...The Aral Sea is actually not a sea at all. It is an immense lake, a body of fresh water, although that particular description of its contents might now be more a figure of speech than practical fact. In the last 30 years, more than 60 percent of the lake has disappeared. The sequence of images above, acquired by Landsat satellites, shows the dramatic changes to the Aral Sea between 1973 and 2000. Beginning in the 1960s, farmers and state offices in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Central Asian states opened significant diversions from the rivers that supply water to the lake, thus siphoning off millions of gallons to irrigate cotton fields and rice paddies. As recently as 1965, the Aral Sea received about 50 cubic kilometers of fresh water per year—a number that fell to zero by the early 1980s. Consequently, concentrations of salts and minerals began to rise in the shrinking body of water. That change in chemistry has led to staggering alterations in the lake's ecology, causing precipitous drops in the Aral Sea’s fish population. The Aral Sea supported a thriving commercial fishing industry employing roughly 60,000 people in the early 1960s. By 1977, the fish harvest was reduced by 75 percent, and by the early 1980s the commercial fishing industry had been eliminated. The shrinking Aral Sea has also had a noticeable affect on the region's climate. The growing season there is now shorter, causing many farmers to switch from cotton to rice, which demands even more diverted water. ...
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...I. Agricultural Background A. Factors Affecting Agriculture 1. Climate 2. Lands (upland and lowland, steppes, tundra) 3. Type of Agriculture 4. Agricultural Practices (husbandry, farming, fishing) 5. Agricultural Process (irrigation, dry farming, etc) * Sources 6. Agricultural Products 7. Exports II. Problems A. Problems 1. Rebel Activities 2. Drying of the Aral Sea and other bodies of water B. Factors Affecting the Problems C. Solution 1. Role of Government** III. Agricultural Events A. Festivities AGRICULTURE IN CENTRAL ASIA I. Agricultural Background of Central Asia A. Climate * Very dry climatic conditions * Hot summers and cool winters (much sunshine and very little precipitation) B. Land Use * Majority of the region consists desert land * Only 20% of the land is arable and is suitable for agricultural use C. Agriculture Practices (Process and products) 1. Animal Husbandry >Animal Herds (Cattle and Sheep) * Animals are one of the important exchange commodities – aside from their transportation use; they are also used for wool and skins production * herds provide food such as meat and dairy products, wool and leather from which to make clothes and all kinds of other household items such as felts, quilts, pillows, and mattresses. Minor animals: Chickens, goats, and pigs are also raised. 2. Farming - Almost all the sown agricultural land is under...
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...Turkmenistan is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Caspian Sea. It gained its independence upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Upon researching the country and reading different articles, I will be conducting a SWOT analysis to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved with the country. Strengths being characteristics of the country that give it an advantage over others, weaknesses being characteristics that place the country at a disadvantage to others, opportunities being elements that the country could use to its advantage, and threats being elements that could cause problems for the country. Turkmenistan’s country has many good aspects about it. The land and resources available contribute to a lot of the strengths that Turkmenistan has. The country has large areas for non-irrigated farming. Mountains and foothills within the region are rich in mineral resources. With the resources available, the people who live there are able to produce cotton silk, handmade carpets and rugs, and raise cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. The raising of this livestock contributes most to the agricultural economy. They use camels for transporting sheepherders, drawing water from the desert wells, and as a main source of meat, wool, and milk. This country is one of the most industrially developed regions of the republic. Oil extraction and refining, fisheries and fish processing...
