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[[File:NatronSouthSide.jpg|left|thumb|நாட்ரோன் ஏரியில் [[பூநாரை]]கள்]]
நாட்ரோன் ஏரி ('''Lake Natron''') ஒரு உப்பு நீர் அல்லது
'''நாட்ரோன் ஏரி''' ('''Lake Natron''') ஒரு உப்பு நீர் அல்லது [[சோடியம் கார்பனேட்டு]] ஏரியாகும். இது கிழக்கு [[ஆப்பிரிக்கா]]வின் [[தான்சானியா]] நாட்டின் வடக்கில் அருஷா பிரதேசத்தில் அமைந்துள்ளது. <ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/our-beautiful-planet-tanzanias-crimson-stone-animal-lake/a-44751282 Our Beautiful Planet: Tanzania's crimson 'stone animal' Natron lake]</ref><ref name="WWF">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at0901|title=Eastern Africa: Northern Tanzania, on the border with Kenya|work=World Wildlife Fund}}</ref>
<ref name="WWF">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at0901|title=Eastern Africa: Northern Tanzania, on the border with Kenya|work=World Wildlife Fund}}</ref>
[[File:LakeNatron satellite labelled.jpg|thumb|right|The southern half of Lake Natron (top). [[Fault scarp]]s and the [[Gelai Volcano]] can also be seen. Numerous near-white salt-crust "rafts" pepper the shallowest parts of the lake (inset).]]
இந்த ஏரி முழுவதும் சகதியாக உள்ளது. இது 3 மீட்டர் ஆழம் கொண்டது. நீர் வரத்து பொருத்து இதன் அகலம் கூடும் அல்லது குறையும். நாட்ரோன் ஏரி 57 கிலோ மீட்டர் நீளமும், 22 கிலோ மீட்டர் அகலமும் கொண்டது.
{{convert|57|km}} long and {{convert|22|km}} wide.<ref name="WWF"/>
இந்த ஏரி முழுவதும் சகதியாக உள்ளது. இது 3 மீட்டர் ஆழம் கொண்டது. நீர் வரத்து பொருத்து இதன் அகலம் கூடும் அல்லது குறையும். நாட்ரோன் ஏரி 57 கிலோ மீட்டர் நீளமும், 22 கிலோ மீட்டர் அகலமும் கொண்டது. {{convert|57|km}} long and {{convert|22|km}} wide.<ref name="WWF"/> இந்த ஏரியின் வெப்ப நிலை {{convert|40|°C|°F}}க்கு அதிகமாக காணப்படுகிறது. <ref name="WWF"/>
உயர் வெப்ப நிலை காரணமாக இந்த ஏரியின் நீர் ஆவியாகி [[சோடியம் கார்பனேட்]] எனும் உப்பு ஏரியில் தங்கு விடுகிறது. இதனால் இந்த ஏரி நீரின் [[காரத்தன்மை காரகாடித்தன்மைச் சுட்டெண்|பிஎச்]] 12 அளவிற்கு மேல் உள்ளது.
இந்த ஏரியைச் சுற்றியுள்ள மலைகளில் [[எரிமலை]]கள் கக்கும் போது செந்நிறம் கொண்ட [[சோடியம்]], [[கார்பனேட்டு]] மர்ற்றும் சிறிய அளவில் கால்சியம் மற்றும் மக்னீசியம் கொண்ட எரிமலைக் குழம்பு வெளியாகி எரியில் நீரில் கலப்பதால் ஏரி, சகதியுடன், நீர் அடர் சிவப்பு நிறமாக காட்சியளிக்கிறது.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=fhC_nz8eHh0C&pg=PA129 "Alkaline Environments", authored by W. D. Grant and B. E. Jones, in ''Encyclopedia of Microbiology'', editor-in-chief Joshua S. Lederberg, Academic Press, 2010, page 129, accessed 24 November 2014]</ref>காரத் தன்மை கொண்ட இந்த ஏரி நீரில் குறிப்பிட்ட வகை மீன்கள் மட்டும் வாழ்கிறது.மேலும் சிலவகை பாசிகள் வளர்கிறது. எரிக்கு அவ்வப்போது [[பூநாரை]]கள் வலசையின் போது வருகிறது.
==மேற்கோள்கள்==
காரத் தன்மை கொண்ட இந்த ஏரி நீரில் குறிப்பிட்ட வகை மீன்கள் மட்டும் வாழ்கிறது. மேலும் சிலவகை பாசிகல்ள் வளர்கிறது.
