Nevada symposium examines terminus lakes

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Global warming will prove a daunting challenge to protecting terminal lakes, whose water supplies are largely affected by upstream water users, researchers say.

Scientists from around the world are meeting at the University of Nevada, Reno, this week to share research on terminus lakes, including Walker and Pyramid lakes in Nevada. The symposium ends Thursday.

"These are very fragile ecosystems, and they are all threatened," said Jim Thomas, a research professor with the Desert Research Institute and a conference organizer. "There's only so much water in these systems. They are highly dependent on what happens upstream in their watershed, and we are using more and more of their water resources."

At Walker Lake, water levels have dropped about 145 feet since the early 1880s, largely because of upstream agricultural use. Dropping water resulted in higher concentrations of impurities that threaten the lake's fish and other wildlife.

In 2005, $70 million in federal funds were set aside for the Walker River Project, a comprehensive study into the lake's ecological problems. Results of two years of research conducted into Walker Lake by UNR and DRI scientists will be discussed during the conference.

Other discussions will focus on Southern California's Salton Sea, and lakes in central Asia and Antarctica.

"These kinds of lakes are pretty unique and have been largely unstudied," said Mike Collopy, director of UNR's Academy of the Environment and another symposium organizer.

Scientists also will discuss how climate change impacts closed-basin lake systems. As the planet warms, stream flows likely will decrease while evaporation rates rise and irrigation demands increase, Thomas said.

"The lakes may soon dry up completely or become shallow saline water bodies," Thomas said. "Climate change is going to be a big factor."