Evaporation of the Aral Sea - Evaporation of the Aral Sea - Comparison of satellite...

Evaporation of the Aral Sea - Evaporation of the Aral Sea - Comparison of satellite images taken on 19 August 2000 (left) and 16 August 2009 (right) by the Terra satellite. In overprint, the shore of the Aral Sea in 1960. In the first half of the 20th century, the Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake. In the 1960s, the Sovietic Union began a massive irrigation project in what is now Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, moving water from rivers that feed the Aral Sea to irrigate agricultural land. In August 2009, virtually nothing remains of the eastern lobe of the southern Aral Sea. In 2005, Kazakhstan built the Kok-Aral dam between the northern and southern parts of the lake to successfully preserve water levels in the north. The southern part of the Aral Sea is considered irrecuperable. Comparison of satellite images taken on August 19 2000 (left) and August 16 2009 (right) by satellite Terra. Approximate shoreline in 1960 has been added. The Aral Sea, is actually a lake rather than a sea. In the 1960s, the Soviet Union began a massive irrigation project in what are now Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, diverting water from the rivers that feed the Aral Sea to irrigate farmland. Although the Northern Aral Sea (upper right) still appears healthy, the Southern Aral Sea consists of two isolated water bodies: an irregular oval shape directly southwest of the Northern Aral Sea, and the long, thin remainder of the Southern Aral Sea's far western lobe. Although the faintest glimmers of blue - green appear in the eastern lobe, earth tones predominate, surrounded by a ghostly film of pale beige. Lake sediments from this depleted water body have provided ample material for frequent dust storms. Much of what finally doomed the Southern Aral Sea was an attempt to save its neighbor to the north. In 2005, Kazakhstan built the Kok - Aral Dam between the lake's northern and southern p