Pollution turns Patagonia lake bright pink, Argentina

Sentinel-2 MSI acquired on 20 August 2016 at 14:00:52 UTC
Sentinel-2 MSI acquired on 23 July 2021 at 14:10:49 UTC
Author(s): Sentinel Vision team, VisioTerra, France - svp@visioterra.fr
Keyword(s): Water colour, water quality, aquaculture, lake, lagoon, pollution, Argentina
Fig. 1 - S2 (23.07.2021) - S2 (23.07.2021) - Environmentalists reported the Laguna de Corfo near Trelew in Argentina has turned bright pink due to pollution.
2D view
Local residents also complained of foul odours and insect infestations. Sodium sulphite, an antibacterial preservative used for the storage of langoustines before export, is the cause of this phenomenon.
Fig. 2 - S2 (23.07.2021) - Usually massively dumped into the nearby Chubut river, these pollutants seep into the water table.
2D view
Fig. 3 - S2 (20.08.2016) - The local environmental control chief said “an agreement was made with a company to dump liquids into the Laguna de Corfo,” and that the colour “will disappear in a few days.”
2D view
Fig. 4 - Landat-7 (06.08.2001) - Satallite images show this lake has not turned from blue to pink recently but decades ago and remained so.
2D view
The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency or the European Union.
Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025, processed by VisioTerra.
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