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...Karakalpakstan Kayla Woodhouse Summer, 2015 Introduction The Aral Sea has been a source of jobs, stability, and nutrition for centuries. But since the time when Uzbekistan was under the control of the Russian government – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as USSR and the Soviet Union – the region has experienced many difficulties. The Aral Sea was once the fourth largest lake in the world, but it has shrunk in tremendous proportions causing many effects such as pollution, temperature fluctuations, and disease. In this paper, six of the nine thematic concepts of geography are examined in Uzbekistan, and specifically in the region around the Aral Sea, Karakalpakstan. The topics covered are society, politics, environment, economy, culture, and history. History The history and story of Uzbekistan is an essential part of Central Asian development. Until the mid-1920s, the region of Uzbekistan and its neighboring countries was called Turkestan. After the campaigns of Alexander the Great during the 330-320s BC, Uzbekistan (then Turkestan) became a major trade center because of its location and the emergence of the Silk Road. In the 900s, Turkestan became deeply rooted in the Muslim religion. In the second half of the 19th century the Russian empire had conquered much of the region. Cotton became a major crop in both rural and urbanized areas. But many people were dissatisfied with the Russian rule and revolted. By 1916,rebellions – both large and small –...
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...have vastly improved. These two changes, worldwide, have led to many large-scale projects that have altered the environment of sizable regions. This investigation focuses on three major water diversions- the Salton Sea, Aral Sea, and the Colorado River. Part 1: The Salton Sea 1. Describe the location of the Salton Sea. What is the climate and geography of the area? 2. How did the Salton Sea form? Explain what role humans played. 3. What is the present condition of this body of water? How has it changed over the last 25 years? Why? 4. Describe several ways the Salton Sea has altered the ecosystem of the region. Explain the stability of that ecosystem. How is it changing over time? 5. Outline 3 environmental and 3 economic reasons the Salton Sea is important. 6. What steps are being taken to remediate the Salton Sea? What are the chances of success? Explain. 7. Compare the similarities and differences between the Salton Sea and Lake Chad in sub-Saharan Africa. Part 2: The Aral Sea 1. Find the location and other geographic information about the Aral Sea from a current atlas. a) Which former Soviet republics border the Aral Sea? b) Which rivers mainly supply the Aral Sea? 2. What government agency is...
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...The changed course of the sea was a skewed route going to the Aral Sea and it left the areas that were linked with the Aral Sea and Caspian Sea with no water. Soon the areas were left, and they became deserts. The lands that became deserts were used by the empire rulers as boundary markers. The pastoral nomad groups wanted to turn the regions into territorial expansions. Pastoral nomads joined with other states and used their horse riding abilities. Many of these nomads were Turkic people whose mission was to control lands that were unpopulated in the across the Aral and Caspian seas. There was a problem however, as the environmental consequences started to get worse for the people living in the Aral and Caspian areas that pastoral nomad groups had to resettle and flee from their locations. The areas that they fled to be a lot friendlier and social. According to Khazeni though the effects of the environment played a huge factor in how these nomads made their decisions. These decisions would impact them and the MENA...
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...After redirecting the Aral Sea’s water sources in 1918, the Soviet Union created what’s now one of the worst environmental calamities. Today, the Aral is about 10% of its original size, affecting the economy, livelihoods, and health of the surrounding communities. It’s tragedies like these that I want to prevent and restore. Coincidentally, these are also situations that the University of Wisconsin-Madison is trying to solve. Lake Eerie isn’t the Aral Sea, but it faces a similar situation: an ecological disaster that’s affecting the environment around it. Madison’s ACES is currently trying to understand Eerie’s recent algae boom, how it can be prevented, and changed. It’s this passion and drive to help the community that I admire about UW-Madison, and it’s here that I believe I can flourish. UW-Madison has the academics, research opportunities, and student organizations that will help benefit my professional goals. First, observe the classes available to my major, Environmental Science....
