This article will talk about one of the corners of the earth that has turned into a barren desert as a result of improper agricultural practices by people.
General information
Previously, the Aral Sea was the fourth largest body of water in the world in terms of size. The death of the Aral Sea was the result of excessive water withdrawal to irrigate the vast agricultural lands of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Everything that happens to the Aral Sea is an irreparable environmental disaster.
A little more detail about this and much more concerning this natural reservoir will be discussed later in the article.
It’s even scary to imagine, but the area of the Aral Sea and its volume today are, respectively, only a quarter and about 10% of the original values.
The meaning of the name of the sea
This natural body of water contains a considerable number of islands. In this regard, it was called Aral. From the language of the indigenous population of these places, this word is translated as “sea of islands.”
The Aral Sea today: general characteristics, location
In fact, today it is drainless, salty, its location is Central Asia, the border areas of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Due to changes in currents and the Amu Darya that feed the sea, since the mid-20th century there has been a huge loss of water volume with a corresponding decrease in its surface, which caused an environmental disaster of unimaginable proportions.
Back in 1960, the Great Aral Sea was indeed like that. The surface of the water surface was 53 meters above sea level, and the total area was 68,000 square kilometers. Its extension was approximately 435 km from north to south and 290 km from east to west. Its average depth reached 16 meters, and the deepest places - 69 meters.
The Aral Sea today is a drying lake that has shrunk in size. It has gone 100 km from its previous coastline (for example, near the Uzbek city of Muynak).
Climate
The territory of the Aral Sea is characterized by continental climate with a large amplitude of temperature changes, with very hot summers and rather cold winters.
Insufficient precipitation (approximately 100 mm per year) does little to balance evaporation. The factors determining the water balance are river water supply from existing rivers and evaporation, which previously were approximately equal.
About the reasons for the disappearance of the Aral Sea
In fact, over the past 50 years the death of the Aral Sea has occurred. Since about 1960, the surface level of its waters began to decline rapidly and systematically. This was led to by the artificial reversal of currents and the Amu Darya in order to irrigate local fields. The USSR authorities began to transform the vast wastelands of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan into beautiful cultivated fields.
In connection with such large-scale actions, the amount of water entering the natural reservoir began to gradually decrease. Since the 1980s, during the summer months, two huge rivers began to dry up, not reaching the sea, and the reservoir, deprived of these tributaries, began to shrink. The Aral Sea is in a deplorable state today (the photo below demonstrates this).
The sea naturally split into two parts. This is how two bodies of water were created: in the south the Great Aral Sea (Big Aral); in the north - the Small Aral. Salinity has increased 3 times compared to the 50s.
According to 1992 data, the total area of both reservoirs decreased to 33.8 thousand square meters. km, and the water surface level dropped by 15 meters.
Of course, there were attempts by the governments of Central Asian countries to develop a policy of water-saving agriculture in order to stabilize the level of the Aral Sea by releasing volumes of river water. However, difficulties in coordinating decisions between Asian countries have made it impossible to bring projects on this issue to completion.
Thus, the Aral Sea was divided. Its depth has decreased significantly. Over time, almost 3 separate small lakes formed: the Big Aral (western and eastern lakes) and the Small Aral.
According to scientists, the southern part of the reservoir is expected to disappear by 2020.
Consequences
By the end of the 80s, the dried up Aral Sea had lost more than 1/2 of its volume. In this regard, the amount of salts and minerals sharply increased, which led to the extinction of the once rich fauna in this region, especially many species of fish.
The existing ports (in the north of Aralsk and in the south of Muynak) today are already many kilometers away from the lake shore line. Thus, the region was devastated.
In the 1960s, the total fish catch reached 40 thousand tons, and in the mid-80s, commercial fishing in the area ceased to exist. Thus, approximately 60 thousand jobs were lost.
The most common inhabitant of the sea was adapted to life in salty sea water (it was introduced in the 1970s). It disappeared from the Great Aral Sea in 2003, as the salinity of the water began to reach values of more than 70 g/l, which is almost 4 times more than in sea water, which is usual for such fish.
