Changes in the form and biota of the Aral Sea over time

Аладин, Н. В.; Плотников, И. С.; Orlova, M. I.; Филиппов, А. П.; Smurov, A. O.; Pirulin, D. D.; Rusakova, O. M.; Жакова, Л. В.

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-61182-7_4

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…This increased the water inflow into the lake by about threefold. The reason for the changed course of the Amu Dar’ya was most likely the result of the onset of a wetter climate that increased the river’s flow, flooding the Amu Dar’ya valley, with subsequent spilling over into the Zeravshan River valley (Aladin et al. 1996).…”

Section: Past Aral Sea Water Level Fluctuationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As might be expected, the early transgressions and regressions of the Aral Sea are not as well known as later events. The so‐called Paskevich terrace at ≈31 m dates back to 9000–11 000 bp , being associated with a shift in the climate of Central Asia from the moist conditions of the late Pleistocene (which led to the initial filling of the Aral Sea depression) to the cold/dry environment of the early Holocene (Vinogradov & Mamedov 1991; Aladin et al. 1996).…”

Section: Past Aral Sea Water Level Fluctuationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1987, 1988). Aladin et al. (1996) present a map illustrating extensive irrigated areas along both the lower Syr and lower Amu Dar’ya by 1600 bp Oberhänsli et al.…”

Section: Past Aral Sea Water Level Fluctuationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The past, present, and future Aral Sea

Micklin¹

2010

Lakes & Reservoirs

181

107

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The Aral Sea, a once vast brackish terminal lake in the heart of Central Asia, has been rapidly drying since the 1960s. It had separated into four separate waterbodies by September 2009. The maximum water level decline was more than 26 m, whereas the lake surface area decreased 88% and the water volume 92%. The lake salinity increased by more than 20-fold. Prior to the modern recession, the Aral Sea experienced a number of water level declines and subsequent recoveries over the last 10 millennia. The main causative factor until the 1960s was the periodic westward diversion of the Amu Dar'ya, the main influent river, towards the Caspian Sea by both natural and human forces. The post-1960 recession, however, was overwhelmingly the result of unsustainable irrigation development. The lake's modern recession has caused a broad range of severe negative ecological, economic and human welfare problems. To restore the Aral Sea to its 1960s' size and ecological condition would be very difficult, if not impossible, in the foreseeable future. The plight of the Aral Sea, however, is far from hopeless. Partial restoration of portions of the lake is still feasible. A project to raise the Small (northern) Sea was completed in Fall 2005, raising its water level by 2 m, and lowering its salinity to a level not much higher than the early 1960 levels. Its ecological recovery has been dramatic, and a new project to improve further the Small Aral was recently announced. Improving the Large (southern) lake would be much more difficult and expensive. A project to save the deep Western Basin partially is technically feasible, however, and should be given careful evaluation. It is important to repair and preserve what is left of the deltas of the two tributary rivers, Syr Dar'ya and Amu Dar'ya, as these two rivers are of great ecological and economic value, and act as biological refugia for endemic species of the Aral Sea.

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Section: Past Aral Sea Water Level Fluctuationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Past Aral Sea Water Level Fluctuationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The past, present, and future Aral Sea

Micklin¹

2010

Lakes & Reservoirs

181

107

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“…1) [8,10]. L'histoire sédimentaire de la mer d'Aral est jalonnée par plusieurs épisodes transgressifs et régressifs [1,3,14,16,25,38] ; les hauts niveaux sont marqués par des accumulations de silts, les bas niveaux par des carbonates. Le forage analysé (carotte 48) a été effectué dans la partie centrale du bassin, sous une profondeur d'eau de 25 m. De 4 m de longueur, il a recoupé les alternances les plus récentes (jusqu'à 9000 ans BP).…”

Section: Résuméunclassified

Preliminary data on chemical changes in the Aral Sea during low-level periods from the last 9000 years

Callonnec

Person

Renard

et al. 2005

Comptes Rendus. Géoscience

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The withdrawal of the Aral Sea tributaries (Amu and Syr Daria) for cultures has led to significant falls of its level and an important increase in its salinity. During the Holocene, a succession of low and high water inputs occurred. Silty deposits correspond to the high levels and carbonates to the low levels. This study makes a distinction between the Syr Daria and the Amu Daria water inputs during low-level periods by using mineralogical and chemical compositions of the carbonates deposits. Waters from the Syr Daria are more sulphatic and have a low iron content in comparison with that of the Amu Daria. The Syr Daria was the major tributary around 7500, 4956 and 970 yr BP, whereas around 6200 and 3610 yr BP, inflow also from the Amu Daria is observed.

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“…When the Aral became divided into two basins during 1988–1989, the average salinity had reached 30 g L −1 (Table 1), with only widely euryhaline species able to survive. After construction of the dam in the former Berg’s Strait, the water level of the Small Aral Sea increased, and the salinity gradually starting to decrease (Aladin et al. 1996, 1998).…”

Section: Increasing Water Salinitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Aral Sea and the Dead Sea: Disparate lakes with similar histories

et al. 2010

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In spite of significant differences in their sizes, depths, salinity and other properties, the Aral Sea and the Dead Sea share many features, as illustrated by a comparison of the histories of both water bodies. Fifteenth and early sixteenth century maps, based on the 'Geography' of Ptolemy, contain both lakes. The first successful limnological surveys of the lakes were made in the same year 1848, when Alexey Butakov explored the Aral Sea and William Lynch mapped the Dead Sea. Paintings and drawings by Taras Shevchenko (Aral Sea) and David Roberts (Dead Sea) document the landscapes around the lakes in the first half of the 19th century. The water balance of both lakes has been strongly negative in the past decades, leading to a decreased water surface area and volume for both lakes, their increased salinity and deterioration of their local infrastructures. Complex and expensive mitigation schemes have been proposed for both lakes, based on the import of large quantities of water from distant sources via canals or pipelines (i.e. Siberian rivers or Caspian Sea to supply water to the Aral Sea, Mediterranean Sea or Red Sea, to be connected with the Dead Sea). Less dramatic solutions to improve the local situations already have resulted in improved water quality in the Aral Sea, and partial restoration of its fisheries. In contrast, the Dead Sea remains much too saline to support higher forms of life. Nevertheless, a biblical prophecy predicts that even this most hypersaline of all lakes will eventually be teeming with fish of many kinds.

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Changes in the form and biota of the Aral Sea over time

Cited by 9 publications

References 2 publications

The past, present, and future Aral Sea

The past, present, and future Aral Sea

Preliminary data on chemical changes in the Aral Sea during low-level periods from the last 9000 years

The Aral Sea and the Dead Sea: Disparate lakes with similar histories

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