SevaMod Project:
Predicting the Future Development of Lake Sevan
One of the three great seas of historic Armenia, Lake Sevan is a unique high-altitude freshwater lake, the most important natural resource and national treasure of present-day Armenia. While largely important from ecological, economic, and cultural perspectives, Sevan had been taken for granted and mercilessly exploited for many decades. The alarming trend of water level reduction forced the authorities to partially redirect two of the nearby rivers to the lake through tunnel projects in 1981 and 2004. Level stabilization alone, however, could not prevent continued ecological deterioration of the Lake Sevan. In July of 2018, an excessive algal bloom caused greenish discoloration of Sevan waters, alerting experts of yet another serious problem with water quality. The SevaMod project was initiated with a vision to provide solid, scientifically substantiated solution to this issue. We talked to the SevaMod project coordinator, German scientist Dr. Martin Schultze about the project, its initial results, and future outlook.