==Flora==
The color of the lake is characteristic of those where very high [[evaporation]] rates occur. As water evaporates during the dry season, salinity levels increase to the point that salt-loving [[microorganism]]s begin to thrive. Such [[halophile]] organisms include some [[cyanobacteria]] that make their own food with [[photosynthesis]] as plants do. The red accessory photosynthesizing pigment in the cyanobacteria produces the deep reds of the open water of the lake and the orange colors of the shallow parts of the lake. The [[alkali]] salt crust on the surface of the lake is also often colored red or pink by the salt-loving [[microorganism]]s that live there.
[[Salt marsh]]es and freshwater wetlands around the edges of the lake do support a variety of plants.
==Fauna==
[[File:Lake Natron satellite.JPG|thumb|Lake Natron as seen on NASA's [[World Wind]] program]]
[[File:NatronSouthSide.jpg|left|thumb|The lake with [[Flamingo|Flamingos]]]]
Most animals find the lake's high temperature (up to {{convert|60|C|F|disp=sqbr}}) and its high and variable salt content inhospitable.<ref>{{cite web |last=Swancer |first=Brent |title=The Bizarre Medusa Lake of Africa |url=https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/04/the-bizarre-medusa-lake-of-africa/ |date=20 April 2015 |accessdate=1 June 2019}}</ref> Nonetheless, Lake Natron is home to some [[Endemism|endemic]] [[algae]], [[invertebrates]], and [[birds]]. In the slightly less salty water around its margins, some fish can also survive.
The lake is the only regular breeding area in East Africa for the 2.5 million [[lesser flamingo]]es, whose status of "near threatened" results from their dependence on this one location. When [[salinity]] increases, so do [[cyanobacteria]], and the lake can also support more nests. These flamingoes, the single large flock in East Africa, gather along nearby saline lakes to feed on ''[[Spirulina (genus)|Spirulina]]'' (a blue-green algae with red pigments). Lake Natron is a safe breeding location because its [[Corrosive substance|caustic]] environment is a barrier against [[Predation|predators]] trying to reach their nests on seasonally forming [[evaporite]] islands. [[Greater flamingo]]es also breed on the [[mud flats]].
The lake has inspired the nature documentary [[The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos]] by [[Disneynature]], for its close relationship with the [[Lesser flamingo]]es as their only regular breeding area.
Two endemic fish species, the [[Alcolapia|alkaline tilapias]] ''[[Alcolapia latilabris]]'' and ''[[Alcolapia ndalalani|A. ndalalani]]'', also thrive in the waters at the edges of the hot spring inlets. ''[[Alcolapia alcalica|A. alcalica]]'' is also present in the lake, but is not endemic.
==மேர்ற்கோள்கள்==
{{reflist}}
*{{cite web|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17239 |title=Lake Natron, Tanzania |work=[[NASA Earth Observatory|Earth Observatory Newsroom]] |accessdate=17 April 2018 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001020850/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17239 |archivedate=1 October 2006 }}
*{{WWF ecoregion|name=East African halophytics|id=at0901}}
Bright-red Lake Natron in Tanzania may not look inviting enough to take a dip – and that's a good thing: its water is extremely alkaline. The caustic lake has another strange quality: it appears to turn animals to stone.
The scarlet waters of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania are eye-catching enough by themselves. But when coupled with the sight of dead animals seemingly turned to stone, the lake appears even more eerie. So what's causing it?
The lake's extremely alkaline water has a pH as high as 10.5, similar to milk of magnesia, a treatment used to neutralize stomach acid. It owes its unusual chemistry to the surrounding volcanic geology: the minerals, particularly sodium carbonate, and salts created by volcanic processes flow into the lake from the surrounding hills. Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano, lies not far from the lake.
This raises the lake's alkalinity to far above water's normal neutral pH of 7. The lake actually takes its name from the naturally-occurring blend of chemicals it contains.
The water comes from mineral hot springs and a river, but the lake doesn't drain out to any sea or river – evaporation is how the shallow lake loses water, which can reach as high as 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit).
The reason for the lake’s colorful water is down to haloarchaea, microorganisams that flourish in its salty waters – the vermillion shade is even more stunning at the end of the dry season, when the water level is especially low.
While it may be paradise for haloarchaea, many creatures can't survive in such alkaline waters – but animals whose bodies are adapted to such pH levels also inhabit the lake, meaning Lake Natron is far from barren.
Flocks of flamingos, other birds and tilapia fish all call the lake their home. More than 2 million lesser flamingos use the lake as their primary breeding ground in Africa.
But when animals die and end up in the water, something odd happens: it looks like living animals turned to stone instantly on hitting the lake. But what actually happens is that the corpses of animals which died in the lake are sometimes preserved by the sodium carbonate minerals and other salts that were used by the ancient Egyptians for mummification - calcifying their bodies.
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