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Large Asian Lakes in a Changing World

Natural State and Human Impact

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

Editors:
  1. Steffen Mischke

    1. Institue of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

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  • Offers a valuable reference guide, describing the natural state of important lakes in Asia
  • Provides a unique overview of human impacts on eight important lakes in Asia
  • Reveals that Asian lakes have most likely experienced the most severe ecosystem changes triggered by humans

Part of the book series: Springer Water (SPWA)

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
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  2. The Dead Sea and Its Deviation from Natural Conditions

    • Revital Bookman
    Pages 1-33

  3. Lake Sevan: Evolution, Biotic Variability and Ecological Degradation

    • Ian P. Wilkinson
    Pages 35-63

  4. Past and Current Changes in the Largest Lake of the World: The Caspian Sea

    • Suzanne A. G. Leroy, Hamid A. K. Lahijani, Jean-Francois Crétaux, Nikolai V. Aladin, Igor S. Plotnikov
    Pages 65-107

  5. The Aral Sea: A Story of Devastation and Partial Recovery of a Large Lake

    • Philip Micklin, Nikolai V. Aladin, Tetsuro Chida, Nikolaus Boroffka, Igor S. Plotnikov, Sergey Krivonogov et al.
    Pages 109-141

  6. Geological History and Present Conditions of Lake Balkhash

    • Renato Sala, Jean-Marc Deom, Nikolai V. Aladin, Igor S. Plotnikov, Sabyr Nurtazin
    Pages 143-175

  7. Lake Issyk-Kul: Its History and Present State

    • Andrei O. Podrezov, Ari J. Mäkelä, Steffen Mischke
    Pages 177-206

  8. Lop Nur in NW China: Its Natural State, and a Long History of Human Impact

    • Steffen Mischke, Chenglin Liu, Jiafu Zhang
    Pages 207-233

  9. Uvs Nuur: A Sentinel for Climate Change in Eastern Central Asia

    • Michael Walther, Wolfgang Horn, Avirmed Dashtseren
    Pages 235-257

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 259-264
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Keywords

About this book

Describing the natural state of eight important lakes in Asia and the human impact on these lake ecosystems, this book offers a valuable reference guide. Over the past several decades the Aral Sea, Dead Sea, Lake Balkhash and other major lakes in Asia have undergone significant changes with regard to their size, water level, chemical composition, and flora and fauna. Most of these changes resulted from the loss of water from tributaries (now used for irrigation farming) or increasing consumption in local industries and households. However, significant human impacts may have begun as early as 2000 years ago. In addition to the three lakes mentioned above, Lake Sevan (Armenia), the Caspian Sea (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan), Lake Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan), and Lake Lop Nur (China) are discussed as the most prominent examples of changing lake ecosystems. In contrast, an example of an almost pristine lake ecosystem is included with the report on Lake UvsNuur (Mongolia).

For each lake, the book summarizes its origin and early geological history, and reconstructs its natural state and variability on the basis of proxy records from drilled or exposed lake sediments that have accumulated since the last ice age. The frequently observed reductions in lake level and size during most recent decades led often to significant environmental impacts in the respective lake catchments including vegetation deterioration, soil erosion and badland formation, soil salinization or the formation of sinkholes.  


      

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Editors and Affiliations

  • Institue of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Steffen Mischke

About the editor

  

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Large Asian Lakes in a Changing World

  • Book Subtitle: Natural State and Human Impact

  • Editors: Steffen Mischke

  • Series Title: Springer Water

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42254-7

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental Science, Earth and Environmental Science (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-42253-0Published: 12 May 2020

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-42256-1Published: 12 May 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-42254-7Published: 11 May 2020

  • Series ISSN: 2364-6934

  • Series E-ISSN: 2364-8198

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: IX, 264

  • Number of Illustrations: 10 b/w illustrations, 49 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Physical Geography, Hydrology/Water Resources, Archaeology, Geology

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