Bombay High Court seeks report on the environmental impact assessment of “Lonar lake”

Color of the lake water recently turned into pink which has surprised locals scientists

• The color of the lake water recently turned pink, which has not only surprised locals, but also
  nature enthusiasts and scientist
• The Bombay High court recently sought report on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of
  Lonar lake from the National Environmental Engineering Research
• The expert team from Geographical Survey of India and NEERI are to examine the findings of
  glass formation on the surface of the lake

What is the issue?

• The color of the Lonar lake haa recently turned into pink
• The area around the lake is an eco-sensitive zone as it consists of the Ejecta Blanket
• It is made up of the same material as that found on the moon. The lake is a National GeoHeritage monument
• The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court has sought reports on the environmental impact
  assessment of Lonar lake from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) andthe Geological Survey of India
• The Bench said a court-appointed committee, including the judges themselves, would visit the
  site
• The State Forest Department informed the court it has already collected samples from the lake
  which have been sent to NEERI, in Nagpur, and the Agarkar Research Institute in Pune

Findings by the Committee

• There is a glass formation over the surface of the bed rock of the Lonar crater, which is a basalt
  rock
• This is a new feature not found anywhere else on the Earth and only on the beds of craters
  existing on moon
• Experts believe that the Lonar lake turned pink due to increased salinity in the water and also
  due to the presence of algae
• The amount of water in the lake has reduced thereby increasing its salinity and turning the lake
  pink

What is “Lonar Lake”?

• The Lonar Lake in Maharashtra is an oval shaped lake that was formed by a meteorite hit on the
  earth around 50,000 years ago
• It is one of the four known, hyper-velocity, impact craters in basaltic rock anywhere on Earth
• The other three basaltic impact structures are in southern Brazil
• The area around the lake is an eco-sensitive zone as it consists of the Ejecta Blanket that is
  made up of the same material as that found on the moon
• The lake is a National Geo-Heritage monument
• Lonar Lake has a mean diameter of 1.2 kilometers (3,900 ft) and is about 137 meters (449 ft)
  below the crater rim. The meteor crater rim is about 1.8 kilometers (5,900 ft) in diameter
• Geologists, ecologists, archaeologists, naturalists and astronomers have published studies of
  various aspects of this crater lake ecosystem

What is “National Environmental
Engineering Research Institute (NEERI)”?

• It is a research institute created and funded by Government of India
• It was established in Nagpur in 1958 with focus on water supply, sewage disposal and
  communicable diseases and to some extent on industrial pollution and occupational diseases foundcommon in post-independent India
• NEERI is a pioneer laboratory in the field of environmental science and engineering and part of
  Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Pic courtesy : thehindu.com