This view shows the sun reflecting off the surface waters that surround the spit that defines the Zaliv Kara-Bogaz-Gol from the open Caspian Sea. The sunglint reveals the flow of fresher water through the spit channel and into the bay.
Published Jul 14, 2002
On May 18, 2014, the Aqua satellite captured this image of dust blowing over southeastern Russia.
Published May 21, 2014
Multiple factors likely contribute to the formation of ice on the northern Caspian Sea.
Published Mar 30, 2013
Salt and algae color the landscape and water around this marsh that lies below global sea level.
Published Jun 11, 2012
Acquired June 4, 2010, this natural-color image shows the Caspian Sea and the varied land surfaces surrounding it.
Published Jun 12, 2010
A hazy plume drifted over the northern end of the Caspian Sea in early April 2008. The translucent plume swirling over the water contrasts with the nearby opaque white clouds. The plume might result partly from smoke from springtime agricultural fires in farmland north of the sea.
Published Apr 16, 2008
The inland sea in central Asia has a distinct circulation.
Published Sep 6, 2020
The Aral Sea has shrunk to less than half its size since 1985. It receives little water (sometimes none) from the two major rivers that empty into it—the Syr Darya and Amu Darya. Instead, the river water is diverted to support irrigation for the region’s extensive cotton fields. Recently, water scarcity has increased due to a prolonged drought in Central Asia. As the Aral Sea recedes, its former seabed is exposed. The Aral’s sea bed is composed of fine sediments—including fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals—that are easily picked up by the region’s strong winds, creating thick dust storms. The International Space Station crew observed and recorded a large dust storm blowing eastward from the Aral Sea in late June 2001. This image illustrates the strong coupling between human activities (water diversions and irrigation), and rapidly changing land, sea and atmospheric processes—the winds blow across the Sea and pick up dust (former sea bottom sediments) as soon as the blowing air masses hit land.
Published Dec 30, 2001
