SPACEPHOTOS

Aral Sea, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan Spring-Summer 1996. The dark waters of the Aral Sea contrast with the sparsely vegetated desert that surrounds this shrinking body of water that straddles the border of Kazakhstan (north) and Uzbekistan (south). The lighter-colored terrain around the perimeter of this inland sea and particularly along the west coast of Vozrozhdeniya Island (large island near center of image), show the recently exposed sea floor. Many dry lakes (white features) are visible on the surrounding arid landscape. A band of clouds are visible at the top of the image. Part of the Amu Darya River can be observed as it drains northwesterly (darker line upper left) before the river fans out into a broad floodplain that includes a series of streams and irrigation canals (darker looking landscape at the south end of the Aral Sea. This floodplain and delta region is where water is diverted to irrigate the agricultural fields, primarily for the production of cotton. A section of the Little Aral Sea is visible along the lower left margin of the image. Further compartmentalization of the Aral Sea seems eminent unless immediate steps are taken to reduce the rate of degradation that has occurred since 1960