The state in which the Aral Sea is today has led to severe climate change and an increase in temperature amplitude.
And navigation here ceased due to the retreat of water for many kilometers from the main ports of the Aral Sea.
In the process of lowering in both reservoirs, the groundwater level fell, respectively, and this, in turn, accelerated the inevitable process of desertification of the area.
Renaissance Island
Fr. became the subject of special attention and care in the late 90s. Renaissance. In those days it was only 10 km. water separated the island from the mainland. The rapidly increasing accessibility of this island has become a particular problem, as during the Cold War the site was the center of various research related to Union biological weapons.
Also, in addition to such research, hundreds of tons of dangerous anthrax bacteria were buried there. Scientists were worried that in this way anthrax could spread again in areas inhabited by people. In 2001, Fr. Vozrozhdeniya has already connected to the mainland on its southern side.
The Aral Sea (photo of the modern reservoir above) is in a terribly deplorable state. And living conditions in the area began to deteriorate. For example, the residents of Karakalpakia, living in the territories located south of the Aral Sea, suffered the most.
Much of the lake's open bottom is responsible for numerous dust storms, carrying toxic dust with salts and pesticides throughout the region. In connection with these phenomena, people living where the so-called Great Aral Sea is located began to experience serious health problems, especially many cases of laryngeal cancer, kidney disease and anemia. And the infant mortality rate in this region is the highest in the world.
About flora and fauna
Already in the 1990s (in the middle), instead of the greenery of lush trees, grasses and shrubs on the former magnificent seashores, only rare bunches of plants (xerophytes and halophytes) were visible, somehow adapted to dry and highly saline soils.
Also, only 1/2 of the local species of birds and mammals have survived here due to climate change within 100 km from the original coastline (strong changes in temperature and air humidity).
Conclusion
The catastrophic ecological state that the once rather large Great Aral Sea has today brings a lot of trouble to distant regions.
Surprisingly, dust from the Aral Sea regions has even been found on the glaciers of Antarctica. And this is evidence that the disappearance of this water area greatly affected the global ecosystem. One should think about the fact that humanity must conduct its life activities thoughtfully, without causing such catastrophic harm to the environment that gives life to all living things.
The Aral Sea is a salty, endorheic lake located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The sea was most recently the world's fourth largest lake. Before the shallowing, fishing vessels and warships sailed the sea, fish factories stood on its shores, and life was in full swing in the ports. Flocks of birds flew over the Aral Sea, and gardens bloomed in coastal villages. Now a map of the Aral Sea shows that the sea is catastrophically shrinking, and scientists predict its complete drying out in the near future.
Studies have shown that in early historical eras there were already fluctuations in sea level, which is proven by the remains of mausoleums, settlements, and trees discovered on the shallow bottom. About 21 million years ago, the Aral Lake was connected to the Caspian Sea. In the 16th-17th centuries, sea levels dropped and islands formed, and at the beginning of the 19th century, the Zhanadarya and Kuandarya rivers stopped flowing into the Aral Lake.
In 1849, under the leadership of A. Butakov, the first expedition to study the Aral Sea took place, as a result of which a Marine Map of the reservoir was created. From the moment of Butakov’s first research until the middle of the 20th century, sea level remained almost unchanged. In the photo of the Aral Sea from the middle of the last century, the reservoir is shown as full-flowing and large-scale. The construction of irrigation canals, especially intensive in the 60s of the last century, led to the fact that large volumes of water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers flowing into the Aral were used to irrigate fields.
In 1989, the reservoir dried up so that two parts were formed - the Small and Large Aral Sea. In 2003, the Great Aral Sea was divided into separate zones - western and eastern. According to scientists, by 2020 it will be possible to see its southern part only in photographs and videos of the Aral Sea, since by this time it will be completely dry. Kazakhstan built a dam in 2003-2005, separating a small part from a larger one, in an attempt to preserve at least a small part of the reservoir.
Map of the Aral Sea in different years.
