Photographers

The Center Awards: Environmental Award: Alex Welsh

The Center Awards: Environmental Award: Alex Welsh

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SALTON CITY, CALIFORNIA: Tilapia beds on the edge of the Salton Sea. A steady influx of Colorado River water flows into the terminal lake in the form of agricultural runoff from surrounding farms. However, because the Salton Sea has no natural outlet and no way to rid itself of solutes leftover from evaporation, the lake has become highly saline over time. Currently, it is roughly twice as salty as the ocean and few species of fish can tolerate the water. Massive fish die-offs have become a common occurrence in the summer months: in 1999, 7.4 million tilapia washed up on the shore in a single day, sending a sulfurous odor that reached Los Angeles 150 miles away. 

As the lake continues to dry up and rising salinity levels threaten the fate of the remaining fish and migratory birds that feed on them, researchers are concerned that the resulting ecosystem collapse could increase the toxicity of the playa’s emissions, exacerbating the threat to human health in the region.

The CENTER Awards recognize outstanding images, singular or part of a series. The Environmental Award recognizes work focusing on the state of the environment. Topics may include, but are not limited to, conservation, biodiversity, ecology, climate change or other issues concerning the natural world. Congratulations to Alex Welsh for being selected for CENTER’s Environmental Award

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