Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T09:04:26.476Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Environmental Changes of the Aral Sea (Central Asia) in the Holocene: Major Trends

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Sergey K Krivonogov ,
Yaroslav V Kuzmin ,
George S Burr ,
Sergei A Gusskov ,
Leonid B Khazin ,
Eugeny Y Zhakov ,
Aijaryk N Nurgizarinov ,
Rakhat Kh Kurmanbaev  and
Temirbolat I Kenshinbay
Sergey K Krivonogov*
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology & Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Koptyug Ave. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Yaroslav V Kuzmin
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology & Mineralogy, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Koptyug Ave. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
George S Burr
Affiliation:
NSF-Arizona AMS Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0081, USA
Sergei A Gusskov
Affiliation:
Institute of Petroleum Geology & Geophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Koptyug Ave. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Leonid B Khazin
Affiliation:
Institute of Petroleum Geology & Geophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Koptyug Ave. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Eugeny Y Zhakov
Affiliation:
Institute of Petroleum Geology & Geophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Koptyug Ave. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Aijaryk N Nurgizarinov
Affiliation:
Kyzylorda State University, Aiteke Be Str. 29A, Kyzylorda 120014, Kazakhstan
Rakhat Kh Kurmanbaev
Affiliation:
Kyzylorda State University, Aiteke Be Str. 29A, Kyzylorda 120014, Kazakhstan
Temirbolat I Kenshinbay
Affiliation:
Kyzylorda State University, Aiteke Be Str. 29A, Kyzylorda 120014, Kazakhstan
*
Corresponding author. Email: carpos@uiggm.nsc.ru
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Changes of the Aral Sea level have been observed in 3 sediment boreholes, 2 outcrops, and associated archaeological sites. The obtained results are supported by 25 radiocarbon dates. Major trends of lake-level changes have been reconstructed in some detail for the last 2000 yr, and additional data provide an outline of fluctuations throughout the Holocene. Several distinct changes are shown to precede the modern, human-induced regression of the Aral Sea. These include: 1) the latest maximum in the 16th–20th centuries AD (53 m asl); 2) a Medieval “Kerderi” minimum of the 12th–15th centuries AD (29 m asl); 3) the early Medieval maximum of the 4th–11th centuries AD (52 m asl); and 4) a near BC/AD low-stand, whose level is not well established. Since then, events are only inferred from sparse data. The studied cores contain several sandy layers representing the lowering of the lake level within the Holocene, including the buried shore-bar of ∼4500 cal BP (38 m asl), and shallow-water sediments of ∼5600 cal BP (44 m asl), 7200 cal BP (28 m asl), and 8000 cal BP (26.5 m asl).

Type
Archaeology
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 52 , Issue 2: 20th Int. Radiocarbon Conference Proceedings , 2010 , pp. 555 - 568
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

References

Arkhangelski, A, Churakov, A. 1930. Geological Map of the Lower Course of the Amudaria 1917. Leningrad–Moscow: Geological & Prospecting Service. In Russian with English translation.Google Scholar
Austin, P, Mackay, A, Palagushkina, O, Leng, M. 2007. A high-resolution diatom-inferred palaeoconductivity and sea-level record of the Aral Sea for the last ca. 1600 years. Quaternary Research 67(3):383–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartold, V. 1902. Svedeniya ob Aralskom More i Nyzovyakh Amu-Daryi s Drevneishikh Vremen do XVII Veka [Records on the Aral Sea and the Lower Stream of the Amu Dar'ya since the Earliest Times to the XVIIth Century]. Tashkent: Turkestanski Otdel Russkogo Geograficheskogo Obshchestva. 120 p. In Russian.Google Scholar
Berg, LS. 1908. Aralskoe More. Opyt Fiziko-Geograficheskoi Monografii [The Aral Sea. An Experience of Physical-Geographical Monograph]. St. Petersburg: Stasyulevich Publishing. 580 p. In Russian.Google Scholar
Boomer, I, Aladin, N, Plotnikov, I, Whatley, R. 2000. The palaeolimnology of the Aral Sea: a review. Quaternary Science Reviews 19(13):1259–78.Google Scholar
