How and what does the Aral Sea live on? Aral Lake: description, location, history and interesting facts How many rivers flow into the Aral Sea

The Aral Sea is an endorheic salt lake in Central Asia, on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Since the 1960s of the 20th century, sea level (and the volume of water in it) has been rapidly declining due to water withdrawal from the main feeding rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya. Before the start of shallowing, the Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world. Excessive water withdrawal for agricultural irrigation has turned the world's fourth largest lake-sea, once rich in life, into a barren desert. What is happening to the Aral Sea is a real environmental disaster, the blame for which lies with the Soviet government. Currently, the drying Aral Sea has moved 100 km from its former coastline near the city of Muynak in Uzbekistan.

Reasons for the drying up of the Aral Sea

Almost the entire influx of water into the Aral Sea is provided by the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers. Over the course of thousands of years, it happened that the channel of the Amu Darya went away from the Aral Sea (towards the Caspian), causing a decrease in the size of the Aral Sea. However, with the return of the river, the Aral was invariably restored to its former boundaries. Today, intensive irrigation of cotton and rice fields consumes a significant part of the flow of these two rivers, which sharply reduces the flow of water into their deltas and, accordingly, into the sea itself. Precipitation in the form of rain and snow, as well as underground springs, provide the Aral Sea with much less water than is lost through evaporation, as a result of which the water volume of the lake-sea decreases and the level of salinity increases.

In the Soviet Union, the deteriorating condition of the Aral Sea was hidden for decades, until 1985, when M.S. Gorbachev made this environmental disaster public. At the end of the 1980s. The water level dropped so much that the entire sea was divided into two parts: the northern Small Aral and the southern Great Aral. By 2007, the deep western and shallow eastern reservoirs, as well as the remains of a small separate bay, were clearly visible in the southern part.

The volume of the Greater Aral Sea decreased from 708 to only 75 km3, and the salinity of the water increased from 14 to more than 100 g/l. With the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the Aral Sea was divided between the newly formed states: Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Thus, the grandiose Soviet plan to transfer the waters of distant Siberian rivers here was put to an end, and competition for the possession of melting water resources began. One can only be glad that it was not possible to complete the project to transfer the rivers of Siberia, because it is unknown what disasters would have followed this.

Collector-drainage waters flowing from the fields into the bed of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya have caused deposits of pesticides and various other agricultural pesticides, appearing in places on 54 thousand square kilometers of the former seabed covered with salt. Dust storms carry salt, dust and toxic chemicals up to 500 km. Sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate are airborne and kill or retard the development of natural vegetation and crops. The local population suffers from a high prevalence of respiratory diseases, anemia, cancer of the larynx and esophagus, and digestive disorders. Liver and kidney diseases and eye diseases have become more frequent.

Consequences of the death of the Aral Sea

The drying up of the Aral Sea had dire consequences. Due to a sharp decrease in river flow, spring floods, which supplied the floodplains of the lower reaches of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya with fresh water and fertile sediments, ceased. The number of fish species living here decreased from 32 to 6 - the result of an increase in water salinity, loss of spawning grounds and feeding areas (which were preserved mainly only in river deltas).

If in 1960 the fish catch reached 40 thousand tons, then by the mid-1980s. local commercial fishing simply ceased to exist, and more than 60,000 associated jobs were lost. The most common inhabitant remained the Black Sea flounder, adapted to life in salty sea water and brought here back in the 1970s. However, by 2003, it also disappeared in the Greater Aral, unable to withstand water salinity of more than 70 g/l - 2–4 times more than in its usual marine environment.

Shipping on the Aral Sea has stopped because... the waters receded many kilometers from the main local ports: the city of Aralsk in the north and the city of Muynak in the south. And maintaining ever longer channels to ports in navigable condition turned out to be too expensive. As the water level dropped in both parts of the Aral Sea, the groundwater level also dropped, which accelerated the process of desertification of the area.

By the mid-1990s. Instead of lush green trees, shrubs and grasses, on the former seashores only rare bunches of halophytes and xerophytes were visible - plants adapted to saline soils and dry habitats. However, only half of the local species of mammals and birds have survived. Within 100 km from the original coastline, the climate changed: it became hotter in summer and colder in winter, the level of air humidity decreased (the amount of precipitation decreased accordingly), the duration of the growing season decreased, and droughts began to occur more often.

Despite its vast drainage basin, the Aral Sea receives almost no water due to irrigation canals, which, as the photo below shows, take water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya along hundreds of kilometers of their flow across several states. Other consequences include the extinction of many species of animals and plants.

