Aral Sea. Holidays, maps, photos, videos. Causes of the death of the Aral Sea and environmental consequences. Restoring the Aral Sea

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 coming from the fields into the bed 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 it is all spread over 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.”

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.

Excessive water withdrawal for agricultural irrigation has turned the world's fourth largest lake-sea, once rich in life, into a barren desert.

The volume of the Greater Aral Sea decreased from 708 to only 75 km 3, 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.

Dry seabed

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 in the Aral Sea ceased as the water 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.

Toxic substances

The retreating sea left behind 54 thousand km 2 of dry seabed, covered with salt, and in some places also with deposits of pesticides and various other agricultural pesticides, 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.

Hope for the northern Small Aral

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 km 3 . 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 help save about 12 km 3 of water annually, but would cost $16 billion. So far, the countries of the Aral Sea basin have neither the money nor the political will for this.

Kazakhstan, however, has made an attempt to at least partially restore the northern Small Aral Sea. In the early 1990s. an earthen dam was built to prevent the outflow of water to the south, where it was needlessly lost due to evaporation. Despite the fact that the dam was destroyed as a result of a catastrophic breach in April 1999, the attempt demonstrated the fundamental possibility of raising the water level and reducing its salinity. Kazakhstan and the World Bank allocated $85 million to solve this problem. The main element of the new structure, completed in November 2005, was a much more powerful earthen dam, 13 km long, including a concrete dam with a hydraulic gate to regulate the flow of water. The large volume of flow from the Syr Darya River the following winter marked the beginning of the restoration of the northern Small Aral. As a result, in just eight months the water level here rose from 40 to 42 m above the level of the World Ocean - to a pre-calculated height. The water surface area has increased by 18%, and the salinity of the water, starting from about 20 g/l, has steadily decreased and today has reached a level of 10 g/l. Fishermen again began to catch representatives of various species of fish - including such valuable ones as pike perch and carp.

Return to well-being

The authors of this article expect that the salinity of water in the Small Aral will eventually settle in the range of 3–14 g/l, depending on the location. At these rates, many other local species should recover (although flounder will disappear almost everywhere). The general restoration of the reservoir will also continue. For example, if by improving the irrigation system the average annual flow of the Syr Darya is increased to 4.5 km 3, then the water in the Small Aral will stabilize at a level of about 47 m. In this case, the coastline would be located 8 km from the former large port city of Aralsk - quite close to carry out dredging work and bring the old canal into working condition. Along it, large fishing vessels could go to sea again, and shipping would resume. A further decrease in water salinity should have a beneficial effect on the condition of coastal floodplains and on the number of fish. In addition, the outflow of water into the reservoirs of the southern Greater Aral could increase, contributing to their restoration. The implementation of such a plan would require the construction of a much longer and higher dam, as well as the reconstruction of the existing hydraulic gate. However, it is not yet clear whether Kazakhstan has the means and the desire to undertake this project. For now, the country is thinking about ways to solve a much more modest problem: how to bring the Aral Sea closer to Aralsk.

Plan for the southern Greater Aral

The Big Aral is going through difficult times: it continues to rapidly become shallow. The shallow reservoir in the east and the deeper western reservoir are now connected only by a long narrow channel, and there is no certainty that it will not one day dry up completely. According to our estimates, if the countries through which the Amu Darya flows do not change anything, then the isolated eastern reservoir, at the current rate of groundwater inflow and evaporation, can stabilize over an area of 4300 km 2. Moreover, its average depth would be 2.5 m, and the salinity of the water would exceed 100 g/l, perhaps even reaching 200 g/l. The only inhabitants of such an environment could be the crustaceans Artemia and bacteria.

The fate of the western reservoir depends on the influx of groundwater. One of the authors of this article (Aladin) noticed numerous freshwater springs on the western coastal ledges. According to our careful calculations, this reservoir should retain an area of about 2100 square meters. km. It will remain relatively deep, with a depth of 37 m in places, but the salinity of its water will significantly exceed 100 g/l.

Large-scale construction of a number of hydraulic structures could contribute to the restoration of the western reservoir. One old plan for the restoration of the entire Aral Sea, which Miklin recently revised, will also come in handy. Since this project has not been thoroughly evaluated, the cost of its implementation is unknown, but it may involve significant funds. It provides for a fairly moderate increase in the volume of Amu Darya flow through rational improvements to the irrigation system in the river's drainage basin. An important element of the plan is also the restoration of local reed floodplains.

