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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: [email protected]
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Abstract

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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 

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