Historical fluctuations in the level of the Aral Sea

However, if we look at the history of the Aral Sea, the sea has already dried up, while returning to its former shores. So, what was the Aral like over the past few centuries and how did its size change?

During the historical era, significant fluctuations in the level of the Aral Sea occurred. Thus, on the retreated bottom, the remains of trees that grew in this place were discovered. In the middle of the Cenozoic era (21 million years ago), the Aral was connected to the Caspian Sea. Until 1573, the Amu Darya flowed along the Uzboy branch into the Caspian Sea, and the Turgai River into the Aral. The map compiled by the Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy (1800 years ago) shows the Aral and Caspian seas, the Zarafshan and Amu Darya rivers flow into the Caspian.

At the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, due to a drop in sea level, the islands of Barsakelmes, Kaskakulan, Kozzhetpes, Uyaly, Biyiktau, and Vozrozhdeniya were formed. Since 1819, the Zhanadarya and Kuandarya rivers have stopped flowing into the Aral since 1823. From the beginning of systematic observations (19th century) until the middle of the 20th century, the level of the Aral Sea practically did not change. In the 1950s, the Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world, occupying about 68 thousand square kilometers; its length was 426 km, width - 284 km, greatest depth - 68 m.

In the 1930s, large-scale construction of irrigation canals began in Central Asia, which especially intensified in the early 1960s. Since the 1960s, the sea began to become shallow due to the fact that the water of the rivers flowing into it was diverted in ever-increasing volumes for irrigation. From 1960 to 1990, the area of irrigated land in Central Asia increased from 4.5 million to 7 million hectares. The regional economic needs for water have increased from 60 to 120 km2 per year, of which 90% is for irrigation.

Since 1961, sea level has dropped at an increasing rate from 20 to 80-90 cm/year. Until the 1970s, 34 species of fish lived in the Aral Sea, more than 20 of which were of commercial importance. In 1946, 23 thousand tons of fish were caught in the Aral Sea; in the 1980s, this figure reached 60 thousand tons. On the Kazakh part of the Aral there were 5 fish factories, 1 fish canning plant, 45 fish receiving points, on the Uzbek part (Republic of Karakalpakstan) - 5 fish factories, 1 fish canning plant, more than 20 fish receiving points.

In 1989, the sea split into two isolated bodies of water - the Northern (Small) and Southern (Big) Aral Sea. As of 2003, the surface area of the Aral Sea is about a quarter of the original, and the volume of water is about 10%. By the early 2000s, the absolute water level in the sea had dropped to 31 m, which is 22 m below the initial level observed in the late 1950s. Fishing was preserved only in the Small Aral, and in the Large Aral, due to its high salinity, all the fish died. In 2001, the South Aral Sea was divided into western and eastern parts. In 2008, geological exploration work (search for oil and gas fields) was carried out on the Uzbek part of the sea. The contractor is the PetroAlliance company, the customer is the government of Uzbekistan. In the summer of 2009, the eastern part of the Southern (Great) Aral Sea dried up.

The retreating sea left behind 54 thousand km2 of dry seabed, covered with salt, and in some places also with deposits of pesticides and various other agricultural pesticides that were once washed away by runoff from local fields. Currently, strong storms carry salt, dust and toxic chemicals up to 500 km away. Northern and northeastern winds have an adverse effect on the Amu Darya delta located to the south - the most densely populated, most economically and environmentally important part of the entire region.

Airborne sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate destroy or slow down the development of natural vegetation and crops - in a bitter irony, it was the irrigation of these crop fields that brought the Aral Sea to its current deplorable state.

According to medical experts, the local population suffers from a high prevalence of respiratory diseases, anemia, cancer of the throat and esophagus, as well as digestive disorders. Liver and kidney diseases have become more frequent, not to mention eye diseases.

Test site on Vozrozhdeniya Island

Another, very unusual problem is associated with Renaissance Island. When it was far out at sea, the Soviet Union used it as a testing ground for biological weapons. The causative agents of anthrax, tularemia, brucellosis, plague, typhoid, smallpox, as well as botulinum toxin were tested here on horses, monkeys, sheep, donkeys and other laboratory animals. In 2001, as a result of the withdrawal of water, Vozrozhdenie Island connected with the mainland on the southern side.

Doctors fear that dangerous microorganisms have remained viable, and infected rodents can spread them to other regions. In addition, dangerous substances may fall into the hands of terrorists. Waste and pesticides that were once thrown into the waters of the Aralsk harbor are now in plain sight. Severe storms carry toxic substances, as well as huge amounts of sand and salt, throughout the region, destroying crops and harming human health. You can read more about Vozrozhdenie Island in the article: The most terrible islands in the world.

