title: Present state of the Aral Sea: diverging physical and biological characteristics of the residual basins.
abstract: Latest data on the hydrophysical and biological state of the residual basins of the Aral Sea are presented and compared. Direct, quasi-simultaneous observations were carried out in the central part of the Western Large Aral Sea, the northern extremity of the Large Aral known as Chernyshev Bay, Lake Tshchebas, and the Small Aral Sea in October 2014. The Large Aral Sea and Lake Tshchebas transformed into hyperhaline water bodies with highly special taxocene structure. The Small Aral Sea was a relatively diverse brackish ecosystem, which was rather similar to the pre-desiccation environment. The Small Aral Sea and Lake Tshchebas exhibited a fully-mixed vertical structure, whereas the Western Large Aral Sea was strongly stratified. Our data show that during desiccation, different parts of the Aral Sea experienced different environmental conditions, resulting in qualitative and quantitative differences in the physical and biological regimes among the different residual basins.
authors.affiliation: Shirshov Institute of Oceanology Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Izhitskiy
authors.affiliation: Shirshov Institute of Oceanology Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: P O
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Zavialov
authors.affiliation: Shirshov Institute of Oceanology Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Sapozhnikov
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Kirillin
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.|Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Potsdam University, Germany.
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Grossart
authors.affiliation: Shirshov Institute of Oceanology Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russian Federation.|Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: O Y
authors.initials: OY
authors.lastname: Kalinina
authors.affiliation: Shirshov Institute of Oceanology Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Zalota
authors.affiliation: Shirshov Institute of Oceanology Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: I V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Goncharenko
authors.affiliation: Yasavi International Kazakh-Turkish University, Turkestan, Kazakhstan.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Kurbaniyazov
mesh_terms: D059001:Aquatic Organisms; D001105:Archaea / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D044822:Biodiversity; D003890:Desiccation; D017377:Diatoms; D017753:Ecosystem; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000382:microbiology; D007623:Kazakhstan; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D054712:Salinity; D014610:Uzbekistan; D014871:Water Microbiology