Nowadays, in the vicinity of the Aral Sea, in the places where it is located, the Aralkum desert is formed. The ecology of the entire region is in a deplorable state. The climate has changed - summers have become dry and hot, and winters have become cold. Periodically, clouds of dust and sand rise into the air above the dry bottom and scatter throughout the area, carrying the salt and pesticides they contain, fungicides, herbicides, and fertilizers from the fields. People began to leave these places a long time ago.
Video: Muynak, ship cemetery. The bottom of the Aral Sea.
Between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Aral Lake is located, which has a rich history, being one of the largest salt lakes in the world. But since the middle of the last century, it began to shrink due to the human factor; people needed water to water their livestock and irrigate the land.
Aral Lake: origin
More than 20 million years ago, the lake was a sea and connected to the Caspian Sea. However, scientists have established that it once became shallow and then filled with water again, since human remains dating back to the 1st millennium were found at the bottom, as well as the remains of trees that grew in this place.
An interesting discovery after the shallowing was the discovery of several mausoleums and the remains of two settlements. Scientists believed that peoples lived here, and the Kerderi mausoleum, dating back to approximately the 11th-14th centuries, and the remains of the Aral-Asar settlement, dating back to the 14th century, were preserved.
The change in water level was associated with natural cycles, when it waxed and waned, some rivers stopped flowing, and small islands formed. However, this did not affect the depth of the Aral Lake, continuing to be a large body of water in the world, although not connected with the World Ocean. The Aral military flotilla was located at sea, research was carried out, and the reservoir was studied.
In 1849, the first expedition led by A. Butakov was carried out. Then an approximate depth measurement was made, the Barsakelmes Islands were photographed and part of the Renaissance Islands were studied. These islands were formed at the end of the 16th century, when the water level was reduced. During the same expedition, meteorological and astronomical observations were carried out, and mineral samples were collected.
Research was carried out even when fighting was going on for the annexation of the Central Asian states, and the Aral Flotilla took part in these battles.
At the end of the 19th century, another expedition was created led by A. Nikolsky in the south, and academician Lev Berg in the north. They mainly studied climate, flora and fauna. In 1905, industrial fishing began when merchants Lapshin and Krasilnikov created fishing unions.
Catastrophe
In the 30s of the last century, people began to actively engage in agriculture. But the reservoir was still safe, and the water level did not decrease. In the 60s, its decline began, and already in 1961 the level decreased by 20 cm, and 2 years later by 80 cm. In the early 90s, the area decreased sharply, and the salt level increased 3 times, and it is impossible There was a clear answer: Is the Aral Lake fresh or salty?
In 1989, it completely split into two reservoirs, and they began to call it the Big Aral and the Small Aral. All this affected the amount of fish that remained only in Maly.
Aral Sea-lake: why did the disaster happen?
Having learned that this body of water had become so shallow, people wondered why this happened? After all, many live off rivers and lakes, use their waters not only for agriculture, but also for construction, for drinking, and they do not become shallow.
At one time, the sea area was 428 km long and 283 km wide. Residents located along the banks lived off the water, fished and made money in this way. For them, crushing turned into a tragedy, and by the beginning of the 21st century the area was only 14 thousand square meters. km.
Experts believe that this situation arose due to the fact that resources were distributed incorrectly. The Aral Sea was fed by the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, thanks to which up to 60 cubic meters entered the reservoir. km of water, but now this figure is only 5.
Rivers flowing in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are mountain reservoirs that began to be used for irrigation. At first it was planned to irrigate about 60 million hectares, and then this figure increased to 100 million hectares, and the reservoir simply did not have time to replenish.
Fauna
Catastrophe for the inhabitants of the shores of the Aral Sea came when it was divided into two parts and became increasingly salty, which made it impossible for fish to survive. As a result, there were no fish left in the Big Aral due to the high concentration of salt, and in the Small Aral its quantity decreased sharply.
