The Dying Sea

The Dying Sea

By: 
Radek Skrivanek

The images in this narrative describe the aftermath of one of the largest environmental disasters man has perpetrated – the death of the Aral Sea, once the planet's fourth largest lake.

Lost species of the Aral Sea
Lost species of the Aral Sea
© Radek Skrivanek
 
 

In the winter of 2004, I arrived to Aralsk, the gateway to the Aral Sea. It was once the sea's largest city and a center of the thriving fishing industry, with a bustling port and shipyards. My first visit coincided with the centennial of the city's founding. The freshly painted administrative buildings contrasted sharply with the general decline resulting from the surrounding ecological catastrophe. The city's port, shipyards, and the entire fishing industry vanished as the sea receded behind the horizon. In the port, the loading docks are quietly frozen in time, the arms of abandoned port cranes tower above like fossil remains of bygone era. A dredging barge trapped in a dead-end channel is a testament of the final desperate efforts to keep the port open and connected with the sea by artificial waterways. The rising salinity of the shrinking sea made the remaining lake uninhabitable to the indigenous species of fish. With no fish to catch, the fishing fleet was abandoned 40 miles south of town in a small natural harbor, where the ships sunk their keels into the mud as the sea withdrew from underneath them.

The loss of the Aral Sea ecosystem, and the following collapse of economy was only the beginning.  Other unforeseen consequences soon began to manifest throughout the region. The local climate, which once was moderated by the mass of water in sea, has changed. Both summer and winter are longer, and temperatures have steadily grown more extreme. This change has adversely impacted local agriculture.


Wind erosion of the former seabed is a serious problem. The sediments on the dry seabed contain salt from the retreating sea as well as toxic chemicals deposited after decades of runoff from the intensive cotton farming which drained the lake. On windy days, these particles are stirred into ominous clouds that engulf the entire region and beyond. These toxic dust storms pose a serious health hazard for the remaining population along with contaminating the soil and groundwater. Mothers’ milk in the area of Western Uzbekistan contains high levels of these poisonous substances.


 
Once he was a fisherman
Once he was a fisherman
© Radek Skrivanek

The widespread cotton farming, responsible for the creation of these conditions, did not bring much wealth and prosperity to Central Asia. On the contrary, the proceeds from the exports of cotton often support governments with some of the worst human rights records. Intimidation of farmers to force cultivation of cotton in place of other crops, as well as using child labor to work the cotton fields, are well established practices, adding much human suffering to the already extracted price of environmental degradation.

More information: 

 Radek's homepage for more of his images on the Aral Sea and other topics

View a timeline of NASA space imagess showing the shrinking of the Aral Sea