The Aral Sea is an endorheic s alt lake located in Central Asia, to be more precise, on the border of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Since the 60s of the last century, the water level in the sea, as well as its size, has decreased significantly. Why is the Aral Sea drying up? There are several main reasons. Scientists suggest that this phenomenon occurs as a result of water intake for various needs through the feeding rivers: the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya.
Water is running out
It is worth noting that the Aral Sea was originally ranked 4th in the list of the largest lakes. However, gradually the reservoir began to decrease in size. It is believed that agriculture also influenced the state of the lake. After all, large amounts of water are required to irrigate large crop areas. At the moment, the Aral Sea has receded from its original borders by about 100 kilometers. This piece of land has become a barren desert. Experts are still figuring out why the Aral Sea is drying up and whether it can be stopped. After all, such a phenomenon is an ecological disaster.
Agriculture andAral Sea
Why did the lake dry up so fast? Many believe that the water that flows into the riverbed from the fields has become one of the main reasons. After all, it is not always clean. Periodically, pesticides and some pesticides used in agriculture are supplied to the waters of such rivers as the Syrdarya and Amudarya. As a result, specific deposits are formed in reservoirs, the length of which is about 54 thousand kilometers. It is worth noting that substances such as sodium sulfate, sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate are distributed along with air currents. These components slow down the development of agricultural and vegetable crops.
In addition, the rural population suffers from many chronic respiratory diseases, cancer of the esophagus and larynx, as well as anemia and digestive disorders. Recently, cases of eye ailments, as well as diseases of the kidneys and liver, have become more frequent.
Water withdrawal and ecological disaster
Eastern Aral Sea dried up completely. One of the reasons is irrigation canals that take water from rivers. As a result, the lake becomes smaller. Even despite the large drainage basin, the reservoir simply does not receive water. At the same time, the irrigation system has a length of several hundred kilometers. Water intake is carried out on the territory of several states at once. Naturally, this leads to the disappearance of some representatives of the flora and fauna.
Simple numbers
Today there are many paperpublications with catchy titles, such as "Why is the Aral Sea drying up?" The summary of such brochures attracts attention, but does not give a clear idea. To understand the root cause, it is worth digging deeper and diving into the real numbers. This is the only way to understand why the Aral Sea is drying up, is it possible to stop this process.
It is worth noting that water intake for irrigation of cotton fields and for washing them from s alt began to be carried out in the early 60s of the last century. This happened intensively, and the influx of moisture to the reservoir was significantly reduced. But you can't grow anything on a drained area covered with a layer of s alt.
The problem lies elsewhere. Water intake from such rivers as the Syrdarya and Amudarya began to be carried out before it entered the delta. After all, the size of the irrigated area has grown from three to seven million hectares. In addition, irrigation systems are far from perfect: the norms are significantly overestimated, and soil salinization is progressing. Much more fresh water is required than is presented in preliminary calculations. That is why the Aral Sea dries up, leaving behind a s alty desert. In addition, due to the deterioration of the soil composition, cotton yields have significantly decreased. As a result, this led to an increase in acreage. No more than 110 cubic kilometers of water from the basins of both rivers reach the Aral Sea.
Precipitation and the Aral Sea
It is not so easy to answer the question why the Aral Sea has dried up. The photo shows that the reservoir has decreased in size literally in recent years, and there are reasons for this. According to geographers from the University of Michigan and experts on the Aral Sea, the reservoir dried up due to poor rainfall. Over the years, the amount of snow and rainwater in the mountains has been greatly reduced. This led to a decrease in the water level in the rivers.
River flows
It has been proven that the boundaries of the Aral Sea have fluctuated over many centuries. The eastern part of this reservoir for the first time dried up not in our time. This went on for 600 years. It all started with the fact that one of the branches of the Amu Darya began to direct its flows to the Caspian Sea. Naturally, this led to the fact that the Aral Sea began to receive less water. The reservoir gradually began to decrease in size.
Where does this lead to
Now many people know where the Aral Sea disappears. Why did the lake dry up? What is it paying for? The pond is shrinking. Where sea vessels once drifted, you can see a sandy plateau, which divided the water area into several parts: the Small Sea - 21 km 3 , the Big Sea - 342 km 3. However, the ecological catastrophe did not stop there. Its scale continues to grow.
According to experts, in the near future the water level in the Great Sea will gradually decrease, which will lead to an increase in its salinity. In addition, certain species of marine animals and plants may disappear. In addition, the wind gradually carries s alt from the drained territories. BUTthis leads to deterioration of soil composition.
Can it be stopped?
The reasons why the Aral Sea is drying up have long been identified. However, no one is in a hurry to correct the consequences. After all, this requires a lot of effort, as well as financial costs. If the discharge of sewage into the lake continues, it will simply turn into a sump, which will be unsuitable for agriculture. At the moment, all work should be aimed at recreating the natural boundaries of the reservoir.
Since the Aral Sea has not yet completely dried up, but only its eastern part, the strategy for its rescue should be aimed at stabilizing the ecological system. It is necessary to restore its ability to self-regulation. To begin with, the planting areas should be repurposed for other crops, for example, for fruits or vegetables. They require less moisture. All forces in this case should be directed to the main reasons that caused the drainage of a large s alt lake. This is the only way to save the blue pearl of Central Asia.
