Transcript These images show the Aral Sea, which is divided between

MYSTERY
of the
DISAPPEARING
SEA?
These images show the
Aral Sea,
which is divided between
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
For more than 30 years,
water has been diverted from
the Amu-Darya and the
Syr-Darya Rivers
feeding the Aral, to irrigate
millions of acres of land for
cotton and rice production
in Central Asia.
This has
caused a loss
of more than
60% of the
lake's water.
The lake has shrunk
from over 65,000 sq km
to less than half that size,
exposing large areas
of the lake bed.
From 1973 to 1987
the Aral dropped from
fourth to sixth among the
world's largest lakes.
1973
1987
1997
The local climate has
reportedly shifted,
with hotter, drier summers
and colder, longer winters.
Dust storms have blown up
to 75,000 tons
of this exposed soil annually,
dispersing its salt particles
and pesticide residues.
This air pollution has caused
widespread nutritional
and respiratory ailments.
An estimated 75 million tons
of salts and toxic dusts have
been spread across
Central Asia
Crop yields have been
diminished by the added
salinity, even in some of the
same fields irrigated
with the diverted water.
The lake's salt concentration
increased from
10% to more than 23%,
contributing to the devastation
of a once thriving fishery.
But a note of promise
is on the horizon.
In 1997, the local government
in the town of Aralsk
took matters
into its own hands.
It deployed earth-moving
equipment to scoop sand from
the seabed and build a dike
12 miles long.
Birds reappeared, including
gulls, swans, and pheasants.
Danish scientists analyzed
fresh sole from its waters
and were amazed to find them
clean enough to eat.
The World Bank is
considering funding to make
the dike a permanent fixture.
The United Nations and
European donors have granted
more than $1 million dollars
to help clean the lakeside
area and revive traditional
livestock and fishing.
MYSTERY
of the
DISAPPEARING
SEA?