Nature and Economy in the Aral Sea Basin

White, Kristopher D.

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-02356-9_12

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…The water level of the Aral Sea was in a relatively stable state before the 1960s but has declined sharply over the last 50 years, largely due to water abstraction for land irrigation from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, which recharge the Aral Sea (Cretaux et al 2013;White 2014). After 2000, the Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan governments took a series of measures to save the Aral Sea, but these did not prevent the Aral Sea from radical shrinkage.…”

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confidence: 97%

Temporal Variability and Potential Diffusion Characteristics of Dust Aerosol Originating from the Aral Sea Basin, Central Asia

Abuduwaili

et al. 2016

Water Air Soil Pollut

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The drastic desiccation of the Aral Sea has led to severe desertification of the former lake areas. Dust storms occur frequently, causing regional environmental degradation of the Aral basin and a serious ecological disaster. Knowledge of the temporal variability in dust emissions and the potential diffusion characteristics of dust aerosol originating from the Aral Sea basin in recent years are, however, lacking. To address this knowledge gap, we studied the interannual and intraannual changes in dust aerosol from the Aral Sea basin and its potentially seasonal diffusion characteristics from 2005 to 2013 using Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol data (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013) and the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. Results show that the OMI aerosol index (AI) annual mean, standard deviation, median, and maximum values exhibit a strong increasing trend because of the continuous decrease in the water level since 2005. The annually mean OMI AI increases to 1.47 by 2013. Peak AI values are recorded in spring (March-May) and early winter (November-January of the following year), indicating notifying seasonal differences. The potential distance and height of air parcel trajectories to the northeast are greater than those to the west and south, whereas the air parcel trajectory proportion of the former is lower than that of the latter. The potential transport distance of dust aerosol to the northeast is greatest in spring and winter. This transport distance is less in autumn, with the minimum observed in summer. Dust transport distance to the west and south in different seasons is not significantly different. The present results may help in further understanding the emission, long-range transport, and deposition of dust from the dry lake bed of the Aral Sea as well as providing a motivation for the sensible use and protection of these tail-end lakes.

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confidence: 97%

Temporal Variability and Potential Diffusion Characteristics of Dust Aerosol Originating from the Aral Sea Basin, Central Asia

Abuduwaili

et al. 2016

Water Air Soil Pollut

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“…The most commercially exploited species were roach (Rutilus rutilus aralensis), sazan (Cyprinus Carpio Aralensis), and bream (Abramis brama orientalis) (Sapozhnikov et al, 2010b) [52] . Due to a decrease in surface area due to the artificial irrigation system, subsequently increasing salinity (Aladin et al, 2019; Plotnikov et al, 2014) [2,45] of the Aral Sea, the fish industry was completely devastated (White, 2014) [68] .…”

Section: Socio-economic Turmoilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environment problems of the Aral Sea basin in central Asia and its impact on society, economy, and regional security

Kumar

2023

Int. J. Geogr. Geol. Environ.

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The Aral Sea, situated among five Central Asian republics, has dramatically shrunk over the last 60 years, causing catastrophic socio-economic and environmental consequences. Anthropogenic activities, stemming from industrialization and competition since the Tsar era, intensified during the Cold War, disrupting the self-regulating Aral Basin hydraulic system. This article delves into the multilayer factors contributing to the Aral Sea crisis, tracing back to Soviet dreams of cotton cultivation that led to the disappearance of a vast inland lake. The construction of canals for artificial irrigation caused the dried seabed, resulting in dust storms and reduced freshwater availability. The collapse of the fishing industry led to unemployment and migration. Climate changes and unsustainable water exploitation from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers compounded socio-economic problems. Despite the initial focus on sustainable exploitation, this study emphasizes the overlooked impact of the Aral Sea crisis on regional security. In this article, I tried to draw a picture in to reflect on the multilayer factors that resulted in the crises of the Aral Sea. The most disastrous environmental catastrophe of the 20th century is often referred to as "Unknown Chernobyl." I stretched back to the history of Soviet dreams that aimed to create a land of heaven in the deserts to fill it with white gold, i.e. cotton; initially successful but resulted in the disappearance of one of the largest inland lakes in the world. So, this paper also explores the impact of the Aral Sea crisis on regional security, which got less academic attention. All these issues remained a major focus of my study.

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“…It will also be hard for other states surrounding the lake basin to negotiate new inflow dynamic thresholds, given similar or related economic growth plans. Water stress in the Aral Sea region can be viewed as the byproduct of the agricultural water requirement of cotton and other water-intensive crops [66]. To put these numbers into perspective, note that about 8000 liters of water are needed to produce 1 kg of the consumed product of cotton, which means that to create one cotton shirt (weight of 250 g), approximately 2000 liters of water is needed [67].…”

Section: Case Study 3: the Aral Sea Region In Central Asiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Geospatial Assessment of Water-Migration Scenarios in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6, 11, and 16

Nagabhatla

Brahmbhatt

2020

Remote Sensing

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Communities and countries around the world are gearing up efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda goals and targets. In this paper, the water and migration scenarios are explained with a focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 (water-related), 11 (urbanization), and 16 (peace and political stability). The study has two phases. The first phase illustrates the application of geospatial data and tools to assess the water-migration interlinkages (nexus) by employing a case study approach. Three case studies, Lake Chad, the Aral Sea region, and the Nile Delta, representing various geographic and socio-political settings, were selected to perform the multitemporal analysis. For this analysis, a mixed toolset framework that combined algorithmic functions of digital image processing, the Landsat sensor data, and applied a geographic information system (GIS) platform was adopted. How water-related events directly or indirectly trigger human migration is described using spatial indicators such as water spread and the extent of urban sprawl. Additionally, the geospatial outputs were analyzed in tandem with the climate variables such as temperature, precipitation data, and socio-economic variables such as population trends and migration patterns. Overall, the three case studies examined how water and climate crisis scenarios influence migration at a local and regional scale. The second phase showcases global-scale analysis based on the Global Conflict Risk Index (GCRI). This indicator reflects on the risks and conflicts with environmental, social, and political aspects and comments on the connection of these dimensions with migration. Together, the two phases of this paper provide an understanding ofthe interplay of water-related events on migration by applying the geospatial assessment and a proxy global index. Additionally, the paper reiterates that such an understanding can serve to establish facts and create evidence to inform sustainable development planning and decision making, particularly with regard to SDGs 6, 11, and 16. Targets such as 6.4 (managing water stress), 6.5 (transboundary challenges) and, 11.B (adaptation and resilience planning) can benefit from the knowledge generated by this geospatial exercise. For example, the high GCRI values for the African region speak to SDG targets 11.B (integrated policies/plans) and 16.7 (decision support systems for peaceful societies). Two key highlights from the synthesis: (a) migration and urbanization are closely interconnected, and (b) the impact of water and climate crisis is comparatively high for rural-urban migration due to the considerable dependence of rural communities on nature-based livelihoods. In conclusion, geospatial analysis is an important tool to study the interlinkages between water and migration. The paper presents a novel perspective toward widening the scope of remote sensing data and GIS toward the implementation of the SDG Agenda.

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Nature and Economy in the Aral Sea Basin

Cited by 13 publications

References 73 publications

Temporal Variability and Potential Diffusion Characteristics of Dust Aerosol Originating from the Aral Sea Basin, Central Asia

Temporal Variability and Potential Diffusion Characteristics of Dust Aerosol Originating from the Aral Sea Basin, Central Asia

Environment problems of the Aral Sea basin in central Asia and its impact on society, economy, and regional security

Geospatial Assessment of Water-Migration Scenarios in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6, 11, and 16

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