Satellite images taken over the past few weeks show a strong resurgence of Lake Tulare in California, USA .
The reappearance of the ghost lake
Satellite images taken over the past few weeks show a dramatic resurgence of Lake Tulare in California’s Central Valley and forecast that flooding could persist for the next 2 years on this arid farmland. .
Although Lake Tulare is usually dry, it reappears from time to time due to floods and unusually high rainfall , hence the name “ghost lake” .
Satellite images provided by Planet Labs show the transition from an arid basin to a wide, deep lake that runs about 10 miles from shore to shore on land used to grow almonds. kernels, tomatoes, cotton and other crops.
Satellite images show the appearance of the ghost lake. (Photo: Planet Labs).
Scientists warn the flooding will get worse as the historic mass of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains melts and sends more water into the basin. Last month, a heatwave caused widespread snowmelt in the mountains and threatened small farming communities dealing with the resurgence of Lake Tulare.
Lake water can cause billions of dollars in economic damage , displacing thousands of farmers and residents in farming communities. Continued flooding also threatens dikes, dams and other weak flood infrastructure in the region.
Lake Tulare was the largest freshwater body west of the Mississippi River until the late 1800s, when its tributaries were diverted for agricultural irrigation and urban water use. As the water level in the lake rose higher, farmers worried that they would lose their entire harvest and that their homes would be flooded.
For example, the town of Corcoran in the Central Valley has an earthen levee that is at risk from rising water and has requested emergency federal funding to raise the levee by several meters.
Stretching for more than 23km, this flood protection dyke is more than 57m high. However, in March, the water level of Lake Tulare rose to nearly 54.2m.
“The Corcoran community only had a brief period of dry conditions before the snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada Mountains merged with the existing floodwaters at Lake Tulare, and against the Corcoran dike ,” authorities said. warning in April.
Heavy damage
Governor Gavin Newsom visited Corcoran this week to assess flood damage and said the worst is still to come as the flooded basin receives more water each day. More water is likely to enter the basin in the next 16 weeks.
“We are working with federal and local partners to provide the on-site support and assistance that locals need,” Newsom said . This change in weather is a testament to the climate crisis.”
Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources, said the last time there was a major flood in the basin was in the 1980s and it took about two years for the water to evaporate or be pumped out. She said the department is working on a plan to divert the water before it reaches the lake bed.
More than 600 structures in Tulare County have been damaged by the flooding, officials said, and flood damage is still being calculated. Thousands of cows have gone missing because of the floods, while about 75,000 cows have been pulled to safety. The water also washed away major crops and jobless agricultural workers across the flooded valley.
As the water level in the lake rose higher, farmers worried that they would lose their entire harvest. (Image: Getty).
Mr. Newsom’s office has estimated agricultural damage at $60 million from flooding in crop fields. Potential solutions include installing equipment to pump water back into aquifers that have been depleted after years of drought and overuse of the region’s groundwater resources.
According to the governor’s office, the state is providing shelter assistance to displaced residents and providing flood prevention supplies including sandbags, mechanical walls and rocks and sand to build riverbanks and dikes.
California is experiencing an unusually rainy season after two decades of drought. A series of atmospheric rivers this year have resulted in near-record snow and rainfall in many parts of the state.
A research team at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego has found that climate change is increasing atmospheric river storms and could increase flood damage by $1 billion. annual dollars to more than $3 billion annually by the end of this century.