Similar work began in the late 1980s. in the Soviet Union, continued today by Uzbekistan. At present, we can already talk about minimal success in restoring the biological diversity of water bodies, fisheries and natural filtration of wastewater using aquatic vegetation (primarily reeds), but there is no quick solution to the problem. The drying up of the Aral Sea has continued for more than 40 years. Implementing long-term, environmentally sustainable solutions will require not only major capital investment and technological innovation, but also fundamental political, social and economic changes.

Lesson for the whole world

Until recently, many experts considered the Aral Sea to be irretrievably lost. However, progress in restoring the northern Small Aral shows that large areas of this reservoir may well become ecologically and economically productive again. The history of the Aral Sea is not only a clear example of the ability of modern technological society to destroy the natural world and people themselves. It also demonstrates the enormous capabilities of man in restoring the environment. There are other large bodies of water in the world that are beginning to repeat the sad fate of the Aral Sea - in particular, Lake Chad in Central Africa and Lake Salton Sea in the south of the US state of California. We hope that the lesson learned was well learned by everyone, and the right conclusions will now be drawn from it.

Humans can quickly destroy the natural environment, but restoring it is a long and difficult process. Before taking any active action, designers must carefully assess all the possible consequences of large-scale intervention in a particular natural system, which was not done in the Soviet Union.

The absence of serious problems today is not a guarantee for the future. Farmland irrigation was widespread in the Aral Sea basin for many centuries and did not cause serious damage to the lake-sea until the 1960s, when further expansion of the irrigation network threw the hydrological system of the entire region out of balance.

We should beware of hasty steps in solving complex environmental and social problems. Although a significant reduction in cotton cultivation could increase the flow of water into the sea, it would harm the national economy, causing unemployment and social discontent. The decisions made require not only funding and an innovative approach - they must be politically, socially and economically justified.

The natural environment has an amazing ability to recover, so don't lose hope and stop trying to save it. At one time, many experts considered the Aral Sea doomed, but today large parts of it can be considered ecologically restored.

The creation of a number of hydraulic structures and reduction of water losses in irrigation canals could help in restoring the western reservoir of the Greater Aral. The implementation of this plan will improve the local climate and create favorable conditions for birds and waterfowl. The outflow into the eastern reservoir would gradually desalinate the water in the western reservoir, since more salt would be carried out from the latter than entered; the salinity of the water in it could probably drop below 15 g/l, allowing fish to return here. In the water of the eastern reservoir, which has become hyper-salty, only crustaceans of the genus Artemia and bacteria could now live. The area of the Small Aral would continue to increase, reviving industrial fishing and shipping from Aralsk.

Additional literature:
1) Hydrobiology of the Aral Sea. Edited by Nikolay V. Aladin et al. Dying and Dead Seas: Climatic vs. Anthropic Causes. NATO Science Series IV: Earth and Environmental Sciences. Vol. 36. Kluwer, 2004.
2) The Aral Sea Disaster. Philip Micklin in Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Vol. 35, pages 47–72; 2007.

Translation: A.N. Bozhko

In 1989, the lake split into two isolated reservoirs - 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%. In 2014, the eastern part of the South (Great) Aral Sea completely dried up, reaching a historical minimum area of the entire sea in that year of 7297 km². Having temporarily overflowed in the spring of 2015 (up to 10,780 km² of the entire sea), by the autumn of 2015 its water surface had again decreased to 8,303 km².

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. However, since the beginning of systematic observations in the 19th century, the level of the Aral Sea has remained virtually unchanged. In the 1930s, large-scale construction of irrigation canals began, which was especially intensified in the early 1960s. From 1960 to 1990, the area of irrigated land in Central Asia increased from 4.5 million to 7 million hectares. Water requirements in the national economy have increased from 60 to 120 km³ 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.

The climate in the Aral Sea area (above the former water area and within a radius of 50-100 km from it) has become more continental and arid, winters have become colder (by 1-3 degrees). A sand-salt desert formed in place of the bottom of the retreated sea; with strong winds (which are observed in this region for 30-50 days a year), intense dust storms develop over the dried bottom, the dust plume reaches a length of 200-300 km, and, depending on the wind direction, reaches cities such as Kzyl -Horda, Baikonur, Chelkar, Nukus, etc., manifesting itself in the form of a whitish haze that impairs air transparency (visibility range). Since salt deposits on the dried bottom contain large amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides (used in agriculture and washed from fields into rivers and then into the sea), inhalation of such air can negatively affect the health of people and animals in these regions.

As a result of shallowing, the salinity of the Aral increased sharply, which caused the extinction of many species of flora and fauna adapted to lower salinity. The sea has lost its fishing significance. The ports of Aralsk, Muynak and Kazakhdarya lost their importance and were closed. Most experts do not see any way to restore the level of the entire sea, except for the Soviet project to divert Siberian rivers. In 2005, Kazakhstan built the Kokaral Dam, which separated the Small Sea from the Big Sea. Thanks to this, the waters of the Syr Darya accumulate in the Small Sea, the level here has increased, and the salinity has decreased.