Things were completely different before the drying out; once upon a time there were more than 30 species of fish, worms, crayfish and mollusks in the sea, 20 of which were commercial. People made a living by fishing, for example, in 1946 23 thousand tons were caught, in the early 80s 60 thousand tons.
Since salinity increased, the biodiversity of living organisms began to decrease sharply and first invertebrates and freshwater fish died, then brackish water fish disappeared, and when the concentration increased to 25%, species of Caspian origin also disappeared, leaving only euryhaline organisms.
In the 80s, they tried to correct the situation a little and created hydraulic structures, which reduced the salinity in the Small Aral and even fish such as grass carp and pike perch appeared, i.e. the fauna was partially restored.
In the large Aral Sea, things were worse and the salt concentration reached 57% in 1997, and the fish gradually began to disappear. If by the beginning of 2000 there were 5 species of fish and 2 species of gobies, then in 2004 the entire fauna died completely.
Environmental consequences
If you see an animation of satellite images from 2000 to 2011, you can understand how rapidly the reservoir has shrunk, that now, looking from a satellite, you wonder: where is Lake Aral, why is it disappearing and what could this threaten?
The fact that the fauna died due to the high concentration of salt is one of the consequences. This led to the fact that residents lost their jobs, and the ports of Aralsk and Kazakhdarya ceased to exist.
In addition, toxic chemicals and pesticides coming from the fields into the bed of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya ended up in the sea, and now everything remains on the shallow salty bottom, and due to the winds it is all spread over many kilometers.
Small Aral Sea
In 1989, when the Berg Strait dried up, the Small Aral Lake was formed, but a few years later, when the use of the Syr Darya River sharply decreased, the strait began to fill with water again, which is why the Small Lake filled up, from where it flowed into the Big Lake. This situation led to the influx of over 100 m³ of water literally in a second, which led to the deepening of the channel, erosion of the natural barrier, and subsequently the complete drying of the North Sea.
In 1992, experts came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create an artificial dam. The level of the Small Aral Lake increased, the salinity of the water decreased, and the Saryshyganak Strait was revived, and the separation of Butakov and Shevchenko Bay was prevented. Flora and fauna began to recover.
The natural levee was fragile and often collapsed during floods, and in 1999 it was completely destroyed by a storm. This again influenced a sharp decrease in water, and the leadership of Kazakhstan came to the conclusion that it was necessary to build a capital dam in the Berg Strait. Construction lasted for a year, and already in 2005 the Kokaral dam was created, which meets all technical requirements. The difference between this dam and a dam is that it has a culvert structure, which allows excess water to be discharged during floods and maintain the level at a safe level.
Great Aral Sea
Things are completely different with the Big Sea; significant changes have occurred literally over the last 15 years. In 1997, salinity levels exceeded 50%, which led to the death of fauna.
In the same year, the island of Barsakelmes joined the land, and in 2001, Vozrozhdeniya Island, where biological weapons were tested.
The entire sea was first divided into 2 parts: northern and southern, but in 2003 the southern part was divided into east and west. In 2004, Lake Tuschibas was formed in the eastern part, and when the Kokaral dam was built in 2005, the influx of water from the Small Aral Sea stopped, and the Large one began to decrease sharply.
In subsequent years, the Eastern Sea completely dried up, the salinity in the Western Sea was 100%, and the area of the Southern Aral changed with varying degrees of success. In 2015, all parts decreased in size, and it is possible that the western reservoir may soon split into 2 parts.
Climate
The change in the area and size of the Aral Sea also affected the climate - it became drier and colder, continental, and where the sea receded, a salt desert appeared. In winter, frosty times, when water does not freeze on the surface, the so-called “snow lake effect” appears. This is the process of cumulonimbus clouds where cold air moves over warm lake water and this leads to the development of convective clouds.
Land in the sea
The Aral Lake began to shrink sharply in the last century, as a result of which new lands were formed. Some of them have become especially interesting to scientists and researchers:
- The island of Barsakelmes, which is distinguished by its amazing nature, where one of the large nature reserves is located. This territory belongs to Kazakhstan.