How to restore the Aral Sea?

Restoring the entire Aral Sea is impossible. This would require a fourfold increase in the annual inflow of water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya compared to the current average of 13 km3. The only possible remedy would be to reduce irrigation of fields, which consumes 92% of water intake. However, four of the five former Soviet republics in the Aral Sea basin (with the exception of Kazakhstan) intend to increase irrigation of farmland - mainly to feed growing populations.

In this situation, a transition to less moisture-loving crops would help, for example replacing cotton with winter wheat, but the two main water-consuming countries in the region - Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan - intend to continue to grow cotton for sale abroad. It would also be possible to significantly improve the existing irrigation canals: many of them are ordinary trenches, through the walls of which a huge amount of water seeps and goes into the sand. Modernizing the entire irrigation system would save about 12 km3 of water annually, but would cost $16 billion.

As part of the project “Regulation of the bed of the Syrdarya River and the Northern Aral Sea” (RRSSAM), in 2003-2005, Kazakhstan built from the Kokaral Peninsula to the mouth of the Syrdarya the Kokaral dam with a hydraulic gate (which allows excess water to pass through to regulate the level of the reservoir), which fenced off the Small Aral from the rest of the (Greater Aral). Thanks to this, the flow of the Syr Darya accumulates in the Small Aral, the water level here has increased to 42 m abs., the salinity has decreased, which makes it possible to breed some commercial varieties of fish here.

In 2007, the fish catch in the Small Aral amounted to 1910 tons, of which flounder accounted for 640 tons, the rest were freshwater species (carp, asp, pike perch, bream, catfish). It is expected that by 2012 the fish catch in the Small Aral will reach 10 thousand tons (in the 1980s, about 60 thousand tons were caught in the entire Aral Sea). The length of the Kokaral dam is 17 km, height 6 m, width 300 m. The cost of the first phase of the RRSSAM project amounted to $85.79 million ($65.5 million comes from a World Bank loan, the rest of the funds are allocated from the republican budget of Kazakhstan).

It is expected that an area of 870 square km will be covered with water, and this will allow the flora and fauna of the Aral Sea region to be restored. In Aralsk, the Kambala Balyk fish processing plant (capacity 300 tons per year), located on the site of a former bakery, now operates. In 2008, it is planned to open two fish processing plants in the Aral region: Atameken Holding (design capacity 8,000 tons per year) in Aralsk and Kambash Balyk (250 tons per year) in Kamyshlybash.

Fishing is also developing in the Syrdarya delta. On the Syrdarya-Karaozek channel, a new hydraulic structure with a throughput capacity of more than 300 cubic meters of water per second (Aklak hydroelectric complex) was built, which made it possible to irrigate lake systems containing more than one and a half billion cubic meters of water. As of 2008, the total area of lakes is more than 50 thousand hectares (it is expected to increase to 80 thousand hectares), the number of lakes in the region increased from 130 to 213.

As part of the implementation of the second phase of the RRSSAM project in 2010-2015, it is planned to build a dam with a hydroelectric complex in the northern part of the Small Aral, separate the Saryshyganak Bay and fill it with water through a specially dug canal from the mouth of the Syrdarya, bringing the water level in it to 46 m abs. It is planned to build a shipping canal from the bay to the port of Aralsk (the width of the canal along the bottom will be 100 m, length 23 km). To ensure transport links between Aralsk and the complex of structures in Saryshyganak Bay, the project provides for the construction of a category V highway with a length of about 50 km and a width of 8 m parallel to the former coastline of the Aral Sea.

The sad fate of the Aral Sea is beginning to be repeated by other large bodies of water in the world - primarily Lake Chad in Central Africa and Lake Salton Sea in the south of the American state of California. Dead tilapia fish litter the shores, and due to excessive water extraction for irrigating fields, the water is becoming increasingly salty. Various plans are being considered to desalinate this lake.

As a result of the rapid development of irrigation since the 1960s. Lake Chad in Africa has shrunk to 1/10 of its former size. Farmers, shepherds and local people from the four countries surrounding the lake often fight fiercely for the remaining water (bottom right, blue), and the lake is now only 1.5 m deep. Experiences of loss and then partial restoration of the Aral Sea can benefit everyone. Pictured is Lake Chad in 1972 and 2008

The Aral Sea was once the fourth largest lake in the world and provided the region's economy with thousands of tons of fish every year. However, it has been steadily drying up since the 1960s.

In the 1920s, the Soviet Union converted the lands of the Uzbek SSR into cotton plantations and ordered the construction of irrigation canals to provide water for crops in the region's mid-plateau.

