The Aral Sea
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Transcript The Aral Sea
The Aral Sea
Justine Robinson
Rebecca Walker
Ashley Terrill
Where is it?
The Aral Sea, located in Uzbekistan and
Kazakstan (both countries were part of
the former Soviet Union), is historically a
saline lake.
1989 vs. 2003
The Aral Sea…
Once the world's fourth-largest inland sea with
an area of 68,000 km², the Aral Sea has been
steadily shrinking since the 1960s, after the
rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya that fed it
were diverted by Soviet Union irrigation
projects.
By 2004, the sea had shrunk to 25% of its
original surface area, and a nearly fivefold
increase in salinity had killed most of its natural
flora and fauna.
The Aral Sea…
The Aral is an inland salt-water sea with
no outlet. It is fed by two rivers, the Amu
Darya and Syr Darya.
The fresh water from these two rivers
held the Aral's water and salt levels in
perfect balance.
What happened?
In the early 1960's, the Soviet central
government decided to make the Soviet
Union self-sufficient in cotton and
increase rice production.
Government officials ordered the
additional amount of needed water to be
taken from the two rivers that feed the
Aral Sea.
What happened?
Large dams were built across both rivers,
and an 850-mile central canal with a farreaching system of "feeder" canals was
created.
When the irrigation system was
completed, millions of acres along both
sides of the main canal were flooded.
What happened?
Over the next 30 years, the Aral Sea
experienced a severe drop in water level,
its shoreline receded, and its salt content
increased.
1960 to 2008 Visual
http://www.orexca.com/aral_sea.shtml
Works Cited
Aral Sea. 4 Nov. 2008
<http://enrin.grida.no/aral/aralsea/english/
arsea/arsea.htm>.
The Aral Sea. 4 Nov. 2008
<http://visearth.ucsd.edu/VisE_Int/aralse
a/>.