Aral Sea Evaporation (WMS)

Author:

Darrel Williams, Horace Mitchell, Joycelyn Thomson

Subject:

Science and Technology

Institution Name:

NASA

Collection:

NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio

Grade Level:

Secondary, Post-secondary

Abstract:

The Aral Sea is actually not a sea at all, but an immense fresh water lake. In the last thirty years, more than sixty percent of the lake has disappeared because much of the river flow feeding the lake was diverted to irrigate cotton fields and rice paddies. Concentrations of salts and minerals began to rise in the shrinking body of water, leading to staggering alterations in the lakes ecology and precipitous drops in the Arals fish population. Powerful winds that blow across this part of Asia routinely pick up and deposit the now exposed lake bed soil. This has contributed to a significant reduction in breathable air quality, and crop yields have been appreciably affected due to heavily salt laden particles falling on arable land. This series of Landsat images taken in 1973, 1987 and 2000 show the profound reduction in overall area at the north end of the Aral, and a commensurate increase in land area as the floor of the sea now lies exposed.

Course Type:

Learning Module

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Other

Media Format:

Graphics/Photos, Text/HTML, Video

Technical Requirements:

Real player

Conditions of Use:

Public Domain
Please give credit to NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio