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Islands An Aral Sea, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan story

Agriculture  / 
Dams  / 
Water
  1. Earthshots
  2. Aral Sea, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
  3. Islands
Description

The name Aral means Island. The sea did once have many islands. However, many of them stopped beings islands as the sea dried up. Two of the prominent islands were Vozrozhdeniya and Barsa-Kelmes. Throughout the series of images, they first become larger, then they become peninsulas. They are now fully connected with the mainland.

Vozrozhdeniya Island became infamous as the location of the Soviet Union’s secret biological weapons program. In the 1950s, Vozrozhdeniya was a small, isolated island in the middle of the sea. Until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, various pathogens were tested, modified, and possibly weaponized on this island.

Vozrozhdeniya Island grew in size and joined the mainland around 2001. As the remote site became accessible, there was concern that the pathogens might have survived and spread to the mainland. In the early 2000s, experts from the United States helped Uzbekistan decontaminate the former island.

The former island Barsa-Kelmes is a nature reserve, established in 1939. Its natural isolation gave it great protection. But in 1999, the island became accessible, possibly threatening its pristine nature. It is now a desolate plateau, more vegetated than the surrounding dried sea bottom. However, this vegetation degraded as the sea disappeared.

For more information, see the book by Micklin and others, listed in the References section, pages 4 and 22.

View Related Imagery & Stories

Location

Aug. 22, 1964, ARGON KH-5 9066A — former islands Vozrozhdeniya and Barsa-Kelmes, Aral Sea

Aug. 22, 1964, ARGON KH-5 9066A — former islands Vozrozhdeniya and Barsa-Kelmes, Aral Sea

Sep. 1, 2, 3, 22, 1977, Landsat 2 (path/row 172–175/27–30) — former islands Vozrozhdeniya and Barsa-Kelmes, Aral Sea

Sep. 1, 2, 3, 22, 1977, Landsat 2 (path/row 172–175/27–30) — former islands Vozrozhdeniya and Barsa-Kelmes, Aral Sea

Aug. 10, 19, 28; Sep. 27, 1987, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands Vozrozhdeniya and Barsa-Kelmes, Aral Sea

Aug. 10, 19, 28; Sep. 27, 1987, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands Vozrozhdeniya and Barsa-Kelmes, Aral Sea

Sep. 18, 27; Oct. 27, 1998; Aug. 20, 1999, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

Sep. 18, 27; Oct. 27, 1998; Aug. 20, 1999, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

July, 31; Aug. 23, 30; Sep. 1, 2006, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

July, 31; Aug. 23, 30; Sep. 1, 2006, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

July, 24; Aug. 2, 11, 2010, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

July, 24; Aug. 2, 11, 2010, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

June 14, 16, 23; July 16, 2013, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

June 14, 16, 23; July 16, 2013, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

Aug. 20, 29; Sep. 7, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

Aug. 20, 29; Sep. 7, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

Aug. 16, 23; Sep. 10, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

Aug. 16, 23; Sep. 10, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

Aug. 18, 20, 27, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

Aug. 18, 20, 27, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

Aug. 22, 1964, ARGON KH-5 9066A — former islands Vozrozhdeniya and Barsa-Kelmes, Aral Sea
Sep. 1, 2, 3, 22, 1977, Landsat 2 (path/row 172–175/27–30) — former islands Vozrozhdeniya and Barsa-Kelmes, Aral Sea
Aug. 10, 19, 28; Sep. 27, 1987, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands Vozrozhdeniya and Barsa-Kelmes, Aral Sea
Sep. 18, 27; Oct. 27, 1998; Aug. 20, 1999, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea
July, 31; Aug. 23, 30; Sep. 1, 2006, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea
July, 24; Aug. 2, 11, 2010, Landsat 5 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea
June 14, 16, 23; July 16, 2013, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea
Aug. 20, 29; Sep. 7, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea
Aug. 16, 23; Sep. 10, 2015, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea
Aug. 18, 20, 27, 2019, Landsat 8 (path/row 160–162/27–30) — former islands, Aral Sea

Aral Sea, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan Additional Imagery & Stories

Aralsk
Aralsk

The city of Aralsk is shown in the 1964 ARGON image on the coast of the sea. By 1977, the sea had retreated from the city but was still just a few kil...

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Kazakhstan, North Aral Sea
Kazakhstan, North Aral Sea

While the entire Aral Sea is shrinking dramatically, these images show that the northern portion of the sea, while clearly smaller than it was in 1964...

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Kok-Aral Dam
Kok-Aral Dam

The Kok-Aral Dam was completed in 2005 to control the water level of the North Aral Sea. This dam has prevented further decline of the North Aral Sea,...

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Uzbekistan, South Aral Sea
Uzbekistan, South Aral Sea

Although using the dam to retain most of the water from the Syr Darya in the North Aral Sea has had beneficial results in Kazakhstan, it means the wat...

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Where Is the Water?
Where Is the Water?

The first question people have when seeing these images of the Aral Sea over time is, Where did the water go? The images that go along with this secti...

Read More
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