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Cover:
While the Salton Sea was a relatively stable ecosystem for most of the 20th century, recent agricultural-to-urban water transfers have caused significant impacts on the region’s ecology. This special issue of California Agriculture features review articles that highlight what recent research can say about the changing Salton Sea ecosystem and its environmental and human health–related impacts, and identify areas in which further scientific research is needed to better inform policy. Photo: Richard Trible, Istockphoto.com
Special Issue
The Salton Sea
January-March 2022
Volume 76, Number 1
Volume 76, Number 1
INTRODUCTION
The Salton Sea: An introduction to an evolving system and the role of science
In this special issue, California Agriculture presents review articles that highlight what research to date can say about the changing Salton Sea ecosystem and its environmental and human health–related impacts, and identify areas in which further scientific research is needed to better inform policy.
Peer-reviewed research and review articles
Ecological transitions at the Salton Sea: Past, present and future
Mandated water transfers are rapidly changing the ecology of the Salton Sea and threatening crops, wildlife and public health.
The condition of the Salton Sea, California's largest lake, has profound implications for people and wildlife both near and far. Colorado River irrigation water has supported agricultural productivity in the basin's Coachella and Imperial valleys since the Sea formed over 100 years ago, bringing billions of dollars per year to the region and helping to feed households across the United States. The runoff, which drains into the Sea, has historically maintained water levels and supported critical fish and migratory bird habitats. However, since 2018, a large portion of the water previously allocated for agriculture has been diverted to urban regions, causing the Sea to shrink and become increasingly saline. This poses major threats to the Sea's ecology, as well as risks to human health, most notably in the noxious dust produced by the drying lakebed. To ensure continued agricultural and ecological productivity and protect public health, management of the Sea and surrounding wetlands will require increased research and mitigation efforts.
Microbiome interactions and their ecological implications at the Salton Sea
Future studies of the Salton Sea should aim to characterize both the structural similarities and differences of the playa, sea and aeolian microbiomes.
Although the Salton Sea was once a thriving destination for humans and wildlife, it has now degraded to the point of ecosystem collapse. Increases in local dust emissions have introduced aeolian (wind-blown) microorganisms that travel, along with contaminants and minerals, into the atmosphere, detrimentally impacting inhabitants of the region. Proliferation of certain microbial groups in regions of the Sea may have a disproportionate impact on local ecological systems. Yet, little is known about how the biogeochemical processes of this drying lakebed influence microbial community composition and dispersal. To elucidate how these microorganisms contribute, and adapt, to the Sea's volatile conditions, we synthesize research on three niche-specific microbiomes — exposed lakebed (playa), the Sea, and aeolian — and highlight modern molecular techniques, such as metagenomics, coupled with physical science methodologies, including transport modeling, to predict how the drying lakebed will affect microbial processes. We argue that an explicit consideration of microbial groups within this system is needed to provide vital information about the distribution and functional roles of ecologically pertinent microbial groups. Such knowledge could help inform regulatory measures aimed at restoring the health of the Sea's human and ecological systems.
The drying Salton Sea and asthma: A perspective on a “natural” disaster
The changing ecology of the Salton Sea generates unique aerosol components that may contribute to the high rates of asthma in the region.
The Salton Sea is a drying salt lake in an arid region with high aerosol particulate-matter concentrations. This region is plagued by a high incidence of asthma, attributed in part to the aerosols surrounding the Sea. But the connection between the Sea and asthma may be more than simple calculations of dust concentrations. While dusts might contain toxic substances that impact the lungs of residents, the complex dynamics related to the environmental degradation of the Salton Sea may be generating additional toxins relevant to public health, such as microcystins produced by algal blooms. This collection of pollutants may be driving inflammatory responses in the lungs of residents through multiple mechanisms. As such, examination of the full range of potential environmental triggers of lung inflammation promises to yield a better understanding of key mechanisms driving the high incidence of asthma in local residents. Our discussion provides a perspective aiming to re-frame the issue in the context of the historical theory of “miasma” and the linkages between environmental change and health impacts.
