September 28, 2016
Cosmos Editorial
Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2016), processed by ESA
Large chunks of broken ice float in east-central Kazakhstan’s Alakol Lake in this image snapped by the satellite Copernicus Sentinel-2 on 5 April 2016.
This salt lake usually freezes for about two months at the end of winter, and breaks up in early spring – as we can see happening here.
Alakol means ‘multicoloured lake’. We can clearly see varying shades of green and blue depending on depth, sediments flowing in from rivers and streams and phytoplankton.
The two smaller, shallower lakes to the northwest are Kosharkol and Sasykkol.