- Kokaral Island also belongs to Kazakhstan, and in 2016 it was an isthmus that connected two parts of the former sea.
- Renaissance Island belongs to two countries - Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. There is a lot of biological waste buried on this island.
Facts of recent history
Even in ancient Arab chronicles, Lake Aral was mentioned, which was once one of the largest in the world. Today it is even difficult to say right away where the Aral Lake is, which is so difficult to find on the map.
Scientists study this natural object, and someone finds the cause of the disaster in something completely different. Some believe that this happened due to the destruction of the bottom layers, and the water simply does not reach the place, others consider a different point of view, believing that due to climate change, negative changes are occurring in the glaciers that feed the Syr Darya and Amu Darya.
Once upon a time, the former wastewater Aral Lake was well studied by a member of the Russian Geographical Society L. Berg, who wrote a book about it “Essays on the History of Research of the Aral Sea”. He believed that in ancient times none of the ancient Greek and Roman peoples described this body of water, although it had been known about it for a very long time.
When the sea began to become shallower and land appeared in the 60s of the last century, Renaissance Island was formed, which is divided into the territory of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, 78% and 22% respectively. Uzbekistan has decided to conduct geological exploration in search of oil, many experts believe that if minerals are found, this could lead to a clash between the two countries.
Lessons for the whole world
Many experts believed until recently that it was not possible to restore the salty Aral Lake. However, progress has been made in restoring the northern Small Aral, including thanks to the built dam.
Before destroying nature, it is worth thinking about what the consequences might be, and the Aral Sea is a clear example for everyone. People can easily destroy the natural environment, but then the restoration process will be long and difficult. Thus, Lake Chad in Central Africa and Lake Salton Sea in the USA may suffer the same consequences.
The tragedy of the Aral Sea was also touched upon in art. In 2001, the Kazakh rock opera “Takyr” was staged, and the book “Barsakelmes” was written by the Uzbek writer Jonrid Abdullakhanov. Similar relationships between man and nature are revealed in the film “Dogs.”
One of the border objects separating Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is the endorheic salty Aral Sea. In its heyday, this lake-sea was considered the fourth largest in the world in terms of the volume of water it contained; its depth reached 68 meters.
In the 20th century, when the Republic of Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union, the waters and bottom of the sea were explored by specialists. As a result of radiocarbon analysis, it was established that this reservoir was formed in the prehistoric era, approximately 20-24 thousand years ago.
At that time, the landscape of the earth's surface was constantly changing. Full-flowing rivers changed their courses, islands and entire continents appeared and disappeared. The main role in the formation of this water body was played by the rivers, which at different times filled the sea called the Aral Sea.
In primitive times, the stone basin containing a large lake was filled with the waters of the Syr Darya. Then it really was no more than an ordinary lake. But after one of the shifts of tectonic plates, the Amu Darya River changed its original course, ceasing to feed the Caspian Sea.
Great waters and periods of drought in the history of the sea
Thanks to the powerful support of this river, the large lake replenished its water balance, becoming a real sea. Its level rose to 53 meters. Significant changes in the water landscape of the area and increased depth became the causes of climate humidification.
Through the Sarakamyshen depression it connects with the Caspian Sea, and its level rises to 60 meters. These favorable changes occurred in the 4th-8th millennium BC. At the turn of the 3rd millennium BC, aridization processes took place in the Aral Sea region.
The bottom again became closer to the water surface, and the waters dropped to 27 meters above sea level. The depression connecting two seas – the Caspian and Aral – is drying up.
The level of the Aral Sea fluctuates between 27-55 meters, alternating periods of revival and decline. The great medieval regression (drying out) came 400-800 years ago, when the bottom was hidden under 31 meters of water
Chronicle history of the sea
The first documentary evidence confirming the existence of a large salt lake can be found in Arab chronicles. These chronicles were kept by the great Khorezm scientist Al-Biruni. He wrote that the Khorezmians already knew about the existence of a deep sea from 1292 BC.
