The Aral Sea A Changing Environment The Aral

The Aral Sea A Changing Environment

The Aral Sea �The Aral Sea is located in the southern part of Kazakhstan and northern Uzbekistan. �Two major rivers feed the Aral Sea, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. �Up until the 1960’s the Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world. �In the 1960’s the USSR started to divert water from the two rivers to irrigate farms in the desert surrounding the Aral Sea.

The Aral Sea �Most of the water was diverted in order to grow cotton for the Soviet economy. �With the rivers being diverted, there was no longer enough precipitation to sustain the sea’s levels which has dropped about 75 feet over the last 40 years. �As the years went on the decrease in water level began to speed up.

The Aral Sea �As water levels began to drop the water became more shallow which in turn made the water warm quicker which increased evaporation. �Also, with the addition to an increase in farming, the sea became polluted from the fertilizers and other chemicals that became part of the runoff into the sea. �With an increase in pollution fish died off which impacted the food chain as well as those that relied on fishing as a job.

The Aral Sea �Large bodies of water cool the air as it travels over it. �With the shrinking of the Aral Sea, temperatures in the region began to rise which further evaporated the sea. �With a decrease in water and an increase in dirt, strong winds kick up dust and create large dust storms. �The dust from the storms blow dirt and sand into the farms which make it more difficult to farm.

The Aral Sea �By the 1990’s much of the Aral Sea became impossible to move ships through and many became part of a ship graveyard. �The Aral Sea has also impacted parts of central Asia that are further away. �Because of less water in the sea, storms that would pickup precipitation over the sea no longer produce as much snow in the mountains in central Asia.

The Aral Sea �Measures have been underway to increase the amount of water in the Aral Sea. �Dams have been built to try and retain water in the sea, but it may be too late to save the former large sea.