4. Introduction 11960, Moynag was a fishing town in the Soviet Union. it was nearly surrounded by the Aral Sea, a large lake in the Soviet republics of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Visitors to Moynaq in 1960 saw fishing boats bobbing at is docks. At that time, Moynaq had a population of about 40,000 people. ts people farmed, fished, or ‘worked in ish canneries Allofthat has changed. Ifyou visited Moynaq today, you would find it surrounded by dust. Although 2 20-foot elcome sign shows a fish and a seagull, you wouldrit see the Aral Sea anywhere, The shoreline ofthis inland ‘32a has withdrawn, and not just a litle bit. Now the water's edge is nearly 90 miles from Moynag. Moynaq and the surrounding area suffer from water stress, Waler stress occurs when an area needs mare water than ithas As the Aral Sea has shrunk, water stress has increased inthis region, The area also suffers from environmental degradation. To degrade something means fo damage itor wear it down, [nthe Aral Sea region, the environment has bbeen degraded by misuse of what litle water there is. In this chapter, you wil find out what caused the shrinking of the Aral Sea. You wil leam about environmental degradation in the surrounding region. And you will see how damage to the environment has affected farming, fishing, and qualty of fe in this region, Ene niece rue How are humans affected by ‘changes they make to their physical environment? This illustration shows the Aral Sea at two differ- ‘ent times, Note how much ‘smaller it was in 2008 than in 1964, The arrows represent three aspects of life that have been affected by the shrink- ing of the sea. Keep this illustration in mind as you ty to answer the Essential Question.2. The Geographic Setting Until the 1860s, the water in the Aral Sea wos potable, which means that it was drinkable. Potable ‘water can also be used to water crops. But even freshwater lakes and rivers have a ite saitin hem, This salts washed out ofthe soll by the water. Ifthe amount of salt in water is very low, we stil call the water fresh. The term salt water refers only to water that is too saity to drink Although the Aral Sea's water used fo be fresh, now it fs saline, which means salty. Seit and saline both come from a Latin word, sal, which means salt. Today the Aral Sea is too salty to drink and too salty for watering crops. Salinization Affects Water and Land Salinization refers to water or land becoming salty or saltier. It can affect a body of water, sucht as the Great SaitLake in the state of Utan. Salinization can also affect grounawater. Groundwater lies deep ‘underground ana supplies wels and springs. ‘The Aral Sea Is located In Central Asia. Itlies in two countries: Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Before 1991, these two countries were part of the Soviet Union. Until he 1960s, when irigation projects began, two rivers fed the Aral Sea: the Syr Darya ftom the northeast and the Amu Darya fram the south, (Darya means ‘river”) From Freshwater Lake to Inland Sea The Aral Sea was first called a sea only because of ts great size, not because it was salty. itwas really a large lake containing fresh water. > Geoterms nvironmontal dogradation damage to or destruc- ‘ion ofthe natural envionment. When such damage ‘occurs, habitats sre destroyed biodiversity is lost, or natural resources ato used Up. ‘groundwater water ying deep under the ground that supplies wells and springs. Over hai the paope in ‘the world depend on groundwater for their drinking water. salination the buildup of salt in sol! or water ‘water stross the condition that occurs when people o not have enough clean, fresh water to meet their everyday needs To understand salinization, start wih rain. Pure rain falls trom the sky a5 fresh Water. AS this water seeps into the ground or runs off into streams, it picks up some salt from the soll. Most of thal satis carvied by rivers tothe ocean. This 's why oceans are saline However, not all ivers flow directly info the ocean, Some end in lakes and inland seas, water flows both into and out of a lake, he water that fows out carries some of this, salt to the ocean. Ino water flows out of a lake, the salt has nowhere to go. When water evaporates from a lake, the salt is left behind. The lake grows more and ‘more saline over time, until it becomes an inland se3. ‘Salnzation of land nappens ina amerent way. When farmers imgate, tney bnng water ftom takes and rivers to thelr elds. Often tis fresh water contains a Mle salt When ine water evaporates, Illeaves ine sall behind on ihe Sol's surface. There might not be enough salt to damage plants 2 fist. But if people do not wash the salt away. the soil grows satter as the years pass. Few plants can grow in salty sol ‘Both the water and the land in the Aral Sea region have been degraded by salin tion. The Aral Sea was once Earth's fourth-largest freshwater lake. Now its about 10 percent ofits original size and split into two parts. ‘The larger part, n the south, is as sally 2s any ocean. The smaller pan, In ihe north, Is also stil 10 sally to arink. But recent projects are starting to bring tresh water back into this part of he sea,> Geoterms environmental degradation damage to or destruc- tion of the natural environment. When such damage occurs, habitats are destroyed, biodiversity is lost, or natural resources are used up. groundwater water lying deep under the ground that supplies wells and springs. Over half the people in the world depend on groundwater for their drinking water. salinization the buildup of salt in soil or water water stress the condition that occurs when people do not have enough clean, fresh water to meet their everyday needs Salinization of Inland Seas A lake with no outlet to the ocean is likely to grow saltier over time. When water evaporates from a lake, any salt that was dissolved in that water Is left behind. Over time, salt builds up in the lake. This process happens faster when water from the rivers that feed into a lake is used foririgation. With less water coming in, the lake shrinks. At the: same time, the concentration of salt Inthe lake water increases.