V.V. Bartholdi mentions that during the conquest of Khorezm (712-800), the city stood on the eastern coast of the Aral Sea, of which detailed evidence has been preserved. The ancient writings of the holy book Avesta have brought to this day a description of the Vaksh River (present-day Amu Darya), which flows into Lake Varakh.
In the mid-19th century, a geological expedition of scientists (V. Obruchev, P. Lessor, A. Konshin) carried out work in the coastal region. Shore deposits discovered by geologists gave the right to assert that the sea occupied the area of the Sarakamyshin depression and the Khiva oasis. And during the migration of rivers and drying out, the mineralization of water sharply increased and salts fell to the bottom.
Facts of the recent history of the sea
The presented documentary evidence is collected in the book “Essays on the history of research of the Aral Sea”, written by a member of the Russian Geographical Society L. Berg. It is interesting to note that, according to L. Berg, neither ancient Greek nor ancient Roman historical or archaeological works contain any information about such an object.
During periods of regression, when the seabed was partially exposed, islands became isolated. In 1963, along one of the islands, Revival Island, a border was drawn between the territories occupied by present-day Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan: 78.97% of Revival Island is occupied by Uzbekistan, and 21.03% by Kazakhstan.
In 2008, Uzbekistan began geological exploration work on Vozrozhdenie Island in order to discover oil and gas layers. Thus, Renaissance Island may turn out to be a “stumbling block” in the economic policies of the two countries.
It is planned to complete the bulk of geological exploration work in 2016. And already at the end of 2016, the LUKOIL corporation and Uzbekistan will drill two appraisal wells on Vozrozhdenie Island, taking into account seismic data.
Ecological situation in the Aral Sea region
What is the Small and Large Aral Sea? The answer can be obtained by studying the drying up of the Aral Sea. At the end of the 20th century, this reservoir was visited by another regression - drying out. It splits into two independent objects - the Southern Aral and the Small Aral Sea.
Why did the Aral Sea disappear?
The water surface decreased to ¼ of its original value, and the maximum depth approached 31 meters, which was evidence of a significant (up to 10% of the initial volume) reduction in water in the already disintegrated sea.
Fishing, which once flourished on the lake-sea, left the southern reservoir - the large Aral Sea - due to the strong mineralization of the water. The Small Aral Sea has retained some fishing enterprises, but fish stocks there have also decreased significantly. The reasons why the sea bottom was exposed and individual islands appeared were:
- Natural alternation of periods of regression (drying out); during one of them, in the middle of the 1st millennium, there was a “city of the dead” at the bottom of the Aral Sea, as evidenced by the fact that there is a mausoleum here, next to which several burials were discovered.
- Drainage-collector waters and domestic wastewater from surrounding fields and vegetable gardens, containing pesticides and toxic chemicals, enter rivers and settle to the bottom of the sea.
- The Central Asian rivers Amudarya and Syrdarya, partially flowing through the territory of the state of Uzbekistan, have reduced the recharge of the Aral Sea by 12 times due to the diversion of their waters for irrigation needs.
- Global climate change: the greenhouse effect, the destruction and melting of mountain glaciers, and this is where Central Asian rivers originate.
The climate in the Aral Sea region has become harsher: cooling begins already in August, the summer air has become very dry and hot. Steppe winds blowing across the bottom of the sea carry toxic chemicals and pesticides across the entire Eurasian continent.
Aral is navigable
Back in the XYIII-XIX centuries, the depth of the sea was passable for a military flotilla, which included steamships and sailing ships. And scientific and research vessels penetrated the secrets that were hidden by the depths of the sea. In the last century, the depths of the Aral Sea abounded in fish and were suitable for navigation.
Until the next period of drying out at the end of the 70s of the 20th century, when the seabed began to sharply approach the surface, ports were located on the shores of the sea:
- Aralsk is the former center of the fishing industry on the Aral Sea; now here is the administrative center of one of the districts of the Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan. It was here that the start was given for the revival of fishing. The dam, built on the outskirts of the city, increased to 45 meters the depth of one of the parts into which the Small Aral Sea broke up, which has already made it possible to engage in fish farming. By 2016, fishing for flounder and freshwater fish has been established here: pike perch, catfish, Aral barbel, and asp. More than 15 thousand tons of fish were caught in the Small Aral Sea in 2016.