These manual irrigation canals took water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, which fed the freshwater Aral Sea.

Until the 1960s, the Aral Sea canal and river system was fairly stable. However, in the 1960s, the Soviet Union decided to expand the canal system and drain more water from the rivers feeding the lake.

Destruction of the Aral Sea

Aral Sea: 2014 on the left and 2000 on the right. The thin black line shows the boundaries of the lake in 1960.

Thus, in the 1960s, the Aral Sea began to shrink rapidly. By 1987, it was divided into two parts: northern and southern lakes. In 2002, the southern lake shrank and split into eastern and western lakes. In 2014, the eastern lake completely evaporated and disappeared.

The Soviet Union considered cotton crops more valuable than the Aral Sea fisheries that had once been the mainstay of the regional economy. Today you can visit former coastal settlements and see long-abandoned piers, harbors and boats.

Before drying up, the Aral Sea provided between 20,000 and 40,000 tons of fish per year. At the height of the crisis, the catch fell by 1,000 tons of fish per year, but now everything is moving in a positive direction.

Restoration of the Northern Aral Sea region

In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan became home to the drying up Aral Sea. Since then, Kazakhstan has been working to revive the lake.

The first innovation that helped preserve part of the Aral Sea fishery was Kazakhstan's construction of the Kokaral Dam on the southern shore of the northern lake, thanks to support from the World Bank. The dam has ensured that the northern lake has grown by 20% since 2005.

The second innovation is the construction of a fish hatchery on the northern lake, where sturgeon, carp and flounder are grown and released into the Northern Aral Sea. The fish hatchery was built with Israeli support.

Predictions are that the northern Aral Sea lake could soon supply 10,000 to 12,000 tons of fish per year thanks to these two major innovations.

The future of the western lake is not so bright

However, with the flooding of the northern lake in 2005, the fate of the two southern lakes was all but sealed, and the autonomous Uzbek region of Karakalpakstan will experience negative consequences as the western lake continues to evaporate.

Soviet leaders considered the Aral Sea unnecessary, since the water that flowed into it evaporated into nowhere. Scientists believe that the Aral Sea was formed about 5.5 million years ago when geological uplift prevented two rivers from flowing further.

However, cotton continues to grow in the now independent country of Uzbekistan, which does not bode well for the remnants of the Aral Sea.

Ecological catastrophy

The huge dried lake is a source of pathogenic dust, which is carried by winds throughout the region. The dried remains of the lake contain not only salt and minerals, but also pesticides that were once used in huge quantities by the Soviet Union.

In addition, on one of the islands in the Aral Sea, the USSR set up a laboratory for testing biological weapons. Although it is now closed, there is a risk of deadly rodent infestations spreading to surrounding areas.

The Aral Sea is one of the largest endorheic bodies of salt water. It is located in Central Asia and serves as the border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Its name comes from the local dialect - translated it means “sea of islands”. The Aral Sea has now become significantly smaller, and these changes could lead to an environmental disaster.

General information

The Aral Sea in the past was a large salty body of water that was formed in prehistoric times. The main sources of water inflow remain the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, while the lake is drainless. Since the middle of the last century, a change in the course of these rivers, a decrease in their area and filling, has been recorded, and therefore the depth of the sea has also decreased.

The climate in this area is sharply continental, dry, desert. In the 1960s, the sea was one of the four deepest closed reservoirs, its depth was 68 meters. Today the level of the Aral Sea is 42 meters.

Today the lake has shrunk considerably. Its borders have shifted more than 100 km from the original line. In connection with this, the reservoir was divided into the Large and Small Aral Seas (South and North, respectively), between which the Kokaral dam was built. Its main function is to regulate the water level in the Small Sea.

Changes in the landscape of the Aral Sea and their causes

In the middle of the last century, the channels of the Central Asian rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya were artificially changed. The purpose of this operation was to irrigate fields in the steppe regions to increase their fertility. As a result, the influx of water into the Aral Sea decreased critically, which led to its rapid drying out.

The reservoir was divided into 2 parts, which represent the Large and Small Aral Sea. A significant part of its bottom rose to the surface. The Big (Southern Aral) unites two objects - the Eastern and Northern lakes.

Ecological situation

Any large body of water, including the Aral Sea, is an independent ecological system. The water level determines its chemical composition, as well as the possibility of the existence of flora and fauna. The violent change in natural processes led to a chain of events that at this stage are regarded as an environmental disaster:

mineralization of water, that is, an increase in the amount of salt and other trace elements in it;
the extinction of most species of fish and marine life that could not exist in the new conditions;
exposure of huge areas of bottom sediments, which began to spread over large areas in the form of dust and salt storms;
atmospheric pollution with chemicals from the bottom of the lake, which provoked the greenhouse effect and climate warming.

