also told the local newspaper Lokmat that the emission of red pigment (carotenoids) caused by the proliferation of Halobacteria and Dunaliella salina was the culprit. this. Although for him, at this time the trigger for that has not been solved.
The lake’s incredible color change: photos taken a year ago (pictured above) compared to photos taken on June 10 (below).
This crater 150 meters deep and 1.8 km wide is one of the largest known craters in basalt on Earth. This caused some confusion for geologists when the crater was first discovered in the 19th century, when they believed it was volcanic.
However, the crater was later thought to be due to a cosmic impact because of the presence of maskelynite - a type of natural glass formed only by extremely high velocity effects.
Scientists from around the world have continued to be intrigued by both this crater and its lake. The water itself is both alkaline and saline, and in 2007, evidence of bio-nitrogen fixation was discovered. And this new event will undoubtedly add another colorful chapter to the history of Lake Lonar.