In Karakalpakstan, Charzhou Abdirov, academician, Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, worked a lot to improve the environmental situation for the population of the coastal regions of the Aral Sea. Since 1994, in addition to medical research and organization of medical events, as a deputy of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, he headed the Committee on Environment and Nature Conservation, and took an active part in the preparation of legislative acts on environmental issues and solving problems of the population of this region. However, on the Uzbek side, the process of drying out of the sea is most active (the waters of the Amu Darya do not reach the sea).

One of the border objects separating Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is the endorheic salty Aral Sea. In its heyday, this lake-sea was considered the fourth largest in the world in terms of the volume of water it contained; its depth reached 68 meters.

In the 20th century, when the Republic of Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union, the waters and bottom of the sea were explored by specialists. As a result of radiocarbon analysis, it was established that this reservoir was formed in the prehistoric era, approximately 20-24 thousand years ago.

At that time, the landscape of the earth's surface was constantly changing. Full-flowing rivers changed their courses, islands and entire continents appeared and disappeared. The main role in the formation of this water body was played by the rivers that at different times filled the sea called the Aral Sea.

In primitive times, the stone basin containing a large lake was filled with the waters of the Syr Darya. Then it really was no more than an ordinary lake. But after one of the shifts of tectonic plates, the Amu Darya River changed its original course, ceasing to feed the Caspian Sea.

Great waters and periods of drought in the history of the sea

Thanks to the powerful support of this river, the large lake replenished its water balance, becoming a real sea. Its level rose to 53 meters. Significant changes in the water landscape of the area and increased depth became the causes of climate humidification.

Through the Sarakamyshen depression it connects with the Caspian Sea, and its level rises to 60 meters. These favorable changes occurred in the 4th-8th millennium BC. At the turn of the 3rd millennium BC, aridization processes took place in the Aral Sea region.

The bottom again became closer to the water surface, and the waters dropped to 27 meters above sea level. The depression connecting two seas – the Caspian and Aral – is drying up.

The level of the Aral Sea fluctuates between 27-55 meters, alternating periods of revival and decline. The great medieval regression (drying out) came 400-800 years ago, when the bottom was hidden under 31 meters of water

Chronicle history of the sea

The first documentary evidence confirming the existence of a large salt lake can be found in Arab chronicles. These chronicles were kept by the great Khorezm scientist Al-Biruni. He wrote that the Khorezmians already knew about the existence of a deep sea from 1292 BC.

V.V. Bartholdi mentions that during the conquest of Khorezm (712-800), the city stood on the eastern coast of the Aral Sea, of which detailed evidence has been preserved. The ancient writings of the holy book Avesta have brought to this day a description of the Vaksh River (present-day Amu Darya), which flows into Lake Varakhskoye.

In the mid-19th century, a geological expedition of scientists (V. Obruchev, P. Lessor, A. Konshin) carried out work in the coastal region. Shore deposits discovered by geologists gave the right to assert that the sea occupied the area of the Sarakamyshin depression and the Khiva oasis. And during the migration of rivers and drying out, the mineralization of water sharply increased and salts fell to the bottom.

Facts of the recent history of the sea

The presented documentary evidence is collected in the book “Essays on the history of research of the Aral Sea”, written by a member of the Russian Geographical Society L. Berg. It is interesting to note that, according to L. Berg, neither ancient Greek nor ancient Roman historical or archaeological works contain any information about such an object.

During periods of regression, when the seabed was partially exposed, islands became isolated. In 1963, along one of the islands, Revival Island, a border was drawn between the territories occupied by present-day Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan: 78.97% of Revival Island is occupied by Uzbekistan, and 21.03% by Kazakhstan.

In 2008, Uzbekistan began geological exploration work on Vozrozhdeniya Island in order to discover oil and gas layers. Thus, Renaissance Island may turn out to be a “stumbling block” in the economic policies of the two countries.

It is planned to complete the bulk of geological exploration work in 2016. And already at the end of 2016, the LUKOIL corporation and Uzbekistan will drill two appraisal wells on Vozrozhdenie Island, taking into account seismic data.

Ecological situation in the Aral Sea region

What is the Small and Large Aral Sea? The answer can be obtained by studying the drying up of the Aral Sea. At the end of the 20th century, this reservoir experienced another regression - drying out. It splits into two independent objects - the Southern Aral and the Small Aral Sea.

Why did the Aral Sea disappear?

