Lop Nur is rippling again, and a lake of more than 10,000 square kilometers has appeared. Where does the water come from?

"Park" means a place with water, and Lop Nur means "a place where many waters gather".

In the past, Lop Nur had a large amount of water (before 330 AD), but with the passage of time, climate change and human intervention made Lop Nur less and less water. Until the 1970s, Lop Nur completely dry.

However, what is interesting is that in recent years, there has been water in Lop Nur, and there is still a lot of water. The lake formed is more than 10,000 square kilometers. From a distance, the blue waves are rippling, which is really beautiful.

Where does this water come from? Is it artificial drainage, or does it come from deep underground?

Next, let's uncover the answer together.

discovery of potash

A long time ago, Lop Nur was an oasis, and later it became a barren land, a nearly dry berth, and a desolate Gobi.

In the 1960s, a group of people with national missions came to Lop Nur. They were the scientists who shouldered the task of developing "two bombs and one satellite". With the success of "two bombs and one satellite", Lop Nur became famous.

Fame is great, but the result of complete drying up cannot be avoided. After completing the mission with the scientists, Lop Nur seemed to "did his loyalty for the country and gave his life bravely".

Until the 1990s, a huge amount of "potassium brine" was discovered underground in Lop Nur, and Lop Nur once again became a "hot spot" of public attention. Shortly after that (the beginning of this century), the SDIC potash fertilizer base was put into operation, and the refining of potash ore officially entered the work schedule.

But what is the relationship between "potash mine" and "water in Lop Nur"? The relationship is huge.

The "Blue Lake" of about 10,000 square kilometers is a derivative of potassium extraction

The primary procedure for potassium extraction is to extract the "underground potassium-containing brine", but the demand for brine is too great, so the extracted brine is collected into a lower-lying area through a canal.

Day after day, year after year, potassium is continuously extracted, and the remaining water gradually becomes a lake with an area of ​​about 10,350 square kilometers.

This lake is very beautiful in the open Lop Nur. Against the background of sunshine and white clouds, it is so green and vast. It is like a mirror of the sky in Lop Nor.

Will the area of ​​this beautiful lake continue to increase? that's for sure. How big is it? When the "Brine Potash Mine" is mined, it is the day when the area of ​​the lake is the largest.

Many people worry that after the "brine" is drawn out, will it affect their physique? There is an impact, but the "potassium brine" itself is located in the low part of the same rock formation underground. After extraction, the liquid inside the same rock formation will flow from high to low from everywhere, so there will be a certain amount of automatic filling ( Liquids with relatively low mineral content such as potassium will flow over), and the geological hazards caused by its mining are not that serious.

As time goes on, Lop Nur's "Blue Lake" will continue its "beauty", and the development of Lop Nur's potash mine will certainly make a huge contribution to the use of "potash fertilizer" in China.