The Aral Sea has lost half of its water mass. However, there are ways to solve the environmental problem. In the early 2000s, the powerful Kokaral dam was built. It operates successfully, and the waters of the Syr Darya accumulate in the Small Aral Sea. The water level is gradually increasing, and some commercial fish species have already been restored.

Shipping on the Aral Sea

Before the environmental situation in the Aral began to change, the sea was suitable for navigation. Navy vessels, steamships and sailing ships cruised here, and underwater research work was carried out. Also in this territory there were services for fishing, which was found here in abundance.

Large ports were located on the banks of the Aral Sea:

Aralsk- the main organization equipped for fishing activities.
Muynak- a former port located on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Kazakhdarya- another large-scale port of Uzbekistan.

At the moment the sea is unsuitable for navigation. Large ports were cut off from the coastline by 100-150 km and stopped their activities. Aralsk continues to function and is working on the problem of restoring the fish population in the Lesser Urals. The program made it possible to engage in artificial breeding of some species, including flounder, catfish, pike perch and others.

New islands

The landscape of the Aral Sea is heterogeneous. The seabed has always been located at different depths, and some areas rose above the surface of the water, forming islands of different sizes. In the process of shredding the reservoir, they gradually turned into peninsulas, and then into tracts, since they are no longer washed on all sides.

The largest islands of the Aral Sea include:

Barsakelmes Island- at the moment it is a tract on the territory of Kazakhstan.
Renaissance Island- now a peninsula in the southwestern part of the Aral Sea, divided between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Kokaral- in the past the island, today a semi-desert tract in the northern part of the Aral Sea, belongs to the Republic of Kazakhstan.

All former islands of the Aral Sea are connected to the mainland. On Vozrozhdeniya Island there is a burial place for biological waste, and on Barsakelmes there is a nature reserve. A dam was built near the island of Kokaral to restore the ecosystem of the Small Aral Sea.

Aral Lake on the map

The environmental problem of the Aral region is especially noticeable if you compare satellite map data before and after it dried out. Most of the sea area is bare and desert. The islands are not washed on all sides and are connected to the mainland. This area is unsuitable for life, since a significant part of the bottom sediments is concentrated here. The danger is that today's measures cannot completely restore the natural balance in the Aral ecosystem and fill the reservoir basin.

The Aral Lake problem is an environmental disaster provoked by human factors. In addition to changing the natural course of rivers, the reduction of water levels was influenced by the greenhouse effect and other dangerous processes. Competent work aimed at restoring the Aral ecosystem can solve the problem of its drying out, but at this stage it is not effective enough.

The tragedy of the Aral Sea is heard today. Its rapid disappearance from the world map is considered one of the major environmental disasters of our time. In place of the water surface now lies the Aralkum desert. Whether the drying out of the once huge lake-sea is a consequence of climate change or human activity remains a controversial issue. Most likely, a combination of a number of factors led to the current deplorable state. Now Aral Sea It can only boast of a sandy-salt plain, dry grass and lonely lakes of water. Its desert beauty fascinates and continues to attract travelers, lovers of vivid impressions and antiquity.

The birth of the sea in place of the desert

Aral Sea arose on the site of a desert pit twenty-four thousand years ago. By the standards of history, it can be considered quite young.

Probably, the reason for its occurrence was a change in the course of the Amu Darya. The fast and deep river fed the Caspian Sea, however, due to soil erosion and landscape changes, it diverted, carrying its waters to the Aral Sea. Together with it, the Amu Darya filled the Syrykamysh depression, forming a large bitter-salty lake. It was located between the Aral and Caspian seas. When the depression overflowed, water poured out of it into the Caspian Sea, forming a natural outflow - the now dry Uzboy branch.

At the very beginning of its inception Aral Sea They also fed other rivers, such as Turgai, powerful tributaries of the Syr Darya: Zhanadarya and Kuandarya. The abundance of water resources turned the Aral into one of the largest lakes in the world, but not for long.

The Aral Sea in the works and maps of scientists of the ancient world

Famous historians and travelers of Ancient Greece and Rome repeatedly mentioned the Aral Sea in their treatises. Some descriptions may be considered controversial and contradictory. One important fact remains: in ancient times the Aral was known and not only existed as an internal water resource, but was a significant center of the ancient world.

