Change and Variability in Climate and Ecosystem Decline in Aral Sea Basin Deltas

This paper concentrates on impacts that regional and global climate changes may have on deltaic ecosystems using deltas in the Aral Sea basin as an example. In addition to an assessment of regional climate change and variability and their relationship to environmental conditions within inland river deltas, this paper examines the past development of the deltas (including consequences of human-induced alteration of the regional hydrologic cycle), climatic trends and ecosystem changes within them, and the relationships among future climatic and ecosystem changes that may occur. 11 figures, 2 tables, 71 references.