The death of the aral sea
In the 1930s, in order to create vast cotton fields in the dry lands of Soviet Central Asia, economic planners had long irrigation canals dug, fed by the waters of two rivers, the Amu Daria and the Syr Daria, that flow into the inland Aral Sea. In the statistics of the central planners, the project was a huge success. The cotton harvests grew until the Soviet Union became the world’s second largest cotton exporter, after China.
But the statistics did not show the effect of diverting most of the river flow into the Aral Sea.
By 1989, the sea was receiving only one-eighth the level of water as in 1960. Its water level had dropped by 47 feet, more than a quarter, and its volume had shrunk by two-thirds. Once being the size of North America’s Lake Huron, its total area diminished by 44 per cent.
The shores of the sea receded, leaving fishing villages tens of miles from the shore. A new desert was created around the sea, with salt strewn in massive dust storms across a vast area. The population around the sea deprived of clean drinking water and living on poisoned soil, experienced rising rates of disease and infant mortality.
Many Russian scientists have been working for a long time to try to save the Aral Sea. They say a technical solution for the sea is already well formulated. Much of the water is now wasted because of evaporation and drainage out of unlined irrigation canals and primitive irrigation technology.
Rebuilding the canals and introducing new irrigation systems could save at least half the 120 cubic kilometer flow of the two rivers. It would be enough (было бы достаточно) to begin to stabilize the Aral Sea at its present level, though not enough to restore it.
Find the meaning of the following words (in the dictionary):
in order to; vast cotton fields; dry land; dig (dug) v; feed (fed) v; huge success; harvest n; divert v; level n; volume n; shrink (shrunk) v; total area; diminish v; shore n; recede v; desert n; create v; strew (strewn) v; dust n; experience v; disease n; infant mortality; solution n; waste v; rebuilding n; restore v.
Read text C and answer the questions:
1. What was the effect of diverting water of the flow of two rivers – the Amu Daria and the Syr Daria?
2. What did the population around the sea experience?
3. Is there a technical solution to save the sea?
Find in the text the information about stabilisation of the Aral Sea level and translate it into Russian.
Say if you agree or disagree with the following statements:
1. In the statistics, the Aral Sea project was a huge success.
2. The total area of the sea is equal (равна) to the size of the North America’s Huron Lake.
3. The technical solution is good enough to restore the sea.
Do you know that ... ?
There are many reasons why seas get particular names. The Yellow Sea off the northeast coast of China, is so called because it often is yellow in colour. The great river Hwang Ho, which in Chinese means “Yellow River”, washes so much yellow mud down into the sea that the water changes colour.
The Black Sea is not black, but was considered so perilous (опасный) in ancient times that people living around it called “black”, the colour of bad luck and danger. The Red Sea sometimes is red because of the algae growing in its waters.
The Dead Sea gets its name from the fact that no fish can live in its salty water. The Dead Sea, which is not a sea but a lake is 397 metres below sea level, and is actually the lowest lake on the Earth’s surface.
Discuss the following problems. Use the formulas:
To my mind As I heard