From Aral Sea to Aralkum Problems of and solutions for a lost lake
Siegmar-W. Breckle Dept. Ecology / Bielefeld
The disappearance of the Aral Sea within the last half of the former century
Universität Bielefeld
Berlin
Lake Urmia
Middle Asia : endorrheic areas
With 3 erosion basins: Kaspian Sea, Aral Sea and Balkhash Sea
htpp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov „The lost Aral Sea
Very shallow coastline, NW of Barsa Kelmes, 28m asl,
background Kulandi peninsula (phot: SWBr, July 2004) Lake Urmia
Very shallow Eastern coastline, 1268m asl, during strong spring rains (phot: SWBr, April 2004) Strong spring rains in Kandovan village (2240m asl) (phot: SWBr, April 2004) Strong rains and floods in Kandovan village (2230m asl) (phot: SWBr, April 2004) Strong spring rains in pittoresque Kandovan village (phot: SWBr, April 2004) From Aral Sea to Aralkum Problems of and solutions for a lost lake
Contents Introduction / Aral <> Urmia
Problems and actual present situation recent history Actual Aralkum salt dust, sand storms
Solutions and future development
Acknowledgements (www.na.unep.net) Aral Sea Landsat- Scene 1973
(www.na.unep.net) Aralkum from space: NASA-Satellite image 16.08.2009
NASA.gov/images/imagerecords/39000/39944/aral_sea_20090816_lrg.jpg Aralkum from space: NASA-Satellite image 26.08.2010
earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/images/aral/aral_sea_20100826_lrg.jpg The lost Aral Sea: year area volume salinity 1960 100% 100% 0,9% 1971 90% 89% 1,0% 1982 76% 59% 1,7% 1993 66% 26% 3,5% 2004 40% 19% 4,3% 2010 12% 6% 7-10% AS(WB)
The new desert: Almost 60.000 km2 Larger than the Netherlands [41.500km2]
Syrdarya, Amudarya: Main tributaries to the Aral Sea From Aral Sea to Aralkum – Loss of c. 55.000 km2 water surface area Start of the temporal sequence (Succession)
The retreating Aral Sea: sea floor desiccation, North Coast of Barsa Kelmes (phot: SWBr Juli 2004)
Crusty marshy Solonchak, Barsa Kelmes North Coast, (phot: SWBr July 2004) The lost Aral Sea: Ships without water in the middle of the new sandy desert (phot: M. Wennemann May 2003) Rusty remnants of steam boats (phot: SWBreckle April 2004) Lacking infrastructure: loamy salt desert roads are slippery like soap (phot: SWBreckle April 2004) Loamy salt desert roads are slippery like soap (phot: SWBreckle April 2004) Desiccation: Dry sea floor, salty loam mosaic, N Aral Sea coast (phot: SWBreckle April 2004)
North Coast, Northern Aral Sea (Shevshenko-Bay), stiff cliffs (chinks) and the typical vegetation/ecosystems gradient Panorama; phot: SWBr May 2003 -Belt
-Belt -Belt
aphyllum)
-Belt
Halocnemum
Saxaul-Belt Tamarix
Salicornia Suaeda Atriplexand open pratovii saltdesert
and/or 2004 (Haloxylon
Saxaul-Belt (Haloxylon aphyllum) the spatial gradient and the temporal replacement (succession) (phot: SWBreckle May 2003) Seedlings of Petrosimonia, Suaeda and Salicornia in car traces of Solonchak (phot: SWBr July 2004) Dry sea floor: remnants of Zostera and germinating Salicornia (phot: SWBr Juli 2004) Salicornia europaea, Aral Sea surface in the first year after desiccation (phot: WWucherer Oct. 1994) Salicornia europaea community on marshy solonchaks Bassia hyssopifolia community on coastal solonchaks (one year after drying out) ( 9 years after drying out )
Haloxylon aphyllum-Atriplex pratovii community on Halocnemum strobilaceum community on coastal degraded coastal solonchaks (22-24 years after drying out) solonchaks (30-32 years after drying out) Climate Very hot summers
[c.1940'1960]
Very frosty winters Main landscape types in the new Aralkum
Wetlands 10% Sand-Desert 20%
Salt-Desert 70%
Huge flats between Barsa Kelmes and Kaskakulan, source of salt dust, with few single Halocnemum strobilaceum bushes (Chenopodiaceae) (phot: WWucherer) Saltcrust and saltdust desert up to the horizon Typical deflation pattern: Salt dust is blown out
Crusty-puffy solonchak plains of the Aralkum east of Barsa Kelmes:
the source of salt dust storms (phot: SWBr Juli 2004) Universität Bielefeld