Why scientists say this stunning ancient lake might as well be on Mars
Extraordinary to look at, peaceful and surrounded by an abundance of wildlife, it's little wonder if has become a significant, if lesser-known attraction, located deep in the country's southwest.
But there's so much more to this gorgeous body of water and its white-sand beaches than just beauty to get tourists excited. According to scientists, Lake Salda is the only place on Earth that's analogous to the Jezero Crater on Mars.
It's a fact that has piqued the interest in space scientists at a time when humankind is increasingly turning its attention to the Red Planet as a possible destination for a crewed mission.
It's also helped increase environmental awareness around this fragile treasure, which is facing existential threats from pollution and decreasing water levels.
Briony Horgan, a professor at Purdue University's Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Department, traveled to Turkey in 2019 with NASA's Perseverance rover team to study the mysterious lake, and was struck by its resemblance to a distant planet.
'It's really just an incredibly unique place,' she tells CNN Travel.
'And in many ways, it actually felt like standing on the shores of ancient Lake Jezero on Mars.'
In space exploration, a planetary analog is a place on Earth that's considered similar or comparable to the conditions found on another planet or moon. Horgan says finding a Mars analog here is particularly challenging because of the high levels of iron and magnesium that make up the composition of the Red Planet, and 'they're very primitive.'
However, she says Lake Salda's basin is 'of that composition that was created at the bottom of an ocean when the oceanic crust ripped apart and made new crust straight out of the interior of the Earth.'
This process, says Horgan, is to credit for Lake Salda's Mars-like environment.
Nurgül Balcı, a professor in Istanbul Technical University's Geological Engineering Department, also took part in NASA's Lake Salda studies. In addition to helping scientists better understand Martian geology, she says the lake also offers insights into our own planet's history.
For instance, the microorganisms in the water have built microbial structures that are at least 2 million years old, some of which have been exposed due to decreasing water levels on the lake.
These carbonate forms, resembling cauliflowers, hold crucial clues to our own origins.
'Salda contains a lot of information that can help us understand life that started and evolved 3.5 billion years ago,' says Balcı.
Last year, the International Commission on Geoheritage (IUGS) announced the inclusion of Lake Salda on its list of the world's Top 100 geological sites.
Balcı was among the major contributors who presented evidence to support its addition to the list.
'We prepared a file (showing) that Salda contains important information about Mars and the early Earth and that if they are lost, we will have difficulty finding and understanding such information,' she explains.
In recent years, environmentalists and lawyers have been vocal about the need to increase protections and awareness about the value of the lake beyond its physical beauty.
While some experts are optimistic that being on the IUGS list will have a positive effect on these efforts, others are still skeptical, like retired lecturer Erol Kesici of Süleyman Demirel University's Eğirdir Water Resources Faculty. Founder of the Turkish Water Institute, Kesici is also a scientific advisor to two environmental associations, the Association for the Protection Of Turkey's Nature and the Nature and Sustainability Association.
'Despite Lake Salda having numerous sensitive and protected areas, such as natural conservation areas and other conservation statuses, there are serious issues in practice,' he says.
'The excessive pollution and contamination caused by the construction of ponds and dams are causing the lake's ecosystem, turquoise water, and (endemic) species to disappear gradually.'
Professor Horgan expressed similar sentiments, noting that Lake Salda is 'a wonderful location that I hope many people get to see. But it's the kind of place we should make sure we appreciate responsibly.'
Lake Salda is home to 301 plant species, two of which are endemic and grow in the lake basin, as well three endemic fish species, and over 30 water bird species, among more common animals like wild boars and foxes. These make Lake Salda among the best places in Turkey for nature photography and hiking.
'The best season to visit Salda is spring and early summer,' notes Hasan Gülday, a tour guide based in western Turkey.
'The harmony of the green trees around, the white shores of the lake, and the turquoise color emerges best in this period.'
However, you can visit Lake Salda at any time of the year, including the winter. In fact, the road to the nearby Salda Ski Center offers the best panoramic view of Lake Salda and its surroundings, so stunning many assume images taken there were photoshopped.
