Related on Lably
Through Agriculture, Soviet Union and Irrigation
History
The Aral Sea began shrinking in the 1960s, when the Soviet Union decided that the two rivers feeding it, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, would be diverted in order to irrigate cotton and food crops in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In 1987, due to an accelerated loss of water, the Aral Sea was split into northern and southern parts; the northern part is the current North Aral Sea.
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Salinity
In 2007, the western basin had a salinity of 70 g/L and the eastern basin 100 g/L. Once the water level falls below the connecting channel (elevation 29 m), the salinities can be expected to diverge further. Under current conditions, the eastern basin may receive water from the Amu Darya in wet years, fluctuating in salinity and flooding an area of up to 4500 km2 in salt water to a depth of about one meter, which would preclude any economic activity in the area, while the western basin becomes increasingly saline. Water diversion from the Amu Darya directly to the deeper western basin could lower its salinity enough to allow resumption of local fisheries, while allowing the eastern basin to desiccate almost entirely and avoiding the problems of flooding.
Current situation
The West Aral Sea is expected to stabilize at 2,700–3,500 km2 (1,040–1,350 mi2), a mean depth of 14–15 m (46–49 ft), and a maximum depth of 37–40 m (121–131 ft), assuming groundwater discharge at the rate of 2 km3 (0.5 mi3) per year. The Eastern Sea dried up completely in the summer of 2009, apart from the small (now intermittent) Barsakelmes Lake between the Northern and Western seas. However, it received some water from snow melt in the spring of 2010. It is expected to alternate between complete desiccation in the summers and the occasional flood from the Amu Darya or spillover from the Kokaral Dam. Plans for a second dike, though, may reduce the incidence of the latter.
In 2015, the Western Sea was starting to split into two, as the channel that connects the central part of the sea and the small North-Eastern part was growing skinnier, as can be shown in the 2014 image. Since 2018, the split has been complete.