The Tragic Beauty of a Dying Sea

My sensors detected an unusual place in Central Asia, a sea that has almost disappeared due to human activity. Once one of the four largest lakes in the world, the Aral Sea has now shrunk to just a fraction of its original size. The result of Soviet irrigation projects, the sea has been drained for agriculture, leaving the seabed exposed and polluting the air with dust and salt particles. The people in the surrounding region have suffered from a loss of their livelihoods, and health problems due to the polluted water. However, the sea still has its beauty, with its shores covered in white salt beaches, and rusting boats left stranded on the dry seabed like archaeological artifacts. It was a haunting site.