Aral Sea
The Aral Sea (Kazakh: [Арал теңізі] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (Aral tengizi), Uzbek: Orol dengizi, Russian: Аральскοе мοре) was a lake in Central Asia. It is between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south.
| Aral Sea | |
|---|---|
| Location | Kazakhstan - Uzbekistan, Central Asia |
| Coordinates | 45°N 60°E / 45°N 60°ECoordinates: 45°N 60°E / 45°N 60°E |
| Lake type | endorheic, natural lake, reservoir (North) |
| Primary inflows | North: Syr Darya South: groundwater only (previously the Amu Darya) |
| Catchment area | 1,549,000 km2 (598,100 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
| Surface area | 17,160 km2 (6,626 sq mi) (2004, four lakes) 28,687 km2 (11,076 sq mi) (1998, two lakes) 68,000 km2 (26,300 sq mi) (1960, one lake) North: 3,300 km2 (1,270 sq mi) (2008) South: 3,500 km2 (1,350 sq mi) (2005) |
| Average depth | North: 8.7 m (29 ft) (2007) South: 14–15 m (46–49 ft)(2005) |
| Max. depth | North: 42 m (138 ft) (2008)[1] 18 m (59 ft) (2007) 30 m (98 ft) (2003) South: 37–40 m (121–131 ft) (2005) 102 m (335 ft) (1989) |
| Water volume | North: 27 km3 (6 cu mi) (2007) |
| Surface elevation | North: 42 m (138 ft) (2007) South: 29 m (95 ft) (2007) 53.4 m (175 ft) (1960)[2] |
Since the 1960s, the Aral Sea shrank. 90% of the sea has gone.[3] The rivers that fed it (the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya) were used by the Soviet Union for irrigating cotton production. What is left of the Aral Sea is heavily polluted, largely as the result of weapons testing, industrial projects, and fertilizer runoff before and after the breakup of the Soviet Union.[3]
There is a project to save at least the northern part of the Aral Sea. For this, a dam was built in the 1990 to stop water running off. Climate improved in the following years, and water levels rose again. However, that dam broke, and was rebuilt in 2005, with international funding.[4]
Another problem was that Rebirth Island had been used for the testing of biological weapons until 1993. It is currently contaminated with anthrax, the plague, and tularemia. Since 2001, it is no longer an island, but a peninsula.
Gallery
- - 1849 - 1853 Survey of the Sea of Aral by Bytakoff.jpg
Map of the Aral Sea in 1853.
- Aral sea 1985 from STS.jpg
Satellite image of the Aral Sea taken in 1985. (south at the top)
- Aral Sea 1997 from STS cropped.jpg
Satellite image of the Aral Sea taken in 1997. (south at the top)
- Karte aralsee.jpg
2004 photo of the Aral Sea (The black lines are where it was in 1850)
- Modis aral.jpg
Rebirth island (an island in the Aral Sea) joins the mainland (2000/2001)
- AralSea ComparisonApr2005-06.jpg
North Aral Sea, comparison April 2005/2006 (showing the sea has grown)
- Aral Sea.gif
Shrinking of the Aral Sea 1960-2014
- Aral sea.gif
Aral Sea Animation 2000-2011.
- Aralsea tmo 2014231 lrg.jpg
The East Aral Sea completely dries up in 2014
- Aral in April 2018 (Iss055e018638 lrg).jpg
The East Aral Sea is reflooded in 2018
- Aral Sea 2021.jpg
The East Aral Sea dries up again in 2021
- Aral Sea.jpg
A Boat on what used to be the Aral Sea
- Historic Photos of the Aral Sea, Mo‘ynoq.jpg
A Harbor off what used to be the Aral Sea
Aral Sea Media
- Pseudoscaphirhynchus fedtschenkoi.jpg
The Syr Darya sturgeon (Pseudoscaphirhynchus fedtschenkoi) was a primitive species of fish possibly driven to extinction by the shrinkage of the Aral Sea.
- Ukrainian stickleback (Pungitius platygaster).jpg
The Ukrainian stickleback (Pungitius platygaster) was the only native species of the Aral Sea to survive its reduction and salinization.
- Platichthys flesus 1.jpg
The European flounder (Platichthys flesus) was a saltwater fish introduced to the Aral Sea.
- Mylopharyngodon piceus.jpg
The black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) was a freshwater fish introduced to the Aral Sea.
- Zebra mussel (8741971412).jpg
Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), a former dominant member of the sea's benthic fauna that has since returned to the North Aral Sea.
- Artemia parthenogenetica (Salinas de Añana).jpg
Parthenogenic brine shrimp (Artemia parthenogenetica), the dominant crustacean of the South Aral Sea and its fragments.
First Russian boats on the Aral Sea, watercolor by Taras Shevchenko, 1848
- Survey of the Sea of Aral 1853.jpg
- SurveyoftheSeaofAral
- Michell-Russian-steam-barges-Kungrad.jpg
Ships of Imperial Russian Navy's Aral Flotilla in the 1850s
- Operational Navigation Chart F-5, 6th edition.jpg
Map including the Aral Sea and surrounding region (DMA, 1979)
- Shrinking Aral Sea 2000-2018.webm
Satellite images show the changing water levels in the Aral Sea from 2000 to 2018.
References
- ↑ The Kazakh Miracle: Recovery of the North Aral Sea. Environment News Service. 2008-08-01. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2008/2008-08-01-01.asp. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
- ↑ JAXA - South Aral Sea shrinking but North Aral Sea expanding
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Qobil, Rustam 2015. Waiting for the sea. BBC News
- ↑ "Aral Sea Reborn". Al Jazeera. July 21, 2012. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
Other websites
Media related to Aral Sea at Wikimedia Commons