Boomer, I, Wünnemann, B, Mackay, AW, Austin, P, Sorrel, P, Reinhardt, C, Keyser, D, Guichard, F, Fontugne, M. 2009. Advances in understanding the late Holocene history of the Aral Sea region. Quaternary International 194(1–2):79–90.Google Scholar
Boroffka, NGO, Oberhähsli, H, Achatov, GA, Aladin, NV, Baipakov, KM, Erzhanova, A, Hörnig, A, Krivonogov, S, Lobas, DA, Savel'eva, TV, Wünnemann, B. 2005. Human settlements on the northern shores of Lake Aral and water level changes. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Changes 10:71–85.Google Scholar
Boroffka, NGO, Oberhähsli, H, Sorrel, P, Demory, F, Reinhardt, C, Wünnemann, B, Alimov, K, Baratov, S, Rakhimov, K, Saparov, N, Shirinov, T, Krivonogov, SK. 2006. Archaeology and climate: settlement and lake level changes at the Aral Sea. Geoarchaeology 21:721–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butakoff, A. 1853. Survey of the Sea of Aral in 1848 and 1849. Journal of the Royal Geographic Society 23:93–101.Google Scholar
Ferronskii, VI, Polyakov, VA, Brezgunov, VS, Vlasova, LS, Karpychev, YA, Bobkov, AF, Romaniovskii, VV, Johnson, T, Ricketts, D, Rasmussen, K. 2003. Variations in the hydrological regime of Kara-Bogaz-Gol Gulf, Lake Issyk-Kul, and the Aral Sea assessed based on data of bottom sediment studies. Water Resources 30:252–9.Google Scholar
Filippov, A, Riedel, F. 2009. The late Holocene mollusc fauna of the Aral Sea and its biogeographical and ecological interpretation. Limnologica 39:67–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gorodetskaya, ME. 1978. On the Aral Sea terraces. Geomorfologiya 1:46–55. In Russian with English abstract.Google Scholar
Kes, AS. 1983. Paleogeografiya Aralskogo morya v pozdnem pleistotsene [Paleogeography of the Aral Sea in the Late Pleistocene]. In: Maev, EG, editor. Palaeogeografiya Kaspiiskogo i Aralskogo Morei v Kainozoe. Part 2. Moscow: Moscow State University Press. p 97–106. In Russian.Google Scholar
Krivonogov, SK. 2009. Extent of the Aral Sea drop in the Middle Age. Doklady Earth Sciences 428(1):1146–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuptsov, VM. 1985. Radiouglerodnye datirovki Instituta okeanologii im. P.P. Shirshova AN SSSR. Soobshchenie VI [Radiocarbon dates of the P.P. Shirshov's Institute of Oceanology, USSR Academy of Sciences. Report VI]. Bulleten Komissii po Izucheniyu Chetvertichnogo Perioda 54:152–6. In Russian.Google Scholar
Kuptsov, VM, Rubanov, IV, Zeldina, BB. 1982. Radiouglerodnoe datirovanie donnykh osadkov Aralskogo morya [The radiocarbon dating of the Aral Sea bottom sediments]. Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR. Seriya Geograficheskaya 1:103–8. In Russian.Google Scholar
Kuzmin, YV, Orlova, LA. 2004. Radiocarbon chronology and environment of woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius Blum.) in northern Asia: results and perspectives. Earth-Science Reviews 68(1–2):133–69.Google Scholar
Kuzmin, YV, Nevesskaya, LA, Krivonogov, SK, Burr, GS. 2007. Apparent 14C ages of the ‘pre-bomb’ shells and correction values (R, ΔR) for Caspian and Aral seas (Central Asia). Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 259(1):463–6.Google Scholar
Maev, EG, Karpychev, YA. 1999. Radiocarbon dating of bottom sediments in the Aral Sea: age of deposits and sea level fluctuations. Water Resources 26:187–94.Google Scholar
Maev, EG, Maeva, SA. 1991. Donnye ortlozheniya Arala [The bottom sediments of the Aral Sea]. In: Sevastyanov, DV, editor. Istoriya Ozer Sevan, Issyk-Kul, Balkhash, Zaisan i Aral. Leningrad: Nauka Publishing. p 239–42. In Russian.Google Scholar
Maev, EG, Maeva, SA, Nikolaev, SD, Parunin, OB. 1983. Novye dannye po golotsenovoi istorii Aralskogo morya [New data on the Holocene history of the Aral Sea]. In: Maev, EG, editor. Paleogeografiya Kaspiiskogo i Aralskogo Morei v Kainozoe. Part 2. Moscow: Moscow State University Press. p 133–44. In Russian.Google Scholar
Middleton, N. 2002. The Aral Sea. In: Shahgedanova, M, editor. The Physical Geography of Northern Eurasia. New York: Oxford University Press. p 497–510.Google Scholar
Nourgaliev, DK, Heller, F, Borisov, AS, Hajdas, I, Bonani, G, Iassonov, PG, Oberhähsli, H. 2003. Very high resolution paleosecular variation record for the last ∼1200 years from the Aral Sea. Geophysical Research Letters 30(17):1914, doi:10.1029/2003GL018145.Google Scholar