Great ancient historians such as Hecataeus of Miletus, Herodotus, Aristotle, Erastothenes did not know about the Aral Sea. But they were well aware of the existence of the Caspian Sea. It was Herodotus in the 5th century BC. e. concluded, and quite rightly, that the Caspian or Hyrcanian Sea is an independent body of water cut off from large waters, while on ancient maps it was depicted as connected with the world ocean.

The Aral was first mentioned by historians of the late Hellenistic period. In the famous "Geography" of Strabo (1st century AD) Aral Sea called Oxian or Oxian Lake. The name comes from the obsolete name of the Amu Darya river - Oxus. It is interesting that a century later, the second great geographer Claudius Ptolemy, describing the Caspian in detail, does not mention the Aral at all. Meanwhile, the map compiled by him very accurately conveys the outlines of these two seas as if they had merged into one. The scientist, following Herodotus, wrote about him as one.

Aral Sea in medieval view

The first accurate descriptions and maps of the Aral appear among Arab scientists starting in the 10th century. If ancient authors relied on the stories of traders and sailors, theoretical calculations and legends, then medieval historians from Arab countries relied on their own observations.

The tenth century traveler and scholar Al-Istakhri was the first to describe in detail Aral Sea and made a map of it. He calls it the Khorezm Sea. It was here, between the water surface of a salt lake and the sands of the Karakum, that the ancient Khorezm civilization grew.

It is interesting that the Aral Sea as an independent sea does not appear on European medieval maps until the 16th century. According to tradition, originating from the “Geography” of Claudius Ptolemy, it continued to be depicted for a long time as merging with the Caspian Sea.

In 1562, the famous “Jenkinson's Map of Russia” was published, compiled by an English merchant during his trip to Central Asia. It shows a certain lake China (Kitaia), which originates from the Syrdarya River and flows into the Ob. Most likely this is what it is Aral Sea. Despite obvious inaccuracies, mixed up names and the absence of many objects that were unknown to the traveler, Jenkinson's map has long been considered the most detailed guide to the region.

Mysteries of the Aral Sea

The absence of a large natural body of water on maps for many centuries still causes some bewilderment among scientists. As a rule, this is explained by the imperfection of knowledge of that time, however, other versions also appear. One of the possible reasons is the merger of the Aral Sea with the Caspian Sea, as indicated by Herodotus. Perhaps at some period the high water of these two seas reached such proportions that the space between them was flooded. Another reason is the drying up of the sea, which has already taken place in its history.

Due to constant processes of soil degradation and changes in surface topography, the connection with the rivers was severed. The riverbeds deviated, dried up, and were lost in the Karakum sands. As studies show at least twice in twenty-four thousand years of its existence Aral Sea dried out almost to the point of complete disappearance.

Today, archaeological excavations are underway on the exposed surface. The Kedderi Mausoleum and the remains of settlements of the Khorezm culture of the 11th-14th centuries indicate that the sea dried up during this period. Subsequently, the water level recovered, and the buildings were at a depth of 20 meters.

The rapid disappearance of the reservoir in the last 50 years may be either a consequence of man-made factors or a result of a changing climate and a natural cyclical phenomenon.

Why you should go to the Aral

Despite the sand and wind, poor ecology and the remains of a dying, salty lake, the Aral attracts travelers. Fans of wild recreation and harsh nature will love the snow-white Aralkum. The atmosphere of the desert is mesmerizing and seems to transport you millions of years ago. The earth before the beginning of time, and here it stops. People come here for the beauty of nature in order to come into contact with tragedy and think about what unreasonable human intervention leads to.

Among the popular sites is the ship graveyard in the former port city of Muynak. Dozens of forgotten fishing schooners and cargo trawlers lie among the sands and salt marshes, gradually rusting and crumbling. The sea has long retreated, the city is dying, and only the remains of ships appear black against the white background of the desert. It may seem that this is just a fantastic setting for a film, but no - this is the harsh reality of the modern Aral Sea, very impressive.

For history buffs, a trip to the excavation site of the remains of the mausoleum and medieval settlements of Khorezm will be of interest. You should definitely include a visit to Nukus in your program. In the city itself there is a museum with a huge collection of decorative and applied art from Central Asia. In the village of Khodjeyli near Nukus, the architectural ensemble of the White Khanaka caravanserai, the remains of an ancient fortress, and medieval mausoleums of the rulers of Khorezm have been preserved.

Between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Aral Lake is located, which has a rich history, being one of the largest salt lakes in the world. But since the middle of the last century, it began to shrink due to the human factor; people needed water to water their livestock and irrigate the land.

