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Remote-sensing-based analysis of landscape change in the desiccated seabed of the Aral Sea—a potential tool for assessing the hazard degree of dust and salt storms

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Abstract

With the recession of the Aral Sea in Central Asia, once the world’s fourth largest lake, a huge new saline desert emerged which is nowadays called the Aralkum. Saline soils in the Aralkum are a major source for dust and salt storms in the region. The aim of this study was to analyze the spatio-temporal land cover change dynamics in the Aralkum and discuss potential implications for the recent and future dust and salt storm activity in the region. MODIS satellite time series were classified from 2000–2008 and change of land cover was quantified. The Aral Sea desiccation accelerated between 2004 and 2008. The area of sandy surfaces and salt soils, which bear the greatest dust and salt storm generation potential increased by more than 36 %. In parts of the Aralkum desalinization of soils was found to take place within 4–8 years. The implication of the ongoing regression of the Aral Sea is that the expansion of saline surfaces will continue. Knowing the spatio-temporal dynamics of both the location and the surface characteristics of the source areas for dust and salt storms allows drawing conclusions about the potential hazard degree of the dust load. The remote-sensing-based land cover assessment presented in this study could be coupled with existing knowledge on the location of source areas for an early estimation of trends in shifting dust composition. Opportunities, limits, and requirements of satellite-based land cover classification and change detection in the Aralkum are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This study was carried out within the context of the HALOPROC project funded by the DfG (German Research Foundation, Research Unit 763). We would like to thank the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation for foundation of the research by way of a scholarship to the first author, and the GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation) for logistical support of the ground surveys in Uzbekistan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Remote Sensing in cooperation with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97072, Würzburg, Germany

    F. Löw

  2. RSS—Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH, Munich, Germany

    P. Navratil

  3. Institute of Earth Sciences, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany

    K. Kotte & H. F. Schöler

  4. Quaternary Research and Applied Geomorphology—African Research Unit, Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    O. Bubenzer

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  1. F. Löw
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  2. P. Navratil
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  3. K. Kotte
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  4. H. F. Schöler
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  5. O. Bubenzer
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Correspondence to F. Löw.

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Löw, F., Navratil, P., Kotte, K. et al. Remote-sensing-based analysis of landscape change in the desiccated seabed of the Aral Sea—a potential tool for assessing the hazard degree of dust and salt storms. Environ Monit Assess 185, 8303–8319 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3174-7

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