Comparison of quantity and quality changes of the Urmia lake water with emphasis on the southeast bank data

The water level of Urmia lake during the last twenty years has been significantly declining. Along with changes in quantity, water quality has also substantially changed. In this article, attempts has been made to identify the relationship between water quality and quantity to have a better understanding of the changing history of the lake during the geological past. This can help to better explore the risk factors influencing the drying process of the lake. This understanding can therefore be employed to appropriate planning and management procedures in order to revive this lake effectively. Based on this study, the lake water in the levels higher than 1286 meters (MSL) is brackish to fresh and is not of saline type. Thus, it seems that, in the late Pleistocene, the lake water was of a fresh type where the water level was higher than 1297 meters. The study revealed that the lake become to a playa-type environment in water level of about 1273 MSL. The present water level of 1270 meters suggests that the lake has a dominantly playa-type environment. In this environment, increase in precipitation and inflows will lead to a rapid increase in reservoir volume; and vice versa, a stop or decrease in the precipitation and inflows with an increase of temperature and evaporation will lead to a rapid reduction in reservoir volume. This study estimates that a volume of over 9.5 billion cubic meters of water is necessary to revive the Urmia Lake.