Barsakelmes Lake

Last updated
Barsakelmes Lake
Barsa-kelmes Lake in Aral Sea 2011.jpg
LocationBetween the Northern and Western Seas of the former unified Aral Sea, Kazakhstan
Coordinates 46°14′N59°41′E / 46.23°N 59.69°E / 46.23; 59.69
Type Former lake
Basin  countriesKazakhstan

Barsakelmes Lake is a small, saline lake located between the Northern and Western Seas of the former unified Aral Sea. [1] It is the last remainder of the Eastern basin of the former South Aral Sea.

Contents

History

Barsakelmes Lake in August 2024. The Aral Sea (21 Aug 2024).png
Barsakelmes Lake in August 2024.

Around the 2010s, Barsakelmes Lake split from the South Aral Sea. It is occasionally fed by the North Aral Sea after heavy rain or snowmelt.

By August 2024, the lake was almost completely dry. Satellite images at the time showed a greatly reduced area (~150 km²) and a brown discoloration, [2] indicating shallow water and the possiblity for the lake to completely disappear in the next couple of years.


See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amu Darya</span> River in Central Asia

The Amu Darya ,(Persian: آمو دریا) also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus, is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Kush, the Amu Darya is formed by the confluence of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers, in the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve on the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and flows from there north-westwards into the southern remnants of the Aral Sea. In its upper course, the river forms part of Afghanistan's northern border with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. In ancient history, the river was regarded as the boundary of Greater Iran with Turan, which roughly corresponded to present-day Central Asia. The Amu Darya has a flow of about 70 cubic kilometres per year on average.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Kazakhstan</span>

Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia, with a small portion in Eastern Europe. With an area of about 2,724,900 square kilometers (1,052,100 sq mi) Kazakhstan is more than twice the combined size of the other four Central Asian states and 60% larger than Alaska. The country borders Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan to the south; Russia to the north; Russia and the Caspian Sea to the west; and China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Uzbekistan</span>

Uzbekistan is a country in Central Asia, located north of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. With an area of approximately 447,000 square kilometers, Uzbekistan stretches 1,425 km (885 mi) from west to east and 930 km (580 mi) from north to south. It borders Turkmenistan to the southwest, Kazakhstan to the north and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to the south and east. Uzbekistan also has four small exclaves in Turkmenistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuiderzee</span> Former inland sea in the Netherlands, now the IJsselmeer

The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee, historically called Lake Almere and Lake Flevo, was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. It extended about 100 km inland and at most 50 km wide, with an overall depth of about 4 to 5 metres (13–16 feet) and a coastline of about 300 km. It covered 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi). Its name is Dutch for "southern sea", indicating that the name originates in Friesland, to the north of the Zuiderzee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aral Sea</span> Lake between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

The Aral Sea was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and largely dried up by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhstan and the Karakalpakstan autonomous region of Uzbekistan. The name roughly translates from Mongolic and Turkic languages to "Sea of Islands", a reference to the large number of islands that once dotted its waters. The Aral Sea drainage basin encompasses Uzbekistan and parts of Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karakum Desert</span> Desert in Central Asia

The Karakum Desert, also spelt Qaraqum and Garagum, is a desert in Central Asia. The name refers to the shale-rich sand beneath the surface. It occupies about 70 percent, or roughly 350,000 km2 (140,000 sq mi), of Turkmenistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer</span> Payload imaging sensor

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is a satellite-based sensor used for earth and climate measurements. There are two MODIS sensors in Earth orbit: one on board the Terra satellite, launched by NASA in 1999; and one on board the Aqua satellite, launched in 2002. MODIS has now been replaced by the VIIRS, which first launched in 2011 aboard the Suomi NPP satellite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ustyurt Plateau</span> Transboundary clay desert shared by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan

The Ustyurt or Ust-Yurt is a transboundary clay desert shared by Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Aral Sea</span> Extant lake

The North Aral Sea is the portion of the former Aral Sea that is fed by the Syr Darya River. It split from the South Aral Sea in 1987–1988 as water levels dropped due to river diversion for agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vozrozhdeniya Island</span> Former island in the Aral Sea

Vozrozhdeniya Island was an island in the Aral Sea. The former island's territory is split between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In 1954, the Soviet Union constructed a biological weapons test site called Aralsk-7 there and on the neighbouring Komsomolskiy Island, which also no longer exists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aydar Lake</span> Artificial lake in Kyzyl Kum

The Aydar Lake is part of the man-made Aydar-Arnasay system of lakes, which covers 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 mi2). This has 3 brackish water lakes, deep basins of the south-eastern Kyzyl Kum. The lakes are expansive reservoirs of Soviet planning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barsa-Kelmes</span> Former island in the defunct Aral Sea

Barsa-Kelmes was a former island, the largest in the Aral Sea. Its area was 133 km2 in the 1980s, but as the sea became more shallow it steadily grew, until in the 1990s it ceased to be an island. Its highest altitude was 113 m.

Barsakelmes or Barsa-Kelmes or variation, may refer to:

Barsa-Kelmes Nature Reserve is a wildlife refuge on the former island of Barsa-Kelmes in Kyzylorda Region of Kazakhstan, in Central Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Aral Sea</span> Dried lake

The South Aral Sea was a lake in the basin of the former Aral Sea which formed in 1987 when that body divided in two, due to diversion of river inflow for agriculture. In 2003, the South Aral Sea itself split into eastern and western basins, the Eastern Sea and the West Aral Sea, connected by a narrow channel that balanced surface levels but did not allow mixing, and in 2005 the North Aral Sea was dammed to prevent the collapse of its fisheries, cutting off the only remaining inflow to the southern lakes. In 2008, the Eastern Sea split again, and in May 2009 had almost completely dried out, leaving only the small permanent Barsakelmes Lake between the Northern and Western Seas and increasing the expanse of the Aralkum desert. In 2010, it was partially filled again by meltwater, and by 2014 was once again dry. The West Aral Sea has some replenishment from groundwater in the northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shalkarteniz</span> Lake in the country of Kazakhstan

Shalkarteniz is a salt lake in the Yrgyz District, Aktobe Region, Kazakhstan.

References

  1. "The North Aral Sea and Barsakelmes Lake in Kazakhstan - NASA" . Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  2. "NASA Worldview". worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-23.