American scientists from the University of Maryland evaluated the consequences of human intervention in the natural salt cycle. According to findings, human activities are making Earth’s air, soil and freshwater saltier, and if this trend continues, this could become an existential threat. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature Reviews Earth and Evolution (NREE).
Geological and hydrological processes bring salts to the Earth’s surface over time, but human activities such as mining and land development are rapidly accelerating the natural “salt cycle.”
Agriculture, construction, water and road treatment and other industrial activities can also increase salinity, damaging biodiversity and, in extreme cases, making drinking water unsafe.
The new study looked at different salt ions that form in underground and surface waters.
“When people think of salt, they often think of sodium chloride, but our studies over the years have shown that we degrade other types of salt, including those associated with limestone, gypsum, and calcium sulfate,” said Sujay Kaushal, lead author of the study.
Experts estimate that anthropogenic salinization currently affects more than 1 billion hectares of land worldwide (an area the size of the United States). Salt ions in streams and rivers have also increased in the last 50 years. Salt even penetrated the air. In some areas, lakes dry up and release clouds of salty dust into the atmosphere. Sodium and chloride particles can be created by spraying road salt in snowy areas.
Salinity is also associated with “cascading” effects. For example, salt dust can accelerate snowmelt and harm communities that rely on snow for water. Due to their structure, salt ions can bind to contaminants in soil and sediments. There they form “chemical cocktails” that circulate in the environment and harm the environment.
The study’s authors called for “a planetary limit for the safe and sustainable use of salt,” similar to limiting carbon dioxide emissions to curb global warming.
Previous scientists offered It’s a way to protect salmon from harmful runoff from highways.