Aral Lake: origin

More than 20 million years ago, the lake was a sea and connected to the Caspian Sea. However, scientists have established that it once became shallow and then filled with water again, since human remains dating back to the 1st millennium were found at the bottom, as well as the remains of trees that grew in this place.

An interesting discovery after the shallowing was the discovery of several mausoleums and the remains of two settlements. Scientists believed that peoples lived here, and the Kerderi mausoleum, dating back to approximately the 11th-14th centuries, and the remains of the Aral-Asar settlement, dating back to the 14th century, were preserved.

The change in water level was associated with natural cycles, when it waxed and waned, some rivers stopped flowing, and small islands formed. However, this did not affect the depth of the Aral Lake, continuing to be a large body of water in the world, although not connected with the World Ocean. The Aral military flotilla was located at sea, research was carried out, and the reservoir was studied.

In 1849, the first expedition led by A. Butakov was carried out. Then an approximate depth measurement was made, the Barsakelmes Islands were photographed and part of the Renaissance Islands were studied. These islands were formed at the end of the 16th century, when the water level was reduced. During the same expedition, meteorological and astronomical observations were carried out, and mineral samples were collected.

Research was carried out even when fighting was going on for the annexation of the Central Asian states, and the Aral Flotilla took part in these battles.

At the end of the 19th century, another expedition was created led by A. Nikolsky in the south, and academician Lev Berg in the north. They mainly studied climate, flora and fauna. In 1905, industrial fishing began when merchants Lapshin and Krasilnikov created fishing unions.

Catastrophe

In the 30s of the last century, people began to actively engage in agriculture. But the reservoir was still safe, and the water level did not decrease. In the 60s, its decline began, and already in 1961 the level decreased by 20 cm, and 2 years later by 80 cm. In the early 90s, the area decreased sharply, and the salt level increased 3 times, and it is impossible There was a clear answer: Is the Aral Lake fresh or salty?

In 1989, it completely split into two reservoirs, and they began to call it the Big Aral and the Small Aral. All this affected the amount of fish that remained only in Maly.

Aral Sea-lake: why did the disaster happen?

Having learned that this body of water had become so shallow, people wondered why this happened? After all, many live off rivers and lakes, use their waters not only for agriculture, but also for construction, for drinking, and they do not become shallow.

At one time, the sea area was 428 km long and 283 km wide. Residents located along the banks lived off the water, fished and made money in this way. For them, crushing turned into a tragedy, and by the beginning of the 21st century the area was only 14 thousand square meters. km.

Experts believe that this situation arose due to the fact that resources were distributed incorrectly. The Aral Sea was fed by the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, thanks to which up to 60 cubic meters entered the reservoir. km of water, but now this figure is only 5.

Rivers flowing in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are mountain reservoirs that began to be used for irrigation. At first it was planned to irrigate about 60 million hectares, and then this figure increased to 100 million hectares, and the reservoir simply did not have time to replenish.

Fauna

Catastrophe for the inhabitants of the shores of the Aral Sea came when it was divided into two parts and became increasingly salty, which made it impossible for fish to survive. As a result, there were no fish left in the Big Aral due to the high concentration of salt, and in the Small Aral its quantity decreased sharply.

Things were completely different before the drying out; once upon a time there were more than 30 species of fish, worms, crayfish and mollusks in the sea, 20 of which were commercial. People made a living by fishing, for example, in 1946 23 thousand tons were caught, in the early 80s 60 thousand tons.

Since salinity increased, the biodiversity of living organisms began to decrease sharply and first invertebrates and freshwater fish died, then brackish water fish disappeared, and when the concentration increased to 25%, species of Caspian origin also disappeared, leaving only euryhaline organisms.

In the 80s, they tried to correct the situation a little and created hydraulic structures, which reduced the salinity in the Small Aral and even fish such as grass carp and pike perch appeared, i.e. the fauna was partially restored.

In the large Aral Sea, things were worse and the salt concentration reached 57% in 1997, and the fish gradually began to disappear. If by the beginning of 2000 there were 5 species of fish and 2 species of gobies, then in 2004 the entire fauna died completely.

Environmental consequences

If you see an animation of satellite images from 2000 to 2011, you can understand how rapidly the reservoir has shrunk, that now, looking from a satellite, you wonder: where is Lake Aral, why is it disappearing and what could this threaten?

The fact that the fauna died due to the high concentration of salt is one of the consequences. This led to the fact that residents lost their jobs, and the ports of Aralsk and Kazakhdarya ceased to exist.

In addition, toxic chemicals and pesticides flowing from the fields into the beds of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya ended up in the sea, and now everything remains on the shallow salty bottom, and due to the winds, all this is carried for many kilometers.

