Dangerous dust

The exposed lake bed of the Great Salt Lake could impact public health in the long term. As the bottom of the lake dries up and more lakebed is exposed, the dry soil leads to an increase of dust in the air. The dust is laced with copper, arsenic and other dangerous heavy metals that have accumulated in the lake, much of it being residue from mining activity in the region.

These can, over time, pose a public health hazard when dust storms carry them into populated areas, causing damage when inhaled and exacerbating other respiratory illnesses.

This image shows the average aerosol concentrations near the open-areas of the lake bed produced using Copernicus Sentinel-5P data from 1 June to 15 July 2022.

Read full story: Utah’s Great Salt Lake is disappearing