The Chinese "Dead sea" was rainbow

Salt lake Sech in China, often called the "Chinese Dead sea", has attracted crowds of tourists. Algal blooms and insects to multiply rapidly painted his water in bright shades of purple, green and yellow.

The cause of the rare phenomenon of the algae species Dunaliella salina, which, according to NASA, is in the marine environment, but may become red. In conditions of high salinity and light intensity, they begin to produce protective carotenoids in the cells. These plant pigments responsible for the bright coloration of the lake.

A study conducted by experts from the University of Concepcion in Chile, showed that the algae D. salina currently are the most resistant to high salt concentrations eukaryotes. They can be found in salt lakes around the world — in Chile, Mexico, Australia and Israel.

Some strains of algae can accumulate more than 10 % of their dry weight of β-carotene, if you are under the influence of stress conditions such as intensive radiation, high salinity, lack of nutrients or extreme temperatures, which makes them the richest natural source of this pigment. D. salina is used in cosmetics, multivitamin and as a food dye.

Lake Sech (Xiechi) is located near the city of Yuncheng. It was formed about 500 million years ago and 4000 years served as a source of salt for local communities. It is the third largest soda lake in the world, whose area is 120 square kilometers.

As in the Israeli Dead sea, there are many useful for skin minerals. But if the black Dead sea mud contains mainly chlorides, the basis of the China lake — sulphate, so that it can support a rich variety of flora and fauna.

Unfortunately, the algae bloom will sometimes cause excess nutrients in the water, which threatens the emergence of a dead or hypoxic zone. As the proliferation of algae, their number may reach millions of cells per milliliter, suppressing other forms of life that die and are then decomposed by bacteria. This organic decay depletes the available water oxygen. Many fish and insects are not able to survive in such conditions.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»