Small Aral Sea

In 1989, when the Berg Strait dried up, the Small Aral Lake was formed, but a few years later, when the use of the Syr Darya River sharply decreased, the strait began to fill with water again, which is why the Small Lake filled up, from where it flowed into the Big Lake. This situation led to the influx of over 100 m³ of water literally in a second, which led to the deepening of the channel, erosion of the natural barrier, and subsequently the complete drying of the North Sea.

In 1992, experts came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create an artificial dam. The level of the Small Aral Lake increased, the salinity of the water decreased, and the Saryshyganak Strait was revived, and the separation of the Butakov and Shevchenko Bays was prevented. Flora and fauna began to recover.

The natural levee was fragile and often collapsed during floods, and in 1999 it was completely destroyed by a storm. This again influenced a sharp decrease in water, and the leadership of Kazakhstan came to the conclusion that it was necessary to build a capital dam in the Berg Strait. Construction lasted for a year, and already in 2005 the Kokaral dam was created, which meets all technical requirements. The difference between this dam and a dam is that it has a culvert structure, which allows excess water to be discharged during floods and maintain the level at a safe level.

Great Aral Sea

Things are completely different with the Big Sea; significant changes have occurred literally over the last 15 years. In 1997, salinity levels exceeded 50%, which led to the death of fauna.

In the same year, the island of Barsakelmes joined the land, and in 2001, Vozrozhdeniya Island, where biological weapons were tested.

The entire sea was first divided into 2 parts: northern and southern, but in 2003 the southern part was divided into east and west. In 2004, Lake Tuschibas was formed in the eastern part, and when the Kokaral dam was built in 2005, the influx of water from the Small Aral Sea stopped, and the Large one began to decrease sharply.

In subsequent years, the Eastern Sea completely dried up, the salinity in the Western Sea was 100%, and the area of the Southern Aral changed with varying degrees of success. In 2015, all parts decreased in size, and it is possible that the western reservoir may soon split into 2 parts.

Climate

The change in the area and size of the Aral Sea also affected the climate - it became drier and colder, continental, and where the sea receded, a salt desert appeared. In winter, frosty times, when water does not freeze on the surface, the so-called “snow lake effect” appears. This is the process of cumulonimbus clouds where cold air moves over warm lake water and this leads to the development of convective clouds.

Land in the sea

The Aral Lake began to shrink sharply in the last century, as a result of which new lands were formed. Some of them have become especially interesting to scientists and researchers:

The island of Barsakelmes, which is distinguished by its amazing nature, where one of the large nature reserves is located. This territory belongs to Kazakhstan.
Kokaral Island also belongs to Kazakhstan, and in 2016 it was an isthmus that connected two parts of the former sea.
Renaissance Island belongs to two countries - Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. There is a lot of biological waste buried on this island.

Facts of recent history

Even in ancient Arab chronicles, Lake Aral was mentioned, which was once one of the largest in the world. Today it is even difficult to say right away where the Aral Lake is, which is so difficult to find on the map.

Scientists study this natural object, and someone finds the cause of the disaster in something completely different. Some believe that this happened due to the destruction of the bottom layers, and the water simply does not reach the place, others consider a different point of view, believing that due to climate change, negative changes are occurring in the glaciers that feed the Syr Darya and Amu Darya.

Once upon a time, the former wastewater Aral Lake was well studied by a member of the Russian Geographical Society L. Berg, who wrote a book about it “Essays on the History of Research of the Aral Sea”. He believed that in ancient times none of the ancient Greek and Roman peoples described this body of water, although it had been known about it for a very long time.

When the sea began to become shallower and land appeared in the 60s of the last century, Renaissance Island was formed, which is divided into the territory of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, 78% and 22% respectively. Uzbekistan has decided to conduct geological exploration in search of oil, many experts believe that if minerals are found, this could lead to a clash between the two countries.

Lessons for the whole world

Many experts believed until recently that it was not possible to restore the salty Aral Lake. However, progress has been made in restoring the northern Small Aral, including thanks to the built dam.

Before destroying nature, it is worth thinking about what the consequences might be, and the Aral Sea is a clear example for everyone. People can easily destroy the natural environment, but then the restoration process will be long and difficult. Thus, Lake Chad in Central Africa and Lake Salton Sea in the USA may suffer the same consequences.

The tragedy of the Aral Sea was also touched upon in art. In 2001, the Kazakh rock opera “Takyr” was staged, and the book “Barsakelmes” was written by the Uzbek writer Jonrid Abdullakhanov. Similar relationships between man and nature are revealed in the film “Dogs.”