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This book presents a systematization and description of the knowledge accumulated to date on the physical oceanography, marine chemistry, and marine biology of the Aral Sea. A special attention is paid to satellite monitoring of the state and different natural parameters of the Aral Sea and its surroundings. Reasons for the progressing environmental crisis and present socio-economic problems in the...
The Aral Sea is the unique inland water body located on the border of the Central Asian major deserts – Karakum, Kyzylkum, and Plateau Usturt. Its origin dates back to the first half of the first millennium BC. It was the world’s fourth water body by area after the Caspian, and the Superior and Victoria lakes. The history of its investigation spans the period from the origin to development of scientific...
The Aral Sea basin formed as a result of joint action of tectonic subsidence and processes of arid denudation. The basin itself features rather irregular bottom topography, with depressions divided by an elongated elevation trending from north to south. Fragments of marine terraces occur locally at 54–72 m a.s.l. on the sea coasts. In the marine series infilling the basin there have been distinguished...
The main hydrological peculiarities of the Aral Sea during the natural period of its life (before 1960) are discussed based on the multiyear data of in-situ observations and scientific publications. General information on the morphometry, hydrological and meteorological characteristics, water balance, sea level, and currents of the sea is provided. The main hydrological conditions of the sea: temperature...
The paper presents a study of the socio-economic conditions of the Aral Sea and Amydarya and Syrdarya deltas (water supply, diseases, fishery, water ransport) that existed before 1960, the time of desiccation of the sea and degradation of the deltas. In this period the life and welfare of the local population was closely connected with the sea and depended on fishery and navigation.
The causes of the Aral crisis should be sought in the mismatch between economic structures prevailing in the Central Asian republics and factors related to the possibilities provided by and condition of the circum-Aral ecosystems. Economic development in the region was determined by the political ideology of the Soviet Union with its administrative command system, which led to unwise management of...
Climate variations have been registered in the Aral Sea area time and again. In recent decades the anthropogenic effect has become a significant contributing factor. It became prominent, firstly, due to global changes caused, in particular, by the growing level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and, secondly, due to regional variations – shrinking of the Aral Sea area. The latter fact leads to...
Characteristics of the annual flow of the Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers, which determines the water inflow to the Aral Sea and its level regime, are presented herein. On the basis of hydrological observations on the mentioned rivers and their tributaries the annual flow of the Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers in the zones of its formation (natural water resources), inflow to the delta summits and to the...
The objective herein is to summarize the present state of knowledge of the hydrological system of the Large Aral Sea and quantify the profound changes to its physical regime that have been witnessed over recent years. The discussion is mainly based on original observations from several field surveys of the sea conducted between 2002 and 2008. The total drop of the Large Aral Sea surface level since...
The efficiency of using satellite information (satellite imagery, measurements from radiometers and altimeters) for tracing the dynamics of various characteristics of the Aral Sea during its desiccation is demonstrated. Interannual variability of morphometric parameters of the sea and its parts is considered (1957–2008), as well as that of sea surface temperature (SST) (1982–2000), sea level (1992–2006),...
The Aral Sea has drastically shrunk over the past 50 years, largely due to water withdrawal from the Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers for land irrigation. If one were to look back over the Holocene,1 the paleolimnology of the Aral Sea is however already marked by the occurrence of several phases of regression and transgression. They resulted partly from climate change, for tectonic reasons, and over the...
We address spatial and temporal variability of ice conditions in the Aral Sea from historical observations and recent satellite microwave observations. A short description of the historical evolution of the Aral Sea since the mid-twentieth century is given, as well as recent activities related to the dam in the Berg strait. An overview of historical observations of the ice regime at the coastal stations...
The objective herein is to describe the present hydrochemical state of the Large Aral Sea and quantify the ongoing changes accompanying the contemporary desiccation. Compared with the predesiccation period before 1960, the sulfate-to-chloride mass ratio decreased by about 40%, whilst the relative content of calcium decreased by a factor of nine in the western basin and a factor of 40 in the eastern...
During the last five decades the Aral Sea has been undergoing dramatic changes. Because of river runoff cessation and subsequent decrease in water body volume, mineralisation in the western Large Aral increased from 10 ppt in 1960 to 116 ppt in 2008. Concurrently, crucial changes have been occurring in the Aral ecosystem manifested by the disappearance of most native species and a significant decline...
A brief review of archaeological data is given and their relevance to the reconstruction of climate and water level changes is discussed. Research since the nineteenth century has established a good database, especially for the southern Aral Sea region (ancient Khorezmia). Human occupation of the area first began during the Late Pleistocene, but was interrupted by the last glaciations. The Aral Basin...
The Aral Sea is dead. What does exist in its place are the Aral Seas, that is there are in essence three bodies of water, one of which is being purposefully restored and its level is rising (the Small Aral), while the other two, though marginally still connected, continue to decline in level (the Large Aral West and the Large Aral East). In 1960 the level of the sea was about 53 m above sea level...
Herein is presented a review of the content of the chapters written by specialists from different institutions in Russia, Uzbekistan, France, Germany, and USA, devoted to different aspects of the Aral Sea problem – from paleohistory and archaeology of the Aral Sea region, to the present physical, chemical, and biological state of the sea, analysis of the Amudarya and Syrdarya river runoff and their...
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