Water use in the aral sea basin water usage, primarily for drinking and irrigation, started more than 6,000 years ago. The aral sea is situated in central asia, between the southern part of kazakhstan and northern uzbekistan. The aral sea between 1960 and 2012 lost 85 % of its area and 92 % of its volume, while separating into four residual lakes. The aral sea size and water balance are fundamentally determined.
There were two different rivers that feed into the aral sea which are the amu darya river that flows down from pamir mountain and the other one. The aral sea is situated in the center of the central asian great deserts karakum, kyzylkum, and betpakdala at an altitude of 53 meters above the sea level and functions as a gigantic evaporator. In kazakhstan, the dam has allowed the river to feed the northern aral and as a result the sea has been pushing back into the desert. This decrease in the amount of water in the aral lake brought many ecological problems for the lake and its. Aral sea basin program kazakhstan, kyrgyz republic. Aral sea recovers, dead seas still in trouble cbs news. Problems of the aral sea and water resources of central asia. In accordance with flow probabilities of 5% very wet years and 95% dry years, the annual flow. The project briefs and the terms of reference were prepared by the ec teams with the assistance of the bank mission.
Its size and water balance are fundamentally determined by river inflow and evaporation from. The fresh water from these two rivers held the arals water and salt levels in perfect balance. Between 1950 and 1988, the population of the aral sea basin grew dramatically from. The south aral sea was a lake in the basin of the former aral sea which formed in 1987 when that body divided in two, due to diversion of river inflow for agriculture.
The aral seas size and water balance are fundamentally determined by river in. A significant feature of the region is the number of oases fergana valley, khorezm. By 1985, the aral sea basin had become an environmental disaster of. Water diversions, agricultural practices, and industrial waste have resulted in a disappearing sea. We calibrate the model and calculate the optimal volume and diversion rate. The aral sea is located in an area of the world that. We prove that the optimal approach is the most rapid approach path the mrap. May 30, 2014 the aral sea was, until comparatively recently, the fourth largest inland body of water in the world. Up until the 1960s, aral sea salinity was around 10 grams per liter, less than onethird the salinity of the ocean. Large aral sea to the south and a small aral sea in the north in 1987.
At one point in history the aral sea was a thriving salt lake in the middle east and is now about threequarters the size of what it once was. Establish aral sea as unesco world heritage site would mandate partial restoration and bring about sustained international support develop a better understanding of these systems and the effects of our actions upon them. The aral sea is located between kazakhstan and uzbekistan and was once the fourth largest lake in the world. Apr 23, 2010 aral sea recovers, dead seas still in trouble. Crwr researchers are involved in a multinational water allocation research project with scientists from the central asian republics of uzbekistan, kazakstan, kyrgistan, tajikistan, and turkmenestan, which depend on the aral sea for survival. The aral sea environmental health crisis journal of rural and. The destruction of the aral sea ecosystem has been sudden and severe. This amount comprises the flow of the amudarya at 79. The ecosystem of the aral sea and the river deltas feeding into it has been nearly destroyed, not least because of the much higher salinity. The uzbek government needs to hurry if they want to preserve at least some of the sea, mr musambaev said. Conflict summary environmental degradation of the aral sea in central asia has. This brackish water body was the worlds fourth largest lake before it started to shrink in the 1960s due to water withdrawal for land irrigation.
Abstract desiccation of the aral sea is one of the worlds most serious ecosystem catastrophes. Pdf the aral sea in 1960 was a huge brackish water lake 4th in the world in surface area. The modern problems of using and management of water. The aral sea is a terminal lake amidst the deserts of central asia. Reproductions supplied by edrs are the best that can be made. Beginning in the 1960s, agricultural demands have deprived this large central asian salt lake of enough water to sustain itself, and it has shrunk rapidly. Pdf dynamics of the aral sea in geological and historical times. The key challenge is that states prioritise their individual economic and. Situated in the centre of the central asian deserts at an altitude of 53 metres above the sea level, the aral sea functions as a gigantic evaporator. Based on comparative hydrological data between 1960 and 2005.
People and place hemispheres humanenvironmental interactions. Up until the third quarter of the 20th century it was the world. Request pdf the aral sea disaster the aral sea is a huge terminal lake located among the deserts of central asia. If a good crop is found for the haitians to use that doesnt drain the rivers then they can be rediverted to the aral which will assist in bringing the. There was an average decline in water level during the 1960s of 0. The optimization problem has a unique, optimal, steadystate. The main problem as far as the aral sea is concerned is that it is an inland sea and the development of a large cotton industry has been at the expense of a large fishing industry as well as a significant change to the local. A terminal lake having no outflow, its secular level is determined by the balance between river and groundwater inflow and precipitation on its surface on the one hand and evaporation from the sea on the other.
