In this episode of H2O and Beyond, I’m joined by Dr. Mia Maltz, a professor of microbial biology and soil health from the University of Connecticut to discuss the health effects of the Salton Sea.

The Salton Sea is California's largest lake. But the area surrounding it has some of the highest rates of pediatric asthma in the country. Why is that? The lake is currently shrinking, and the lakebed is currently being exposed. Winds are picking the dust up and residents of Imperial County California are now breathing it in.

Stay tuned to learn more!

0:00 Intro

3:31 Overview of the Salton Sea

4:54 Overview of research

5:26 What is a microbiome?

6:41 Experimental methodology

10:22 Results

11:59 Similarities to the Great Salt Lake

14:22 What's actually causing the reactions to the dust?

17:05 What do you do with this data?

18:45 LPS (Lipopolysaccharides) and immune reactions

22:12 What's being done to protect the public?

22:57 Is it actually safe to visit the Salton Sea?

23:23 How does this affect surrounding communities?

25:16 Future of the Salton Sea

26:16 Restoration projects

28:43 Future research

31:04 Closing

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Learn more about Dr. Maltz's work and the Salton Sea!

https://www.miamaltz.com/

https://psla.uconn.edu/person/mia-maltz/https://www.saltonseasummit.org/