April 1, 2022 - Thawing on Lake Balkhash

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Spring comes quickly to southeastern Kazakhstan, easily fulfilling the
old proverb warning that “March comes in like a lion, out like a lamb”.
As a case in point, on March 1, the weather station at Balkhash Airport
registered a low of 12˚F (-11˚C) and a high of 28˚F (-2.2˚C) as frigid
weather gripped the region. Later that week, highs reached 46˚F
(7.8˚C), although lows remained below freezing. By the end of the
month, the recorded high was a gentle 57˚F (13.9˚C), with lows dipping
to near 32˚F (˚C). The shifting personality of the weather, from
ferocious to mild, also brings a major transition to one of Asia’s
largest lakes.

Lake Balkhash, spanning about 6,600 square miles (17,000 square
kilometers) in southeastern Kazakhstan, ranks as the third-largest lake
in Asia, with only the Caspian Sea and Lake Baikal larger. Despite this
large size, the winters are harsh enough to keep the lake’s waters
frozen over from November until March in most years. When temperatures
rise, usually by mid-March, the overlying ice begins to crack and melt
rapidly. The transition from ice-locked to nearly ice-free often occurs
in about 2 weeks. In 2022, rapid melting occurred between March 25 and
March 31.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of Lake Balkhash
under the influence of spring warmth of March 31, 2022. The
western-most end of the lake has shed its icy coat, although sediment
swirls in the chilly water. Although ice remains over much of the
central and eastern section, widespread cracking has occurred and the
ice is quite thin, judging by the color. Firm, thick ice appears bright
white in true-color images and this color becomes paler and then more
blue-toned as the ice becomes thin and water-logged.

While this image beautifully shows Lake Balkhash in full spring
transition, to appreciate just how rapidly the thawing has occurred it
is helpful to compare the change over time. Less than a week earlier,
on March 25, Lake Balkhash was encased in thick, bright white ice and
snow, with only the very western-most tip beginning to show any open
water and snow blanketed a larger area north of the lake and in the
mountainous region to the southeast. Thanks to the NASA Worldview app,
a roll-over comparison between the March 31 image and an Aqua MODIS
image acquired on March 25 is available by simply clicking here

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/31/2022
Resolutions: 1km (74.7 KB), 500m (147.2 KB), 250m (534.3
KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-04-01

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