- Muynak is located on the territory of the state of Uzbekistan, the former port and the sea are separated by 100-150 kilometers of steppe, on the site of which there was a seabed.
- Kazakhdarya is a former port located on the territory of the state of Uzbekistan.
New land
The exposed bottom became islands. The largest islands stand out:
- Vozrozhdeniya Island, the southern part of which is located on the territory of the state of Uzbekistan, and the northern part belongs to Kazakhstan; as of 2016, Vozrozhdeniya Island is a peninsula on which a large amount of biological waste is buried;
- Barsakelmes Island; belongs to Kazakhstan, located 180 km from Aralsk; as of 2016, the Barsakalme Nature Reserve is located on this island in the Aral Sea;
- Kokaral Island is located in the north of the former Aral Sea on the territory of Kazakhstan; Currently (as of 2016) it is a land isthmus connecting a large sea that has split into two parts.
Currently (as of 2016), all former islands are connected to the mainland.
Location of the Aral Sea on the map
Travelers and tourists visiting Uzbekistan are interested in the question: where is the mysterious Aral Sea, the depth of which in many places is zero? What do the Small and Large Aral Seas look like in 2016?
Caspian and Aral Sea on the map
The problems of the Aral Sea and the dynamics of its drying out are clearly visible on the satellite map. On an ultra-precise map depicting the territory occupied by Uzbekistan, one can trace a trend that could mean the death and disappearance of the sea. And the effects of a changing climate on the entire continent, which could result from the disappearing Aral Sea, will be catastrophic.
The problem of reviving a drying water body has become international. The real way to save the Aral Sea could be a project to divert Siberian rivers. In any case, the World Bank, when 2016 began, allocated $38 million to the countries of the Central Asian region to solve the problem of the Aral Sea and mitigate the climate consequences in the region caused by disastrous processes in the Aral Sea.
Video: Documentary film about the Aral Sea
The Aral Sea is a lake located on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. According to the calculations of scientific researchers Aral Sea arose 25 thousand years ago. This has been proven by radiocarbon studies of bottom remains.
Now there is little left of it, it is divided into 2 parts. Most of it belongs to Uzbekistan and is intensively used for cotton irrigation, which leads to its destruction. This phenomenon, despite its harmfulness, does not really worry Uzbekistan.
The fact is that on the dry bottom, geological exploration of oil began, which is carried out by Lukoil structures, they practically found oil in large volumes. Uzbekistan hopes for the benefits of oil development and is not investing in the fight against the drying up of the Aral Sea.
Kazakhstan behaves differently and invests large resources in preserving the remnants of the Aral Sea. This state carried out the construction of a dam and the waters of the Syrdarya fill the remains of a large reservoir and make the water less salty.
Kazakhstan is investing in commercial fish farming, including valuable species. The fruits of these efforts are already making it possible to begin to restore the fishing fleet in the Aral Sea.
History of the drying process of the Aral Sea
Several million years ago between bodies of water Caspian Sea And Aral Sea there was a stable connection, they were one whole. This is not the first time that the Aral Sea has become shallow after its separation from the Caspian Sea.
Serious shallowing was observed in the 4th century AD. It was man-made. The medieval state of Khorezm turned into a powerful power and created a unique irrigation system that was supplied with water from the Amu Darya.
The Aral Sea has become very shallow, and now mausoleums that were created in those days are found on its dried bottom. But the hordes of conquerors destroyed the state of Khorezm, virtually wiped it off the face of the earth, and the uncontrollable Amu Darya returned to its former course and refilled the Aral Sea.
The Aral Sea reached its maximum volume in the 16th century, when all the tributaries of the lake turned towards it. This volume of the Aral Sea remained until the mid-twentieth century.