If you plan your journey around July and early August, you can admire the purple lavender fields southwest of the lake, where locals make lavender-scented soap and fragrances, some of the best souvenirs to bring back home.
People are permitted to swim in the lake, and many do, but opinions on how to best protect the body of water from these visitors are mixed.
'I want time restrictions and capacity limits to be set for activities like swimming,' says guide Gülday.
Scientific advisor Kesici, meanwhile, is entirely against people getting into the water because 'it's a closed lake, all waste remains within (it).' Also, he says some people take mud baths, believing it can help heal some skin conditions, but this can damage the lake's delicate ecosystem as well.
Lake Salda is located in Burdur, close to the city borders of Denizli, which hosts another gem of Turkey, Pamukkale — only about a 1.5-hour drive northeast. The region is referred to as the Turkish Lake District or Turkish Lakeland.
Gülday also recommends visiting the ancient cities of Kibyra and Sagalassos, both of which are on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
Kibyra is a settlement that dates back to the early Iron Age, about a 1.5-hour drive south of Salda. The city has been at the crossroads of important trade routes for centuries, and Hellenistic, Roman, Lydian, and Pisidian cultures influenced the settlement.
Sagalassos's history dates back some 12,000 years, and it was left to its fate after the 6th century due to epidemics, raids and natural disasters, such as earthquakes.
It's one of the best-preserved archeological sites in Turkey because its remote location prevented it from looting, and the settlement was quickly covered by vegetation and soil due to erosion.
Getting there: Many travelers opt to rent a car to better explore the area's scenic drives. The trip from Antalya to Lake Salda takes about 2.5 hours. Tour companies also offer tours of the area, including the lake.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
Intelsat Reprising Pivotal Role In Creating A Spacefaring Civilization
Apollo Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and the Lunar Module Eagle during the first human touchdown on the ... More Moon, one of the fantastical scenes transmitted to more than half a billion space aficionados back on Earth by Intelsat. (Photo by NASA/Newsmakers) While mapping out the future for Intelsat, the satellite operator's erudite CEO says the outfit aims to expand its leading-edge role in fostering a spacefaring civilization while pushing forward humanitarian missions in conflict zones across the continents. Boosting humanity's advances in the heavens, while promoting peace on Earth, and satellite transmissions across the two realms, are all directed at co-crafting a pacific space culture that circles the globe, Intelsat CEO Dave Wajsgras tells me across a sweeping interview. A key player in Space Race I, Intelsat is now set to enter into a union with SES, a fellow space-tech titan that has co-ruled the highest rings of orbit, in order to win the new Space Race II against upstarts in the satellite sector. It was Intelsat's world-leading 'Early Bird' satellite that transmitted live footage of the first NASA astronauts to explore the Moon's silver, shadowed craters—to more than 600 million entranced space aficionados around the world—marking a fantastical advance in the space epic that is still unfolding, he says. Humanity's triumph in touching down on this celestial outpost had an incredible, transformative effect on societies across the planet, helped animate a global culture and generated the first sparks for a spacefaring civilization, Wajsgras says. Intelsat's super-satellites stationed in geosynchronous orbit, 36000 kilometers above the Earth, ... More have played a pivotal role in transmitting major scenes from humanity's space odyssey to billions of space fans Bruno Fromont, chief technology officer at Intelsat, adds these first torchbearers for humankind descending on the ancient Moon reshaped the entire Earth. The Apollo Moon landing, Fromont tells me, 'was extraordinary.' 'Space was offering a mirror to our humanity.' On Earth, he says, 'everybody at the same time was watching this and rooting for that same person because it was a human doing something that was impossible.' 'And everybody of every generation and race and wealth was rooted to their TV set to see this.' The launch of NASA's Apollo 11 Moon-bound spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida ... More represented a giant leap in creating a spacefaring civilization (Photo by) And just as Homer played a central role in immortalizing the gods and heroes, voyages and myths of the classical Odyssey, Intelsat's pathbreaking spacecraft heralded the drama of the Apollo aeronauts—who flew like demigods on their surreal space odyssey—to star-struck followers some 380,000 kilometers away. