Separated by space and time, united by grief -the tragedy of being a lake

Blurb: The paper examines the disappearance of Tulare Lake (California) and the Aral Sea (Central Asia) - where river diversions for irrigation destroyed millennia-old lakeshore societies - as emblematic cases of global lake desiccation due to over-exploitation, silting, and waste dumping. It is pointed out that lakes, ponds, and other waterbodies would play an increasingly important role in recharging underground aquifers and offering a relief on a planet under stress due to climate change.