Lesson 3 ships in the desert.docx

Lesson 3 ships in the desert.docx

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Lesson3shipsinthedesert

AralSea

LandlockedShip,AralSea,Kazakhstan

TheAralSeaisoneoflessthan20ancientlakesintheworld,andisestimatedtobemorethan5millionyearsold.

Tomany,theAralSeahasbecomesynonymouswithenvironmentalcatastrophe.IntheSovietUnioneramassiveamountsofwaterweredivertedforirrigationofcottonandthelakebegantoshrinkdramatically.Atthesametime,pesticideswerebeingappliedtofieldsinthewatershedbyairplane.TheAralSeawasthefourthlargestlakeintheworld;ithasnowlost90%ofitssourcewatersandtwothirdsofitssurfacearea.Salinityhasincreasedfourfold.

Changesinthelakehavecausedlocalclimatestochangeanddesertificationhasincreased,alongwithratesofrespiratorydiseasesandcancersfromsaltandtoxic-ladendusts.

TheAralSeaisoneoftheworstexamplesofhowtheextractionofaresource:

inthiscase,water,toirrigatecottonfieldshasleadtothedestructionofawayoflifeforthousandsofpeople.TheregionsofKazakhstanandUzbekistanarethelocationforthistragedy,asthe2greatrivers,theAmurDar'yaandtheSyrDar'yahavedriedtoatricklefromaformersizetorivaltheMississippi.IusetheAralSeaasanexampleofhowresourcedevelopmentaffectstheenvironmentinanMEDC.Itisoneoftheworld'smajor,andongoingtragedies.TheresourceinthiscaseisWATER.Therearefearsthatwatermaybecomeascarceresource,andthereforeacauseoffutureconflict.Theweatherisbeingalteredbythedisappearanceofthesea.

∙TheAralSea:

oncetheworld's4thlargestinlandsea,butnowsteadilyshrinking.Thishasalotofusefulinformation,andcouldformthebasisforaninformationgatheringlesson.Theseaisnowthe8thlargestbodyofinlandwater,anditmayactuallydryupaltogetherby2020.Ithasdeclinedfromover1000cubickmin1960to110today.Thefishingindustryonceemployed60000people.Therehavebeenmanyspecieslostfromthearea.Waterisincreasinglysalineandtheareaishitbytoxicduststormsanddesertification.Thetoxicchemicalsareleadingtoterriblehealthissuesintheregion.Thedustisspreadingfarbeyondtheregiontoo,andthereareterriblebirthdefectsamongstthelocalpopulation.

Mapofthearalsea