A research team led by Prof. SONG Chunqiao from the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, found in a recent study that climate change and human activities are driving divergent salinity trends in salt lakes around the globe.

Salt lakes are important in global hydrological and biogeochemical cycles, accounting for approximately 44% of the total lake water volume worldwide. Water salinity serves as the key variable regulating physical, ecological, and chemical processes in these systems, playing a critical role in regional ecological security and the sustainability of water resources.

The study reveals a highly heterogeneous spatial pattern of water salinity changes globally. While global salt lakes are predominantly distributed across arid and semi-arid zones, they are currently experiencing strongly divergent evolutionary trajectories.

To be specific, salt lakes in arid regions are frequently undergoing aggravated salinization, primarily driven by agricultural irrigation and increased aridity. Conversely, high-altitude salt lakes, particularly those on the Tibetan Plateau, exhibit significant desalination due to increased water volumes and glacial melt associated with a warming and wetting climate.

The findings were published in Earth-Science Reviews.

The study also presents a review of the spatiotemporal dynamics, monitoring technologies, and socio-environmental consequences of salt lake salinity. The research team noted a significant transformation from traditional point sampling to large-scale, long-term dynamic monitoring systems centered on satellite remote sensing and machine learning.

Furthermore, the study details how altered salinity dynamically reshapes food web structures, regulates physical stratification and elemental cycling, and ultimately exerts severe impacts on soil salinization, drinking water safety, and critical infrastructure across watersheds.

"These findings underscore the profound vulnerability of salt lake ecosystems to global environmental changes and local human interventions, emphasizing the need to move beyond mere monitoring toward predictive modeling of future salinity changes," SONG said.