MrGawsome
commented
3 years ago After much research, I propose to shrink the Aral Sea following recent aerial imagery and then break it up into 5 parts with new names as shown in the below image. I would edit Aral Sea on the 10m, 50m, and 110m shapefiles, and I’d have less detail on the 50m and 110m files.
(A) This is referred to as the eastern part of the South Aral Sea, which is also known as the Aralkum Desert. Maybe this desert name can be added as an alternate name? I propose this lake should be removed from the ne_10m_lakes shapefile and added to the ne_10m_playas shapefile since recent imagery suggests it is dried out, at least most of the time. I propose using Wikidata Q276776 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q276776).
Sources suggesting Aral Sea’s shrinking, splitting up the lake into separate lakes, and adding the South Aral Sea and Aralkum Desert names. See the below sources: See the gif under “Manmade Devestation”: https://eurasianet.org/northern-arals-promise-stunted-by-dam-height-international-disputes Recent 2020 images, and the suggestion of the name “Aralkum Desert”: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147735/aral-sea-in-winter More 2020 imagery: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146487/a-dusty-day-over-the-aral-sea Wiki, which suggests separate lake names and areas of the Aral Sea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea#cite_note-sciam-5 Different lakes and regions of the Aral Sea (See bottom of the page above “Foresight”): https://sometimes-interesting.com/2014/11/23/the-disappearing-aral-sea/ Aralkum desert wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aralkum_Desert
(B) The majority of sources seem to call this lake South Aral Sea. I propose using Wikidata Q276776 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q276776). However, sometimes this lake is named Southern Aral Sea, Large Aral Sea, or Big Aral Sea. Should these names be added as alternate names? See the sources below as well as the alternate sources before (D).
South Aral Sea name sources: World Meteorological Organization: https://public.wmo.int/en/resources/bulletin/future-of-aral-sea-lies-transboundary-co%E2%80%93operation Water foundation: https://www.wearewater.org/en/the-aral-sea-the-difficult-return-of-water_322871 NASA: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147735/aral-sea-in-winter NASA: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146487/a-dusty-day-over-the-aral-sea Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Aral_Sea OSM: https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/5901404
(C) The majority of sources seem to call this lake North Aral Sea. I propose using Wikidata Q3358037 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3358037). However, sometimes this lake is named Northern Aral Sea or Small Aral Sea. Should these names be added as alternate names? See the below sources suggesting all of these names, especially the name North Aral Sea:
North Aral Sea name sources: Kazakhstan gov website: https://www.kazmab.kz/index.php/en/biosphere-reserves/2016-01-25-13-17-07/barsakelmes/description UNESCO map, which is also featured on the KZ website above: http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SC/images/Map_Barsakelmes.jpg NASA: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147735/aral-sea-in-winter NASA: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146487/a-dusty-day-over-the-aral-sea Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Aral_Sea OSM: https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/8728779
Alternate names for North and South Aral Sea. Alternate names are Small Aral Sea, Northern Aral Sea, Southern Aral Sea, Large Aral Sea, or Big Aral Sea. See the below sources: The map in the middle of the article: https://eurasianet.org/northern-arals-promise-stunted-by-dam-height-international-disputes Central Asia org: http://ec-ifas.waterunites-ca.org/main/189-an-expedition-of-scientists-and-journalists-was-conducted-to-the-northern-part-of-the-aral-sea.html See pdf page 18 and translate the names: https://www.zin.ru/labs/brackish/presentations/Past_present_and_future_of_the_Aral_Sea_and_Aral_Sea_Region.pdf Science Magazine: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6522/1283.1
(D) The majority of sources seem to call this lake Barsakelmes Lake. I propose using Wikidata Q28750379 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28750379). However, OSM and a Russian source have the Russian names of “Тущыбас” and “залив Тще-Бас,“ which translates to “Tushchybas” and “Tsche-Bass Bay” respectively. A regional organization refers to the lake as “Shche-bas Bay” as well. Should these names be added as alternate names? See the below sources suggesting all of these names, especially the name Barsakelmes Lake:
Barsakelmes Lake name sources are below. I can’t find a good official source, but various miscellaneous sources cite this name. See below: Abandoned history website (see bottom of article): https://sometimes-interesting.com/2014/11/23/the-disappearing-aral-sea/ Central Asia Travel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNJuhy0TmCc&ab_channel=CentralAsiaTravel Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsakelmes_Lake Not a source, but it does show that other companies/orgs use “Barsakelmes Lake”: https://www.google.com/maps/@46.2134481,59.7070654,92141m/data=!3m1!1e3
Alternate name sources for “Tushchybas,” “Tsche-Bass Bay,” or “Shche-bas Bay”: A Central Asia regional organization refers to the lake as “Shche-bas Bay”: http://ec-ifas.waterunites-ca.org/main/189-an-expedition-of-scientists-and-journalists-was-conducted-to-the-northern-part-of-the-aral-sea.html “Tushchybas” in OSM: https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/82650612 “Tsche-Bass Bay” on page 18 of a Russian doc: https://www.zin.ru/labs/brackish/presentations/Past_present_and_future_of_the_Aral_Sea_and_Aral_Sea_Region.pdf
(E) I suggest to leave this lake as unnamed. I can’t seem to find any good source suggesting a name for this lake. It seems to be part of the Barsakelmes Biosphere Reserve. Only OSM has some names for the lake, which I can’t verify elsewhere (see below). See below for sources that don’t label the lake and show that it is part of this reserve: OSM names: https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/3334885 Kazakhstan gov website: https://www.kazmab.kz/index.php/en/biosphere-reserves/2016-01-25-13-17-07/barsakelmes/description UNESCO map, which is also featured on the KZ website above: http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SC/images/Map_Barsakelmes.jpg
nvkelso
The Aral Sea has been disappearing, although efforts to restore it are being taken. Depending on when it is observed, the water level varies. The geometry for the eastern lobe in the natural earth data not longer matches the water level.
The following sources show/describe changes in the water level: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/AralSea https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2019-10-11
Requesting that the geometry for the Aral Sea polygons be investigated and modified to more current water levels.