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first joint mission in orbit between the rival superpowers, the United States and the Russian Soviet Union, marked another leap toward cultivating a globe-spanning space civilization, Wajsgras says. The project was astounding because the two sides were still locked in the decades-long Cold War, between the forces of democracy and communism, that had been playing out across the continents, marked by escalating build-ups of opposing atomic weapons arsenals and brinkmanship that threatened to engulf the world in nuclear flames. The Apollo-Soyuz spacecraft link-up - the first between American and Soviet astronauts in orbit - ... More opened a new space detente between rival superpowers that were engaged in a nuclear arms race back on Earth. Shown here is an artist's illustration of the orbital rendezvous (Photo by NASA/) The out-of-the-blue goal, proposed by scientists, of creating a 'space detente' between Moscow and Washington, despite their terrestrial conflicts, became 'one of the important drivers behind that [Apollo-Soyuz] mission,' Wajsgras says. This docking of the Eastern and Western bloc capsules, as they sped around the planet at 28,000 kilometers per hour, was relayed to well-wishers worldwide by Intelsat. 'This is where you had, you know, millions, tens of millions of people, from around the globe, standing together as one and saying, 'Look what we can do together - it's so much more powerful than what's going on here on Earth,'' Wajsgras tells me during the interview. That initial orbital rendezvous between East and West—lauded by peoples across the planet—served as 'a precursor,' Wajsgras says, to the swiftly expanding space alliance that NASA created with the Russian space agency, along with its European and Japanese counterparts, in building the cosmopolitan International Space Station. He adds that human advances across the celestial sphere—like exploring the Moon and deploying thousands of spacecraft in concentric rings surrounding the globe—along with the creation of the internet and its spread across the surface of the planet, are driving more and more rapid evolution of civilization. Intelsat's path-breaking Early Bird satellite transmitted coverage of the first astronaut landing on ... More the Moon to hundreds of millions of viewers across the continents, helping create a spacefaring civilization that is transforming the Earth (Photo by NASA/) Intelsat has been playing a leading role in both of these globe-changing breakthroughs, with its colossal cutting-edge satellites beaming broadband internet connections to expanding waves of users across the planet, including hotspots that have been decimated by armed conflicts. In a fascinating mission Intelsat's leaders have joined with actor and humanitarian peace activist Forest Whitaker, the satellite giant is providing ten learning centers set up by the trail-blazing Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, across South Sudan and Uganda, with satellite dishes and high-speed internet connections. The Academy Award-winning, utopian Whitaker tells me in an interview that these centers, and their being plugged into the cybersphere, are aimed at engendering a fountainhead of young peace-builders who, as they are transformed into Web-savvy global citizens and mediators, spread social harmony and a cultural renaissance across the region. Intelsat has likewise joined forces with the hyper-tech humanitarian group to bring life-saving internet access to the besieged citizens of Ukraine—across its blitzed cities, campuses and space centers—after cell phone towers and internet infrastructure nationwide were targeted in Russia's never-ending rocket barrages. ' is basically focused on humanitarian missions, and similar to what we're doing with the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative,' Wajsgras says. 'We believe it's important to support these types of missions and these very important types of programs around the world.' 'People in Ukraine need support - they need our help,' he adds. Meanwhile, he says, the crescendo in lofting satellites that can bounce films and music, internet connectivity and images of the cosmos around the world at the speed of light is transforming the very core of civilization. 'The pace of change today,' he says, 'is arguably greater than ever.' CTO Bruno Fromont agrees. The takeoff of a spacefaring culture—boosted by new-generation spacecraft set to return to the Moon, and then to touch down on Mars—and the rush of new satellites into orbit, he says, 'continues to transform the way human civilization evolves.' Intelsat and SES, he predicts, 'will no doubt be a significant part of this evolution.' After their alliance is formalized, the U.S.-headquartered Intelsat and the Luxembourg-based SES will command a fleet of 150-plus exquisite spacecraft, specially designed super-satellites dominating geosynchronous orbit—36000 kilometers above the planet—and medium Earth orbit below. A partnership with OneWeb's constellation in low Earth orbit will enable these allies to face off against NewSpace rivals that will compete to shape the future of satellite operations across the 2020s. With its avant-garde satellites whizzing around the globe, this new alliance is already preparing to transmit footage from the next scenes in humanity's space odyssey, as Allied astronauts start exploring the South Pole of the Moon and set their sights on Mars.