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...ASIA Glasgow U.K. Norwegian Sea NORWAY Svalbard (NORWAY) 40 60 FRANZ JOSEF LAND 160 80 100 120 140 80 U.S. 0 Wrangel Island OR Provideniya 'Y North Sea DEN. SWEDEN Barents Sea Murmansk NOVAYA ZEMLYA SEVERNAYA ZEMLYA Cherskiy AG KOLY MSKOYE N Oslo Copenhagen NEW SIBERIAN ISLANDS East Siberian Sea Stockholm FINLAND POL. RUS. Tallinn Riga Helsinki St. Petersburg Lake Ladoga Lake Onega Kara Sea Laptev Sea a Kolym EST. Warsaw Vilnius LAT. LITH. Tiksi Arkhangel'sk Noril'sk Pec ho ra VER KH RE BE T C HE R S KO G O Minsk BELA. T A U Kiev Ob ' Arctic Circle Moscow Voronezh Saratov lga Vo O Nizhniy Novgorod Kazan' a Kam Samara Ufa Alda n M UKR. Kharkiv Donets'k S I B E R I A y yu Vil Yakutsk UR ET D ZH U G D Z H IN S AN SK K H R EBET Magadan PetropavlovskKamchatskiy 160 N R EB Perm' Yekaterinburg Irt ysh R U S S I A isey Yen KH Black Sea Omsk Atyrau (Atyrau) Krasnoyarsk K OV Y H R EB ET U Amu r R Volgograd Rostov US AS UC CA A L Chelyabinsk Angara na Le Qaraghandy (Karaganda) Irkutsk LING Tbilisi Caspian Sea Yerevan AZERBAIJAN ARMENIA S. MT YA BL ON GEORGIA Astana SI KH O TE-ALIN' Novosibirsk Lake Baikal Khabarovsk Y Aral Sea QIZIL QUM NCH Tabriz HIN ...
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...During the end of the nineteenth century, the Tajiks were divided. The Majority of the population occupied what would become the republic of Tajikistan in the former Soviet Union. The rest are living as the large minority in Afghanistan which is to the south of Uzbekistan. The Uzbek homeland is situated on the site of the ancient Bactrian and Sogdian civilizations is where most Uzbeks have been settled for more than three hundred years to the region in which they live. Although these two culture are not part of the Soviet Union there have been drastic changes to all aspects of Central Asian societies. The Uzbekistan's landscape consists of deserts, dry plains, and fertile oases near rivers with the Aral Sea being a vital resource of their water resources to their agriculture need. The Aral Sea has lost up to sixty present of its water due to the agriculture usage. The Tajikistan landscape consist of the Zarafshan Mountains and their lush valleys and flat plains form the northern Kulturbund which is the boundary of their traditional home land and the Badakhshan Mountains form the southern boundary of their ancestral homeland. In 2007 marked the ten year anniversary of the end to the civil war which devastated Tajikistan's economy. "The U.S.S.R.'s collapse also ended Tajikistan's isolation...
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...1200 B.C The hittite Empire around 2000 B.C a group of indo- europeans speaker called the hittites the hittites occupied Anatolia (asia minor) the city states came together to form a huge regon Hittites Adopt and Adapt littertrue, arts, politics, and law came from the hittites the hittites used their indo europeans with one another Chariots and iron technology the hitties excelled in the technology of war chariots iron weapons the iron was the best thing for the hitties and the chariots helped a lot in war Aryans Transform India before 2000 B.C the hitties settled in anatolia the aryans also settled in that time the Aryans are another indo european group the homeland was was somewhere between the caspian and aral seas their sacred litrature called the vedas A caste system Aryans fought their enemies called the dasas the groups were different to eachother in many ways the aryans were taller and lighter in skin color and spoke a different language the Aryans had no writing system the dasas were town dwellers the dasa kived in...
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...For most part of the last 10000 years earth's population did not increase much. When did it start to increase significantly? The 1800s 10) Why from that point on the human population started to increase? Because infectious diseases have been massively reduced 11) What's the name of the English clergyman who wrote an important essay on population growth toward the end of the 18th century? Thomas Malthus 12) How much water does an astronaut need daily according to NASA? 3.52 liters, 2.5 liters is actually consumed 13) How much water is needed to "produce" a cup of coffee? 120 liters 14) What's the name of the lake in central Asia who's lost 90% of its water in the last 40 years? The Aral Sea 15) What's the name of the process used to "extract" fresh water from the sea? Desalination 16) What's the...