The Aral Sea constantly fluctuates in size. Scientists have calculated that over 3 thousand years this lake has shrunk and retreated from its shores 5 times.
Reasons for the drying up of the Aral Sea
The reason for the drying out, according to hydrologists of the last century
In the last century, why the Aral Sea was drying up was extremely clear. Active agricultural activity is to blame for everything.
Until now, on many pages of the Internet, the developed irrigation system of Uzbekistan is called a crime of Soviet power. Everyone was sure that the drying up of the Aral Sea was caused by the drainage of water from the rivers, tributaries of this reservoir.
The irrigation system for watering cotton fields took away most of the volume of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. This allowed Kazakhstan to blame Uzbekistan for everything. It is impossible to completely deny this fact; Uzbekistan mercilessly exploited its part of the Aral Sea.
Of course, this circumstance played a significant role in the dehydration of the Aral Sea, but everyone somehow did not pay attention to this fact.
Active intake into artificial ditches in Central Asia has occurred since the thirties, and the reduction of the lake’s water surface began in the sixties.
For thirty years nothing serious happened. And this is serious evidence that agriculture does not play a major role in the drying up of the Aral Sea.
The reason for the drying out, according to twenty-first century hydrologists
Since 2010, an increasing number of scientists are inclined to believe that the main reason for the decrease in the water surface of the Aral Sea is the flow of water underground through the bottom layers.
The fact is that not only the Aral Sea is disappearing. In Africa, the area of the large Lake Chad is rapidly decreasing; in America, Lake Salton City is disappearing before our eyes. There are more and more supporters of the theory that in this case there is a leakage of water into underground horizons.
Some climatologists suggest that we are observing the primary phenomena of a future change in large lakes, in which deep lakes, such as our Baikal, will increase in size, and small lakes, up to 200 meters deep, will shrink or dry up completely.
The modern reason for the drying up of the Aral Sea
The theory that arose in this century that an ancient bridge between the Caspian and Aral seas opened in the underground horizons is gaining a number of supporters.
Scientists developing this theory draw attention to the strange coincidence in time between the decrease in the Aral Sea and the increase. They claim this is why the Aral Sea is drying up.
Unfortunately, there is no other evidence for this theory yet. However, it has recently been proven by satellite photographs that one of the serious branches of the Amu Darya channel has made its way through the sands to the Caspian Sea. Thus, the river naturally reduced the flow of water into the drying lake.
There is a growing number of supporters of the theory that the process of fluctuations in the volume of the Aral Sea does not depend on human activity and has climatic natural causes. They all believe that the waters of the Aral flow through bottom routes into the Caspian Sea. Hydrologists are attaching increasing importance to the hypothesis of water escaping into the bowels of the Earth.
Last year, articles appeared in foreign scientific sources proving that 63% of water losses on the planet should be attributed to this growing phenomenon. Natural filtration of soil and loss of water into the Aral Sea is currently estimated to account for 60% of the total impact on the disappearing lake.
Reason on a planetary scale
Nowadays, foreign hydrologists believe that the reason for the rapid drying out of the reservoir is a significant decrease in the amount of precipitation in this region.
The fact is that the decrease in the water surface of the Aral Sea is associated with a decrease in the amount of precipitation in winter and summer. And the low amount of rain is associated with the progressive reduction of the Pamir glaciers, which are the main regulator of the climate of this region.
The decrease in precipitation is due to a serious reduction in ice and snow deposits in all the mountains of Central Asia, which is an inevitable consequence of climate warming. The total influence of climate is 15% of the negative factors causing the shallowing of the lake.
In 2014, according to NASA satellite images, the eastern half of the Aral Sea dried up, which was attributed to low rainfall. However, underground water sources do not allow this part of the reservoir to dry out completely.
Thanks to the costly efforts of the state, the Kazakh part of the Aral Sea has stopped drying up. The water of the Syr Darya, which flows into this part of the lake, has ceased to be used predatorily. In addition, this part of the lake was fenced off from the main part, which belongs to Uzbekistan, by a dam.
