This is the Aral Sea, left just before I was born, right just a few years ago. It was sacrificed for the sake of cotton in Soviet Central Asia.
The Caspian is also going to become a toxic salt desert. The satellite imagery is not yet as stark as the Aral, but watch the video to see places where the sea has retreated fifteen miles in less than one human lifetime.
The Earth has been losing the Paratethys Lake and its successors for the last twelve million years. The complete loss of the Aral basin in my lifetime and the probable loss of the bulk of the Caspian surface area this century are ecological disasters from the perspective of the humans who live in the region. On geological time scales these changes were inevitable, we’ve just accelerated them a thousandfold or more.
We’re doing no better here in North America. As the Great Salt Lake shrinks, the lake effect snow that feeds winter sports in Utah is going fast. This was a virtuous cycle - the snowmelt returned to the lake.
And here in California we contemplate spending 1.5% of one year’s budget to ensure something remains of the Salton Sea and its endangered pupfish.
I’ve been fascinated by what happened to the Caspian Sea. And I’ve always wondered if the Saharan desert looked very different long ago.