Oberhähsli, H, Boroffka, N, Sorrel, P, Krivonogov, S. 2007. Climate variability during the past 2,000 years and past economic and irrigation activities in the Aral Sea basin. Irrigation and Drainage Systems 21:167–83.Google Scholar
Parunin, OB, Timashkova, TA, Turchaninov, PS, Shlukov, AI. 1985. Spisok radiouglerodnykh datirovok laboratorii noveishikh otlozheny geograficheskogo fakulteta MGU. Soobshchenie XI [The list of radiocarbon dates of the Laboratory of Recent Deposits, Faculty of Geography of the Moscow State University. Report XI]. Bulleten Komissii po Izucheniyu Chetvertichnogo Perioda 54:133–8. In Russian.Google Scholar
Reimer, PJ, Baillie, MGL, Bard, E, Bayliss, A, Beck, JW, Blackwell, PG, Bronk Ramsey, C, Buck, CE, Burr, GS, Edwards, RL, Friedrich, M, Grootes, PM, Guilderson, TP, Hajdas, I, Heaton, TJ, Hogg, AG, Hughen, KA, Kaiser, KF, Kromer, B, McCormac, FG, Manning, SW, Reimer, RW, Richards, DA, Southon, JR, Talamo, S, Turney, CSM, van der Plicht, J, Weyhenmeyer, CE. 2009. IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 51(4):1111–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reinhardt, C, Wünnemann, B, Krivonogov, SK. 2008. Geomorphological evidence for the Late Holocene evolution and the Holocene lake level maximum of the Aral Sea. Geomorphology 93(3–4):302–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rubanov, IV, Ischniyazov, DP, Baskakova, MA. 1987. Geologiya Aralskogo Morya [The Geology of the Aral Sea]. Tashkent: Fan Publishing. 248 p. In Russian.Google Scholar
Shermatov, E, Nurtayev, B, Muhamedgalieva, U, Shermatov, U. 2004. Analysis of water resources variability of the Caspian and Aral sea basins on the basis of solar activity. Journal of Marine Systems 47(1–4):137–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shnitnikov, AV. 1983. Aral v golotsene i prirodnye tendentsii ego evolutsii [The Aral Sea in the Holocene and natural tendencies of its evolution]. In: Maev, EG, editor. Palaeogeografiya Kaspiiskogo i Aralskogo Morei v Kainozoe. Part 2. Moscow: Moscow State University Press. p 106–18. In Russian.Google Scholar
Smagulov, E. 2001. Nakhodka i issledovanie mazara na dne Aralskogo morya [The discovery and study of the mazar on the bottom of the Aral Sea]. Otan Tarikhy 4:77–81. In Russian.Google Scholar
Smagulov, E. 2002. Mavzolei na dne morya [The mausoleum on the bottom of the sea]. Qumbez 4:50–2. In Russian.Google Scholar
Sorrel, P, Popescu, S-M, Head, MJ, Suc, JP, Klotz, S, Oberhähsli, H. 2006. Hydrographic development of the Aral Sea during the last 2000 years based on a quantitative analysis of dinoflagellate cysts. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 234(1–4):304–27.Google Scholar
Sorrel, P, Oberhähsli, H, Boroffka, N, Nourgaliev, D, Dulski, P, Röhl, U. 2007. Control of wind strength and frequency in the Aral Sea basin during the late Holocene. Quaternary Research 67(3):371–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Svitoch, AA. 2009. The history of the last Aral Sea. Arid Ecosystems 15(2):5–17.Google Scholar
Tarasov, PE, Harrison, SP, Saarse, L, Pushenko, MY, Andreev, AA, Aleshinskaya, ZV, Davydova, NN, Dorofeyuk, NI, Efremov, YV, Khomutova, VI, Sevastyanov, DV, Tamosaitis, J, Uspenskaya, ON, Yakushko, OF, Tarasova, IV, Ya, M, Elina, GA, Elovicheva, YK, Filimonova, LV, Gunova, VS, Kvavadze, EV, Nuestrueva, IY, Pisareva, VV, Shelekhova, TS, Subetto, DA, Zernitskaya, VP. 1996. Lake Status Records from the Former Soviet Union and Mongolia. Database Documentation Version 2. Boulder: NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program. 224 p.Google Scholar
van de Plassche, O, editor. 1986. Sea-Level Research: A Manual for the Collection and Evaluation of Data. Norwich: Geo Books. 620 p.Google Scholar
Veinbergs, IG. 1986. Drevnie Berega Sovetskoi Baltiki i Drugikh Morei SSSR [The Ancient Coasts of the Soviet Baltic Sea and Other Seas of the USSR]. Riga: Zinatne Publishing. 168 p. In Russian.Google Scholar
Veinbergs, IG, Stelle, VY. 1980. Pozdnechetvertichnye stadii razvitiya Aralskogo morya i ikh svyaz s izmeneniyami klimaticheskikh uslovyi etogo vremeni [The Late Quaternary stages of the Aral Sea development and its connections to the climatic fluctuations of that time]. In: Andrianov, BV, Zorin, LV, Nikolaeva, RG, editors. Kolebaniya Uvlazhnennosti Aralo-Kaspiiskogo Regiona v Golotsene. Moscow: Nauka Publishing. p 175–81. In Russian.Google Scholar