4.2b case study - aral sea Flashcards
1
Q
What is the “Aral sea”?
A
4th largest lake in the world
2
Q
Where is the “Aral sea” located?
A
Located in central Asia, in between Kazachstan and Oezbekistan
3
Q
What happened to the “Aral sea”?
A
Shrunk massively over last 40 years.
Level dropped by 20cm/ yr for 10 years through 1960-1970
–> rate kept increasing
In 1990 the lake split in two!!
4
Q
Why did it happen? (aral sea)
A
The soviet union began mass irrigation projects around the second world war for cotton plants. These used a lot of the water and ended up drastically dropping the Aral sea level.