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Probe of Uranus reveals where it gets its heat
Cheeky! A study has finally determined where Uranus gets its heat. Researchers from the University of Houston, led by Dr. Xinyue Wang, launched a deep probe of Uranus' data — and determined that the gas giant is actually warmed from the inside, according to a study published in Geophysical Research Letters. 'From a scientific perspective, this study helps us better understand Uranus and other giant planets,' said Wang of UH's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in a release. Uranus' heat has been a mystery since NASA's Voyager 2 passed by the gaseous giant in 1986 and measured an incredibly low level. AP Any semblance of warmth on the sun's seventh planet — which has a surface temp of -320 degrees Fahrenheit — has been a mystery since a NASA analysis of Voyager 2 data in 1986 suggested the planet did not have internal heat. That conclusion was at odds with science's general understanding of how planets form and evolve. But the new study found that in fact Uranus generates 12.5% more heat internally than it receives from the sun, which is 1.8 billion miles away. 'This means it's still slowly losing leftover heat from its early history, a key piece of the puzzle that helps us understand its origins and how it has changed over time,' Wang said. Uranus is still behind planets such as Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune in terms of how much heat it emits. Those planets emit 100% more heat than they get from the sun. The seventh planet from the Sun has been discovered to generate its own heat, contradicting previous conclusions from the Voyager 2 probe. AP The amount of heat emanating from Uranus varies by season — but those seasons can take more than 20 years, according to scientists. These long seasons could be the reason for the Voyager 2 readings in 1986, which may have been skewed by a surge in solar weather during the flyby, according to Uranus may meanwhile soon have a moon that could house alien life, researchers have said. The planet's moon, Miranda, has sources of water hidden beneath its surface that could play a role in the expansion of humans through the solar system, according to a study from Johns Hopkins and the University of North Dakota.
4 hours ago
Axiom private space mission could be glimpse of the future as ISS retirement looms
Private spaceflight is transforming from joy rides for billionaires into a gateway for nations to establish their space presence, one expert says, as the latest Axiom Space mission returned to Earth on Tuesday. The mission marked a historic moment for India, Poland, and Hungary, who sent astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time in decades. Rather than waiting for traditional space programs, these nations booked private flights through Axiom Space, which aims to build the world's first commercial space station, and SpaceX, which provided the spacecraft the astronauts traveled on. "This is huge," said ABC News contributor and astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi. "These nations didn't go through NASA or wait for Russia. They booked the private flight and brought their own experiments. That is a global power flex." The mission serves as more than just a demonstration of private space capabilities, Oluseyi said. With NASA planning to decommission the ISS by the end of 2030, Axiom Space, headquartered in Houston, is positioning itself to become "the new landlord of low Earth orbit," according to Oluseyi. The company has already secured agreements with multiple countries for its own planned space station. However, the increasing privatization of space access raises questions about America's future role in space exploration. While another private company, SpaceX, currently provides the only means for launching astronauts from U.S. soil, Oluseyi emphasized the importance of maintaining both public and private investment in space. "We perform best when there is a combination of both public and private investment," Oluseyi said, noting current federal budget pullbacks in space and science funding. "Strategically, America needs both public and private to maintain leadership... This is a time not to pull back, but to invest ever more aggressively." As space becomes more accessible to new participants, Oluseyi said continued investment and innovation are crucial for maintaining U.S. leadership in space exploration -- even as private spaceflight takes off. "You can't stop that cat out of the bag, but you can maintain leadership, you can be the one to innovate and take us to the next level," he said.
