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The Aral Sea: A Story of Devastation and Partial Recovery of a Large Lake

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Large Asian Lakes in a Changing World

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Abstract

The Aral Sea was a huge brackish-water lake lying in a tectonic depression amidst the deserts of Central Asia. Water bodies of various dimensions have repeatedly filled this depression over the past several million years. Its modern incarnation is thought to be somewhat more than 20,000 years in age. In modern times, the sea supported a major fishery and functioned as a key regional transportation route. But since the 1960s, the Aral has undergone rapid desiccation and salinization, overwhelmingly the result of unsustainable expansion of irrigation that largely dried up its two tributary rivers, the Amu Dar’ya and Syr Dar’ya (dar’ya in the Turkic languages of Central Asia means river) before they reached the Aral Sea. The desiccation of the Aral Sea has had severe negative impacts, including, among others, the demise of commercial fishing, devastation of the floral and faunal biodiversity of the native ecosystems of the Syr and Amu Deltas, and increased frequency and strength of salt/dust storms. However, efforts have been and are being made to partially restore the sea’s hydrology along with its biodiversity, and economic value. The northern part of the Aral has been separated from the southern part by a dike and dam, leading to a level rise and lower salinity. This has allowed native fishes to return from the rivers and revitalized the fishing industry. Partial preservation of the Western Basin of the southern Aral Sea may be possible, but these plans need much further environmental and economic analysis.

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Acknowledgements

The work of SK was supported by a State assignment of the IGM SB RAS, and those of NVA and ISP by the theme of the State assignment for 2019-2021 “AAAA-A19-119020690091-0. Studies of biological diversity and the mechanisms of the impact of anthropogenic and natural factors on the structural and functional organization of ecosystems of continental water bodies. Systematization of the biodiversity of salt lakes and brackish-water inland seas in the zone of critical salinity, study of the role of brackish water species in ecosystems”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 49008, 5424, USA

    Philip Micklin

  2. Laboratory of Brackish Water Hydrobiology, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia

    Nikolai V. Aladin & Igor S. Plotnikov

  3. School of Global Governance and Collaboration, Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, 57 Takenoyama, Iwasaki, Nissin Aichi, 470-0197, Japan

    Tetsuro Chida

  4. Eurasia Department, German Archaeological Institute, Im Dol 2-6, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Nikolaus Boroffka

  5. Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, 3 Koptyug Ave., 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia

    Sergey Krivonogov

  6. KIMEP University, 4 Abai Ave., Almaty, 050010, Kazakhstan

    Kristopher White

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  1. Institue of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Steffen Mischke

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Micklin, P. et al. (2020). The Aral Sea: A Story of Devastation and Partial Recovery of a Large Lake. In: Mischke, S. (eds) Large Asian Lakes in a Changing World. Springer Water. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42254-7_4

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