What Will Happen in the Future.......

Located at an altitude of nearly 2000m above sea level, Lake Sevan is one of the largest alpine lakes in the world. Also it is one of the largest water body of Armenia and has important role in the water balance of whole South Caucasus regions. It is the main strategic supply source of drinking water of Armenia and neighboring countries. On its origin the lake consists of 2 parts- Major and Minor lake basin. Twenty eight rivers and springs flow into the lake, but only one major lake(Hrazdan) flows out.

(Sevan peninsula with its 9^th century churches adding romantic touch, is the best place to admire the beauty of the lake.)

The lake was formed by series of volcanic explosions occurring over millions of years, which gave the lake its present shape. About 500,000 years ago at least 5 volcanoes were active in the lake area. The erupted lava blocked the riverbed and melted ice from ice-houses, and river water began to accumulate in the formed hollow. Later the flow of water cut through the reservoir wall in the direction of river Hrazdan.

The lake is surrounded by mountains and they were formed from thrust faulting. A fault is a crack, and when rocks break they create a momentum or they form some type of tectonic movement. These types of mountains are known as triangular facets, where each triangle represents a fault and those can be both compressed when the land is pushed together and extended when they are being pulled apart.

(The mountain range, surrounding the lake)

Sevan is mostly surrounded by a rocky landscape and its shoreline is indented with inlets and capes. These are composed of igneous rock - lava and chaotic conglomerations of its debris. Conversely  shores of Greater Sevan are low-lying and composed of pebble or sand, with infrequent crags. The water temperature of Sevan undergo significant seasonal fluctuations, and not infrequently the entire lake becomes covered with thick ice in winter. 

(During the wettest months. Cumulonimbus clouds bringing heavy rain)

The climate is continental with hot, dry summers and cold winters.The lake is surrounded by mountains so it has very long and cold winters. In January, the average air temperature is -9 C, and in July, it is + 16 C. The annual precipitation ranges between 500-600 mm.  

(The frozen Lake)

The Big Issue

The use of lake waters for irrigation started in 19th century, and from the beginning of 20th century the water was also used for energy production to address the country's energy deficit. This created a drawdown, which is lowering of water levels in a reservoir or other body of water as a result of withdrawal. The Lake’s water level started falling in 1933, when the drainage of its waters for economic use exceeded the natural yearly inflow.Major changes in biodiversity occurred in the biota of the lake’s  ecotones, where many
species of aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna lived, supporting the trophic level of the littoral zone of the lake.  Because of this there was reduction in dissolved oxygen and oxygen starvation was observed which caused the lake to start eutrophication. There was a huge threat, and people thought that the Lake will disappear completely.

So lets hypothesize what Lake Sevan might look like in the future, for example in 100 years.
Since many years ago the Lake was close to draining or disappearing, I think there is two things that can happen in the future. Either the water level will keep decreasing and people will still use the water for irrigation and there will be pollution. This will lead to drainage and lake disappearing completely as it was going to happen many years ago. This will cause the lake to start eutrophication again, which is a process by which a plant growth is increased in the lake and as these plants die, the dead and decaying vegetation depletes the the lake's oxygen level. This leads to the death of fish species in the lake. Dead plants and fish eventually change a deep lake to a shallow and then it will become a swamp and finally will dry up becoming a dry land. But hopefully the water level will increase and if the government controls the water use then there won't be a drawdown and the water level will increase. The rise of Lake Sevan could take its treasury and historic churches underwater. Many people leave and work close to the beach and if water level rises they will lose their homes and businesses. Maybe they will built underwater restaurants and hotels?

(Lake Sevan turning into a swamp)















References;
http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/europe/monitoring/Armenia/
http://www.armeniapedia.org
http://www.enotes.com/science/q-and-a/what-eutrophication
http://ditord.com/2010/11/05/lake-sevan-governments-rescue-plan-gone-bad/