The north aral has stabilized but the south aral has continued to shrink and become saltier. The aral sea is situated in the center of the central asian great deserts karakum, kyzylkum, and betpakdala and the area as a whole experiences high rates of evaporation. The aral sea management experience and lessons learned. These environmental impacts have had wideranging effects on health of local residents. Resources management in central asia dealt with aral sea related issues in several articles. Uzbekistan and kazakhstan were part of the former soviet union during the 1960s, the time when they began to divert the rivers flow of water.
The aral sea is the biggest saline lake in central asia. Start a free trial of quizlet plus by thanksgiving lock in 50% off all year try it free. The two rivers that feed it are the amu darya and syr darya rivers, respectively reaching the sea. For the last decades the problem of aral doesnt come off the pages of mass. The aral sea, which was once a unique, beautiful and one of the largest closed water reservoirs in the world, is practically on the verge of complete disappearance and turned into an unprecedented disaster and irreparable damage to the life of the population living there, the ecosystem and biodiversity of the aral sea. Click here to view chronological map or aral sea 19572007. The aral sea is bringing new wealth to fishing villages in kazakhstan, but their neighbours on the opposite shore in uzbekistan are suffering a very different fate. The aral sea, once the worlds fourth biggest lake, is most likely gone forever, its death having brought about decades of environmental disaster. In 2003, the south aral sea itself split into eastern and western basins, the eastern sea and the west aral sea, connected by a narrow channel channel bed at an elevation of 29 m 95 ft that balanced surface levels but did not. Water use efficiency of irrigated cotton in uzbekistan under drip and furrow. A massive irrigation project has devastated the aral sea over the past 50 years. The land around the aral sea is also heavily polluted, and the people living in the area are suffering from a lack. The basin is largely delineated by the aral sea and the area between and around its two tributaries the main rivers of former soviet central. As the sea dries up the contaminants become exposed on the surface and enter into the soil while also being blown into the air.
The aral sea basin has three distinct ecological zones. Restoring life to the aral seas dead zone bbc news. At the conclusion of the readingquestions, students are asked to complete a writing prompt that summarizes the reading using cause and effect and evidence from the text. In april 2009, in almaty, it was decided to develop the next action program to assist countries in the aral sea basin for the period 2011 2015 asbp 3. Between 1960 and january 2006, the level of the small aral fell by m.
Between 1960 and january 2006, the level of the small aral fell by m and the large aral fell by 23 m table 1. Statesparticipants agreed to draft a joint conception of addressing the aral sea crisis and rehabilitating the environment in the area around the sea, and to draw up a coordinated program on the scientific research and activities, and also to create a common information system of monitoring the environment and to organize issuance of the. With the collapse of the soviet union, the return to. Problems of the aral sea and water resources of central. The kok aral dam is kilometres 8 miles long and has capacity for over 29 cubic kilometres of water to be stored in the north aral sea, whilst allowing excess to overflow. The aral is an inland saltwater sea with no outlet. Country contribution to river total water total total contributions water water use use for irrigation syr darya amu darya bcm % of total bcm in 1994, bcm bcm bcm % of totalb kazakhstan 2. If a good crop is found for the haitians to use that doesnt drain the rivers then they can be rediverted to the aral which will assist in bringing the sea back to a healthy size. The aral sea basin crisis and sustainable water resource. World bank document sustainable sanitation and water. These images show the decline of the southern aral sea in the past decade, as well as the first steps of recovery in the northern aral sea. The aral sea started to shrink in the 1960s when the soviets diverted water from the two main rivers that flowed into the aral sea to feed vast new cotton fields. The aral separated into two water bodies in 198789. Sep 30, 2015 looking at how the aral sea has changed over time and how this is having an impact upon people and the environment.
The aral sea basin crisis has gradually emerged over the past three to four decades. Aral sea basin program kazakhstan, kyrgyz republic, tajikistan, turkmenistan and uzbekistan water and environmental management project english abstract the objective of the aral sea basin program asbp water and environmental management project is to address the root causes of the overuse and degradation of the international waters of the. In this engaging minilesson, students click on a link to read about the shrinking aral sea and answer questions. The name roughly translates as sea of islands, referring to over 1,100 islands that had dotted its waters.
