New satellite images highlight the disappearance of the Aral Sea

The Aral Sea seen in 2000 and 2014. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Once the fourth largest lake in the world the Aral Sea now barely exists at all due to major water diversion work.

While it has long been known the lake was shrinking, latest satellite images from the NASA Earth Observatory have revealed the extent of the change.

A ruined ship lies in sand that once formed the bed of the Aral Sea. Credit: Reuters

In the 1960s the then Soviet Union undertook attempts to divert the two rivers that fed the huge lake, to irrigate the arid plains of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.

While the diverted water has made the desert bloom, it has devastated the Aral Sea.

The Aral Sea in 2007. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

In a last ditch attempt to stem the loss of the lake Kazakhstan built a dam between the northern and southern parts, the project was completed in 2005.

The dam was separated between the northern and southern parts, as the southern section was deemed too far gone to save. In the northern part the levels rebounded in the first years after the dam was built.