Environmental Monitoring and Ecological Risk Assessment of the Syr Darya
The Syr Darya is one of the largest rivers in southern Kazakhstan and is a major source of freshwater feeding the Aral Sea. In the 1950s, Soviet efforts to increase agricultural productivity led to increased water diversion for irrigation and increased agrichemical use. Ultimately, this led to the drying of the Aral Sea, creating one of the most serious ecological disasters in modern history. Efforts to revive the Aral Sea are underway, yet few investigations have sought to assess the impacts of agrichemical use in the Aral Sea Basin, including the Syr Darya.
In collaboration with researchers from the University of Nebraska, University of Idaho, and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, we monitored and assessed water quality in the Syr Darya in an effort to determine the potential ecological risks associated with previous and current agrichemical use, as well as heavy metals from natural and anthropogenic sources. This work began in the summer of 2015, when our team of eight US scientists and graduate students and eight Kazakh researchers and graduate students collected water, sediment and fish from several field sites in the Syr Darya for chemical and biological assessment. Analysis of these samples allowed us to assess the presence of agrichemicals and metals in the Syr Darya and evaluate the associated ecological and human health risks associated with subsequent exposures. Publications related to this work can be accessed here and here.
In collaboration with researchers from the University of Nebraska, University of Idaho, and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, we monitored and assessed water quality in the Syr Darya in an effort to determine the potential ecological risks associated with previous and current agrichemical use, as well as heavy metals from natural and anthropogenic sources. This work began in the summer of 2015, when our team of eight US scientists and graduate students and eight Kazakh researchers and graduate students collected water, sediment and fish from several field sites in the Syr Darya for chemical and biological assessment. Analysis of these samples allowed us to assess the presence of agrichemicals and metals in the Syr Darya and evaluate the associated ecological and human health risks associated with subsequent exposures. Publications related to this work can be accessed here and here.