The north aral sea projects main initiative is the construction of a dam across the berg strait, a deep channel which connects the north aral sea to the south aral sea. Aral seas surface area has now shrunk by approximately 74%, and its volume by almost 85%. Pdf the aral sea was the fourth largest lake on the globe until 1960, with a surface area of about 68,300 km2. The amu darya and syr darya rivers flow into the aral sea. Both the revegetation projects and the agriculture projects can go hand in hand. The aral sea is a huge, shallow, saline body of water located in the deserts of the southcentral soviet union figs.
More than half the mean annual runoff in the aral sea basin is generated in tajikistan and almost onequarter in kyrgyzstan. Kazakhstans aral sea was once the worlds fourth largest lake, a rich haven for fish, birds and other wildlife. Around 35 million individuals live near the aral sea basin of which 3. What is it once the worlds 4th largest inland sea 68,000km2 located in uzbekistan and kazakhstan both countries were part of the former soviet union historically a saline lake fed by the amu darya and syr darya rivers. Bbc news asiapacific dam project aims to save aral sea. The drying of the aral sea first became visible in the 1960s, and by the 1980s, during dry or average years, no river water reached the sea at all. Between 1960 and 2009, the aral sea shrunk at a rate of approximately approximately 1,255 kilometers squared in area per year in 1960, the width across the aral sea was 235. Central asian republics in addressing this problem and offers predictions.
Aral sea s surface area has now shrunk by approximately 74%, and its volume by almost 85%. Apr 09, 2007 the uzbek government needs to hurry if they want to preserve at least some of the sea, mr musambaev said. Up until the 1960s, aral sea salinity was around 10 grams per liter, less than onethird the salinity of. Reproductions supplied by edrs are the best that can be. About 60 km3 of water evaporates per year from the sea and its rivers.
However, a project to salvage its northern part appears to have succeeded as commercial fishing is once again viable in. Conflict over water in the aral sea ecc platform library. Introduction the center for research in water resourcess involvement in the aral sea project is headed by dr. Other fish species were introduced in the 90s and there was also an attempt to introduce water to compensate salinity, but the efforts were in vain thompson, 2008.
Consequently, the aral sea separated into two parts. Public health problems in the aral sea region wikipedia. The aral sea was an inland salt water sea, one odd thing about this sea is, there was no channels connected to the sea. Dynamics of the aral sea in geological and historical times. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Introduction since the 1960s, the aral sea has been severely shrunk due to the excessive use of water resources that feed the lake in the period of ussr for agricultural irrigation. The current study estimated the evaporation and precipitation. Changes in water volume of the aral sea after 1960. The aral sea was once the fourth largest inland body of water on earth with a.
The fresh water from these two rivers held the aral s water and salt levels in perfect balance. Efforts to resolve the aral sea crisis aquapedia case study. Aral sea basin, the site of an environmental and human catastrophe. Replenishing the aral sea currently the aral sea is divided into two reservoirs that contain less than 450 cubic kilometres of water, compared to its previous level of 1050 cubic kilometres. There are six parameters to our model specification. Bringing back the aral sea exploring the environment. In kazakhstan, the dam has allowed the river to feed the northern aral and as a result the. The large aral on the south endured a level drop of 25 m and rise of. Creeping environmental problems and sustainable development in the aral sea basin. Water resources in the aral sea basin the total mean annual flow of all rivers in the aral sea basin is estimated as about 116 km3. The proposed aral sea program phase i is large and complex and requires the resolution of a considerable number of institutional, financial and technical issues. In the early 1960s, the soviet central government decided to make the ussr selfsufficient in cotton and rice. The aral sea is located in the northern part of uzbekistan and the southern part of kazakhstan, and primarily fed by the amudarya river from the south and the syrdarya river from the north.
This program was approved on may 15, 2012 by the decision of the board of the fund. The sea level already has fallen by metres and continues decreasing by 0. In the 20th century, and especially since 1960, the intensity of water use increased under the pressures. Jun 03, 2015 the aral is an inland saltwater sea with no outlet. The country that brought a sea back to life bbc future. It was also home to bustling fishing ports such as aralsk. The aral sea is the largest inland body of salty reservoirs in the world. Aral sea program phase i heads of states approved program no. Where water is known to empty into the sea, then river can with caution be pumped or diverted into irrigation channels. Aral sea transboundary river basin 3 about 90 percent of tajikistan and kyrgyzstan is mountainous. To replenish the sea, at least 60 cubic kilometres of water would. The sea has in fact split into two separate bodies of water, referred to as the north aral sea and the south aral sea. Changes in population are important to understand the aral sea crisis for various reasons that we will explore. But he added, that was no longer kazakhstans problem.
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