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...The global economy is an intertwined economy, meaning for every action in one part of the economy, there is a reaction in another facet of the economy. How does the housing market financial crisis of 2008 have an impact on natural resources such as oil? Discussions You are required to participate in the following discussion(s) for this learning plan. Directions for participating in discussions are located in the Technical Instructions section of the Help Desk area located on the course home page. These are EXACTLY the same discussions that are listed in your learning activities checklist but provide greater detail. Learning Plan 3 Discussions You are required to participate in two discussions for this Learning Plan. To receive full participation points, you will need to post one original response to the question and reply to at least one classmate’s response. Each discussion question is worth up to 25 points. Your discussion board messages will be graded according to the following criteria: 1. You enter into class discussions. 2. You offer substantive questions or comments. 3. Your suggestions, comments and postings are appropriate to the content being covered by the discussion thread. 4. You are respectful of the opinions and ideas of other learners. 5. Your comments reflect topics or concepts from the instructional materials and other course content. Directions for posting to the discussion board are can be found by clicking on the technical...
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...cattle or grow crops to provide food for the worlds growing population. With the increase in agricultural also comes with it a series of environmental problems that end up hurting the earth as well as ourselves in the process. Although agriculture can help provide much needed food for the world population, the fact is that the earth cannot healthily sustain and produce this much food without some extreme environmental consequences. Agriculture both directly affects the local wildlife as well as damages ecosystems. About 70% of the earth’s freshwater withdrawals are in fact due to crop irrigation. Withdrawing this much freshwater can majorly impact the ecosystem as well as the local human population with no better example of this then Aral Sea area in Russia. Not only does agriculture effect common animals but also effects endangered and threatened species, approximately 53% of the species on the threatened list are directly and negatively affected by agriculture. Agricultural effects these animals directly by clearing out large tracts of land, as well as using many different chemicals in order to control pests and in order to maximize crop production. Agricultural not only effects the wildlife but it also effects the atmosphere currently between 24% and 10% less of the...
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...Tiger also known as the Turan tiger was last recorded in the wild until the early 1970’s. The Turan tiger was in the past found populating a multitude of areas like the southeast hill and lowland forests of the Caucasus, lowlands forests of Priship, and subsequently moved toward the eastern plains of the Trans-Caucasus, and the Zangezur Mountains. Within Middle Asia it populated the southwestern Turkmenia, Sumbar and Chandyr rivers; in the western and southwestern parts of Kapet- Dag, the northern foothills of Ashkabad, in the Afghanistan upper range at Herat and along the jungles in the lower river areas around Tedzhen, Murgap, Kushka, and Kashan rivers. More over, along the Fergana Valley, western branch of Talas Alatau, and the entire Aral Sea area. The wide ranging of distribution can be evaluated by the new research reveals that 10,000 years ago the ancient tigers went through it along China’s Gansu Corridor. The Caspian tiger was known to follow the migratory herds such as the boar. The Kazakh people referred to this tiger as the travelling leopard since they travelled distances looking for food. The Caspian tiger is considered the third largest tiger in the world. This tiger was longer then most tigers, very thick and more resilient in body structure. The paws were remarkably larger compared to other species of tigers. This species ears were extremely short, cheeks were furry, and...
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...Water drainage techniques, materials, processes and maintenance (Name of Student) (Name of Institution) Water drainage techniques, materials, processes and maintenance Under ordinary conditions rain water seeps into the ground and forms underground water. Most of the water that falls as rain soaks into the ground or gets carried away by rivers. But in urban areas, the built environment alters the natural drainage of water, with hard surfaces increasing both the rate and amount of rainwater that turns into run-off. And it has to go somewhere. Traditional piped ‘drains’ have a limited capacity to cope with the high levels of surface water generated by extreme rainfall events. And, when the capacity of one or more parts of the drainage system is exceeded, the worst happens. For example, in the floods of June 2007, extreme rainfall in the Midlands and the north of England led to large-scale urban flooding, with over 55,000 properties affected: two thirds of these were from surface water run-off overloading drainage systems. In addition to flood risk, large amounts of surface water run-off can cause water quality problems. As water runs over hard urban surfaces, it picks up pollutants that are washed into water courses. For example, run-off from roads contains heavy metals and hydrocarbons which can seriously impact on water quality. A well planned drainage infrastructure helps to manage water run-off by preventing domestic...
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