The Aral Sea Basin

The Aral Sea Basin

Author: Philip Micklin

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-04-18

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 3642611826

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The Aral Sea Basin, which is located in the central Asian part of the former Soviet Union, is undergoing dramatically rapid and intense environmental change. Pervasive human misuse and overuse of its water, land, and other critical natural resources have led to severe degradation of key ecological systems. This book analyses the environmental, human and economic problems that have arisen and presents recommendations for future research needs. Primary focus is on the drying of the Aral Sea, but related issues of diminished river flow, land and water pollution, and degradation, ecosystem deterioration, and adverse effects on humans are also examined.


The Salton Sea

The Salton Sea

Author: Douglas A. Barnum

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-09

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 9401734593

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For the first time, an effort to conduct coordinated interdisciplinary research on a vast and complex saline lake has been undertaken for the purposes of providing baseline data to guide restoration project activities. This volume compiles state-of-the-art science for the Salton Sea and will serve as the foundation for the next several generations of scientific inquiry for California's largest lake. The science presented here reveals the Salton Sea to be one of the most productive fisheries in the world, details why the Salton Sea is important to migratory and wintering birds, investigates the microbial world and reports numerous taxa new to science, and documents chemical and physical interactions which make this inland saline lake function. This book is intended for specialists in saline lake research who are interested in all aspects of saline lake ecology.


The Salton Sea Centennial Symposium

The Salton Sea Centennial Symposium

Author: Stuart H. Hurlbert

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-01-29

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 140208806X

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This volume deals with many aspects of the physical and chemical limnology of the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake and a lake that may soon to be the object of a multi-billion dollar restoration project. Formed in 1905 by an accidental breaching of outtake structures on the Colorado River, and maintained since then by large and steady inflows of agricultural wastewaters, it has long served as an important habitat for fish and waterbirds and as a major recreational area for people. Highlly eutrophic and with a salinity that is steadily rising and now nearly 50 g/L, it is a lake in great trouble. Most fish species have disappeared, and large fish and bird dieoffs have been common in recent decades. Many of the papers in this volume represent studies undertaken with the aim of informing the re-engineering of this ecosystem so that its value to wildlife and man can be restored or enhanced.