Shrinking Lake ChadNigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon

Persistent drought has shrunk the lake to about a tenth of its former size

• 1972: Larger lake surface area is visible in this image

• 2001: Impact of drought displays a shrunken lake, comparatively much smaller surface area than in 1972 image

Land cover degradation around Lake Nakuru, Kenya

These images show the land cover degradation in the lake’s catchment

• 1973: The area that hosts the world’s largest concentration of flamingos

• 2000: Excision of forest in the Eastern Mau Forest Reserve (white lines) will most likely lead to disappearance of upper catchment forest cover

Israel

Egypt

USA Mexico

Other international boundaries viewed from Space…45

Aral SeaAral Sea, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (top to north)(~46% water level decrease since 1960; level continues to fall)

Development of agricultural irrigation projects impedes recharge. With reduced fresh water quantities and constant evaporation, the

sea has become more saline and shrunk drastically. It has also become polluted with pesticides and fertilizers.

1985 1992

46

Aral Sea, bisected, 2002 (top to northeast)

47

Death of a sea - Aral Sea, Kazakhstan

Images show death of the world’s fourth largest inland sea

• 1973: The surface of the sea once measured 66 100 km2

• 1987: 60% of the volume had been lost

• 1999-2004: The sea is now quarter of the size it was 50 years ago

Alarming drop in Lake Balkhash’s water levelKazakhstan

• 1975-1979: Excessive use and waste of lake water are causes of the drop

• 2001: Smaller neighbouring lakes appear to be drying up

Kara-Bogaz-Gol – Lagoon of the Caspian seaTurkmenistan

Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water in the world

• 1988: KBG is the large shallow lagoon of the Caspian sea

• 2000: Caspian Sea levels are higher than 1978 levels and water flows freely into salty waters of KBG

• 1973: The Sea level is dropping at the rate of 1m/year

Dramatic changes in Dead Sea, Jordan

Images show dramatic changes in the Dead sea over 30 years

• 2002: Notice the expansion of salt works, and near-complete closing off of the southern part by dry land

Mono Lake, Sierra Nevada, CAMono Lake, Sierra Nevada, CAWater drawn to supply LA has resulted in lowered lake levels,

increased salinity, and an endangered ecosystem.

Las Vegas, NVLas Vegas, NVRapid urbanization in a desert

setting stresses surface and ground water resources.

49

Lake Powell and the Colorado River, Colorado Plateau, UT-AZLake Powell and the Colorado River, Colorado Plateau, UT-AZ“The building of Glen Canyon Dam ushered in the modern environmental

movement…” -- David Brower, Sierra Club

“The canyonlands did have a heart, aliving heart, and that heart was GlenCanyon and the wild Colorado.”

-- Edward Abbey

50

Glen Canyon Dam

Agricultural landscape, Uzbekistan, 2002Agricultural landscape, Uzbekistan, 200251

Changes due to Three Gorges Dam construction, China

Changes due to the construction of dam

• 1987: Nature of the river and surrounding landscape before the dam

• 2004: The enormous dam is clearly visible

Impact of Al Wahda reservoir in Morocco

These images illustrate the change in land cover

• 1987: The area before the construction of dams

• 2001: The area after the construction of 110 large dams

Beijing, the capital city of China, has experienced explosive growth since economic reforms in 1979

• 1978: Beijing in 1978

• 2000: Extent of urban expansion is clearly visible

Explosive growth in BeijingChina

Sydney – the country’s largest cityAustralia

1975-2002: Over the last several decades, Sydney has been expanding westward toward the Blue Mountains

Rapid growth in SantiagoChile

The explosive growth of Santiago’s urban area

Fastest growing megalopolis in the world - Mexico City, Mexico

• 1973 -Urban growth is concentrated in the center of the city

• 2000 -Now expands dramatically into surrounding rural areas

Growth of a

mega city

Las Vegas – Fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States

• 1973: A small settlement

• 2000-2006:The landscape is now dramatically modified

Images courtesy USGS

Expanding Las Vegas, United States

Drought in the Western United States

Lake Mead

20002004

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

PhotoViewPhotoView 18 meters18 meters

Golf courses springing up around Lake MeadUnited States

New Golf Courses since 2001Expansion of Golf Courses around Lake Mead

58