Reclaiming the Aral Sea
Notes:
- The Aral Sea is located in Central Asia and was the fourth largest lake in the world in 1960
- The Aral Sea gets almost all of its water from the Amu and Syr Rivers; over the years the Amu drifted away, causing the Aral Sea to shrink, but it rebounded as the Amu shifted back
- Irrigation for crops and plants cuts flow into deltas and the sea
- The Soviet Union hid the sea's demise for decades until 1985; the sea level dropped so much the sea was separated into 2 bodies: the Large Aral (south) and the Small Aral (north)
- Volume dropped from 708 to 75 cubic kilometers, and salinity rose from 14 to 100+ grams per liter
- 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union divided the lake between newly formed Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
- Consequences of the desiccation of the Aral Sea: reduced river flows ended spring floods that sustained wetlands with freshwater and enriched sediment, drop in fish species because of rising salinity and loss of spawning/feeding grounds, loss of commercial fisheries=loss of jobs
- Groundwater levels dropped, intensifying desertification; only half of native mammal and bird species could be found; climate changed (hotter summers, colder winters, lower humidity, less rainfall, shorter growing season, and droughts are more common)
- "Receding sea has exposed and dried 54,000 square kilometers of seabed, which is choked with salt and in some places laced with pesticides and other agricultural chemicals deposited by runoff from area farming"
- Local population suffers from respiratory illnesses, throat and esophageal cancer, and digestive disorders caused by breathing and ingesting salt-laden air and water., liver and kidney ailments, and eye problems
- Only way for sea to return to original state is to reduce irrigation; switch out water-intensive crops for less water-intensive crops (cotton for winter wheat)
- Improve irrigation canals that cut through sand and allow large amounts of water to seep away
- Large Aral continues to shrink
- Only a long, narrow channel connects the shallow eastern basin and the deeper western basin, and this could close
- If countries along the Amu don't do anything, salinity would exceed 100 g/l, possibly reach up to 200 g/l; with the only creatures living there brine shrimp and bacteria
- Large-scale engineering and improved irrigation could improve Amu's basin
Summary: The Aral Sea's situation is because of the growing population, the Soviet Union needed more agriculture in the area, and irrigation was increased. This caused the Aral Sea to evaporate itself leaving a high salinity level, and the water level started to decrease as well as biodiversity. However, there is a solution to this, less water for irrigation and more pumping of water into the sea.
Reflection: After reading this article I feel really bad that the sea reduced throughout time, because of human actions. As a result, it caused the sea to evaporate and leave a high salinity level and the biodiversity started to decrease. They don't deserve to suffer the consequences!! I hope the sea could return back to normal in the future. It will take a miracle to return it back, but nobody says it's impossible :)!
Reflection: After reading this article I feel really bad that the sea reduced throughout time, because of human actions. As a result, it caused the sea to evaporate and leave a high salinity level and the biodiversity started to decrease. They don't deserve to suffer the consequences!! I hope the sea could return back to normal in the future. It will take a miracle to return it back, but nobody says it's impossible :)!