Caspian Sea

Environmental vulnerability varies considerably from area to area. For example the North Sea, which is displaced into the Atlantic over a two year period,-is a much more robust area than the Caspian Sea which is enclosed. Regional standards should reflect those differences. 

Not considering the former USSR, world production of iodine was ca 13,500 metric tons in 1992. Japan provided about 45% of the world total, compared to 44% from Chile and 11% from the United States. An annual output of 2300 t from 1976 to 1979 was estimated by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (66) but was revised to 2000 tons in 1981. No official data are available for the former USSR where iodine production is reported to be produced from iodine—bromine brines. Two areas have been mentioned the Neftechalinki field in the Slavianski-Triotskoe area near the Black Sea, and a plant in the Baku area in Azerbaidzhan on the Caspian Sea where ca 1400 metric tons was estimated for 1990 production. 

Great Salt Lake, Utah, is the largest terminal lake in the United States. From its brine, salt, elemental magnesium, magnesium chloride, sodium sulfate, and potassium sulfate ate produced. Other well-known terminal lakes ate Qinghai Lake in China, Tu2 Golu in Turkey, the Caspian Sea and Atal skoje in the states of the former Soviet Union, and Urmia in Iran. There ate thousands of small terminal lakes spread across most countries of the world. Most of these lakes contain sodium chloride, but many contain ions of magnesium, calcium, potassium, boron, lithium, sulfates, carbonates, and nitrates. 

First off-shore wells, fixed to piers, are drilled in the Caspian Sea. 

The situation is further compounded by major oil and gas deposits in Northern Iraq and Azerbaijan (Caspian Sea), as well as critically important and contentious pipeline routes such as Balor-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa. The volatility of this region can be seen even today, with the deployment of Russian troops in Chechnya. Indeed the three states that make up the geostrategic unit of the South Caucasus, - Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, two of whom share borders with Turkey, will be directly impacted by the advancement of Russian forces in Dagestan and Chechnya. 

Pesticide storehouses were examined in five regions of the Astrakhan Oblast because of the rise in the Caspian sea level and the possibility of flooding in 1993-95. Only eight of 39 storehouses were standard however, even they did not meet construction standards, and most were in terrible condition. Residual pesticides contaminated the land surrounding many of these storehouses. In the Volodarsk Region, the maximal values for contamination were atrazine at 1330 times MPC DDT at 53 times MPC, methyl parathion at 1330 times MPC, trifluraline at 8000 times MPC, and phosalone at 107 times MPC. 

The semi-arid areas receiving somewhat higher rainfall are covered by a steppe-like fairly continuous vegetative cover of Xerophilous shrubs and grasses. In the Central Asian Plains, east of the Caspian Sea, wind erosion and transport are the dominant features. Sand dunes dominate the landscape for hundreds of kilometers. 

In Europe, a minor area of aridic zones occurs near the Black and Caspian Seas. According to Dregne (1976), the southern parts of Spain, Italy and Greece are semi-arid. 

The landlocked Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water on Earth. Surrounded by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan, the Caspian Sea is home to myriad ecosystems. At the meeting point of the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, the Caspian region includes steppe land in the north, cold, continental deserts and semi-deserts in the northeast and east, and warmer mountain and highland systems in the south and southwest. The coastal wetlands of the Caspian basin include many shallow, saline pools, which attract a variety of bird life and biodiversity over 400 species are unique to the Caspian. In addition, the sea s native sturgeon is famous the world around for the roe it produces sturgeon from the Caspian Sea accounts for approximately 90% of the world s caviar industry. 

Figure 1. The Caspian Sea and rivers of its basin. The Caspian Sea s states 1—Russia, 2— Kazakhstan, 3—Turkmenistan, 4—Iran, 5—Azerbaijan.

Thus, there is an urgent need to protect the Caspian environment in order to maintain it for future generations. Continued economic development, improved regional cooperation, and the implementation of modern technology will be required in order to improve the state of the environment in and around the Caspian Sea in coming years and decrease accordingly the environmental risk values. 

Box 1. Natural gas export routes and options in the Caspian Sea region (Caspian Environmental Program, 2001) ... 

The Caspian Sea is the largest inland water body on earth (386,400 km2, maximum depth 1025 m). With its long history of oil and industrial development, the Caspian is often regarded as severely polluted and ecologically degraded. The North Basin of the Caspian Sea is a large (25% of the Caspian Sea surface area), shallow (median... 

Interaction of POCs with oil products and synthetic surfactants in water <- Factors increasing the ecological risk of contamination of river waters entering into the Caspian Sea by POCs Secondary contamination of river waters by POCs from bottom sediments... 

Ecological risk of POCs contamination due to riverine inputs to the Caspian Sea... 

---