mHM in Urmia | Iran

Located in the North-West edge of Iran, Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake i.e. the lake retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water. All the water entering the lake is lost through evaporation. Thus, Urmia Lake Basin is a closed or terminal basin.

At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth-largest saltwater lake on Earth, with a surface area of approximately 5,200 sq. kms., a length of 140 km , a width of 55 km, and a maximum depth of 16 m. The lake has shrunk to 10% of its former size due to damming of the rivers that flow into it, and the pumping of groundwater from the surrounding area. Lake Urmia has been shrinking for a long time, with an annual evaporation rate of 0.6 to 1 m. Only 5% of the lake's water remains.

With a seasonal prediction system, SaWaM aims at assisting the ongoing efforts of recovery plans of the lake and to the water users of this unique basin.

ufz_urmia_lake_basin_study_area_sawam
Urmia lake basin study area
ufz_mrm_animate_urmia_sawam
ufz_mhm_animate_urmia_sawam
Model resolution: 0.0625 degree (~7 kms x 7 kms)
Domain size: 46,158 sq.kms., Computational size: 1404 cells.
Qrouted - routed streamflow; SM_Lall - soil moisture averaged over all layers