Introduction
The Salton Sea, located in Imperial County of Southern California, is a saline
lake that was formed in a large basin (called the Salton Trough) created by
releasing bend of the San Andreas fault. In modern times, the Salton Trough
became a lake in 1891, but dried up within a year. It began to form again in
1893. In 1905, the Colorado River was diverted into the Salton Trough to create
the Salton Sea. The Salton Sea was originally a fresh water lake.
The Aral Sea, located in Uzbekistan and Kazakstan (both countries were part of the former Soviet Union), is historically a saline lake. It is very much like the Salton Sea of Southern California, except much larger. The Aral Sea was also formed in a basin formed by a releasing bend of a strike slip fault. The Aral Sea and the Salton Sea are both prime examples of dynamic environments. The Aral Sea is considered a true environmental disaster, but most students do not think this could ever happen in the United States, much less in their own back yard. By making students aware that the Aral and Salton Seas share many similarities, we hope that students will become more environmentally conscious. It may be too late to "save" the Aral Sea, but there is still hope to prevent the ecological collapse of the Salton Sea.
I. Go to the Aral Sea web site:
http://VisEarth.ucsd.edu/VisE_Int/aralsea/index.html
What is a "closed system"?
What are the names of the rivers supplying the water to the Aral Sea?
Where is the original source of this water?
What naturally occurring global conditions could cause the Aral Sea to increase in volume?
What naturally occurring global conditions could cause the Aral Sea to decrease in volume?
Currently we are in an interglacial period (a warming period.) What would be
happening to the Aral Sea if it were in its natural state?
Why?
Do we have any other evidence of this?
Why is the Aral Sea decreasing in volume?
Is this decrease in volume on a major or
minor scale?
Predict some of the effects of the decreasing volume of the Aral Sea
on the surrounding environment.
How would animal life be affected? Humans? Plants? Climate?
Go to link "Navigate the Aral Sea." Use the colored circles
to add information about the Aral Sea to your Aral
Sea diagram. Be sure to check the orientation of the diagram to the
orientations of the images.
What is the major source of employment in the Aral region?
What used to be
the major source of employment in the region?
Can you use the images to
determine the local climate? For instance, note the number of months that
there is sea ice covering some portion of the Aral Sea.
What is the
latitude of the Aral Sea?
Is this similar to the latitude where you live?
They grow cotton in the Aral Sea region. Where in the United States do
they grow cotton?
What are the latitudes of these areas?
Are you surprised
to find cotton growing near the Aral Sea? Why?
I b. Pollution:
What are some of the pollutants found in the Aral Sea?
Make a list of the environmental issues facing the region.
What are
some of the ways that you would suggest to help solve some of the
environmental predicaments of the region?
Were there any images that you especially liked?
Did you find any
of the images surprising? If so, how?
II. Explore the Salton Sea
http://VisEarth.ucsd.edu/VisE_Int/aralsea/SaltSea_intro.html
Label your diagram of the Salton Sea with the
information you learn at these pages.
What is a "closed system"?
What are the reasons that the Salton Trough
is a closed system?
What are the names of the rivers supplying the water
to the Salton Sea?
Is there any other source(s) of water entering the Salton Sea?
Have you read any newspaper or magazine articles about the Salton Sea?
If so what specific topics did they address?
What is grown in the Salton Sea region?
Does the agriculture in the
area create any environmental concerns/problems?
Do any organisms live
in the Salton Sea?
What is the recent history (since 1900) of the Salton Trough?
What is
the more ancient history of the Salton Trough?
What is the name of the
fault that is responsible for creating the basin that contains the Salton
Sea?
The Salton Trough is below sea level, so why hasn't it been
inundated by the ocean (from the Gulf of California)?
Originally,
the Salton Sea was fresh water. How did the water become saline?
Is the salinity of the Salton Sea a problem?
II b. Pollution:
What are some of the pollutants found in the Salton Sea?
What are some ways that you would suggest for helping to save the
Salton Sea?
How would you deal with the problem of increasing salinity?
How would you deal with the problem of increasing pollution?