Irrigation water use driving desiccation of Earth’s endorheic lakes and seas

Abstract

ABSTRACT Through 2019, the Caspian Sea excluded, the majority (54–60%) of Earth’s irrigation-impacted endorheic lake and sea (ELS) areal extent has been lost in basins that contain as much as 20% of global irrigated agricultural land. Estimates of irrigated agriculture contribution to ELS desiccation based on a steady-state water balance equation for endorheic basins generally agree that this contribution is on the order of 70–90% at the global scale. However, large uncertainties or errors in attribution – as large as 100% – are observed with respect to particular ELS, suggesting that attributions based on a single irrigated agriculture dataset, should be treated cautiously. The observed areal contraction in ELS attributed to irrigated agriculture corresponds to an estimated one-third decrease in ELS volume, excluding the Caspian Sea. Such volumetric decrease is expected to at least double solute concentration in 40–47% of Earth’s ELS.