The water surface decreased to ¼ of its original value, and the maximum depth approached 31 meters, which became evidence of a significant (up to 10% of the initial volume) reduction in water in the already disintegrated sea.

Fishing, which once flourished on the lake-sea, left the southern reservoir - the large Aral Sea - due to the strong mineralization of the water. The Small Aral Sea has retained some fishing enterprises, but fish stocks there have also decreased significantly. The reasons why the sea bottom was exposed and individual islands appeared were:

Natural alternation of periods of regression (drying out); during one of them, in the middle of the 1st millennium, there was a “city of the dead” at the bottom of the Aral Sea, as evidenced by the fact that there is a mausoleum here, next to which several burials were discovered.
Drainage-collector waters and domestic wastewater from surrounding fields and vegetable gardens, containing pesticides and toxic chemicals, enter rivers and settle to the bottom of the sea.
The Central Asian rivers Amudarya and Syrdarya, partially flowing through the territory of the state of Uzbekistan, have reduced the recharge of the Aral Sea by 12 times due to the diversion of their waters for irrigation needs.
Global climate change: the greenhouse effect, the destruction and melting of mountain glaciers, and this is where Central Asian rivers originate.

The climate in the Aral Sea region has become harsher: cooling begins already in August, the summer air has become very dry and hot. Steppe winds blowing across the bottom of the sea carry toxic chemicals and pesticides across the entire Eurasian continent.

Aral is navigable

Back in the XYIII-XIX centuries, the depth of the sea was passable for a military flotilla, which included steamships and sailing ships. And scientific and research vessels penetrated the secrets that were hidden by the depths of the sea. In the last century, the depths of the Aral Sea abounded in fish and were suitable for navigation.

Until the next period of drying out at the end of the 70s of the 20th century, when the sea bottom began to sharply approach the surface, ports were located on the seashores:

Aralsk is the former center of the fishing industry on the Aral Sea; now here is the administrative center of one of the districts of the Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan. It was here that the start was given for the revival of fishing. The dam, built on the outskirts of the city, increased to 45 meters the depth of one of the parts into which the Small Aral Sea broke up, which has already made it possible to engage in fish farming. By 2016, fishing for flounder and freshwater fish has been established here: pike perch, catfish, Aral barbel, and asp. More than 15 thousand tons of fish were caught in the Small Aral Sea in 2016.
Muynak is located on the territory of the state of Uzbekistan, the former port and the sea are separated by 100-150 kilometers of steppe, on the site of which there was a seabed.
Kazakhdarya is a former port located on the territory of the state of Uzbekistan.

New land

The exposed bottom became islands. The largest islands stand out:

Vozrozhdeniya Island, the southern part of which is located on the territory of the state of Uzbekistan, and the northern part belongs to Kazakhstan; as of 2016, Vozrozhdeniya Island is a peninsula on which a large amount of biological waste is buried;
Barsakelmes Island; belongs to Kazakhstan, located 180 km from Aralsk; as of 2016, the Barsakalme Nature Reserve is located on this island in the Aral Sea;
Kokaral Island is located in the north of the former Aral Sea on the territory of Kazakhstan; Currently (as of 2016) it is a land isthmus connecting a large sea that has split into two parts.

Currently (as of 2016), all former islands are connected to the mainland.

Location of the Aral Sea on the map

Travelers and tourists visiting Uzbekistan are interested in the question: where is the mysterious Aral Sea, the depth of which in many places is zero? What do the Small and Large Aral Seas look like in 2016?

Caspian and Aral Sea on the map

The problems of the Aral Sea and the dynamics of its drying out are clearly visible on the satellite map. On an ultra-precise map depicting the territory occupied by Uzbekistan, one can trace a trend that could mean the death and disappearance of the sea. And the effects of a changing climate on the entire continent, which could result from the disappearing Aral Sea, will be catastrophic.

The problem of reviving a drying water body has become international. The real way to save the Aral Sea could be the project of turning the Siberian rivers. In any case, the World Bank, when 2016 began, allocated $38 million to the countries of the Central Asian region to solve the problem of the Aral Sea and mitigate the climate consequences in the region caused by disastrous processes in the Aral Sea.

Video: Documentary film about 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

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, give the Aral Sea 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 Syrdarya and Amu Darya have caused deposits of pesticides and various other agricultural pesticides, appearing in places over 54 thousand km? 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.

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 course across several states. Other consequences include the extinction of many species of animals and plants.

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. Have the region's national economy's water needs increased from 60 to 120 km? per year, of which 90% comes from 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.

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

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 the Kokaral dam from the Kokaral Peninsula to the mouth of the Syrdarya 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 has 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 Syr Darya, 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