November 20, 2021 - Garabogazköl Basin

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Caspian Sea
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Pale shades of teal, turquoise, tan, and salty white filled the waters
of the Garabogazköl Depression in this stunning true-color image, which
was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite on November 19, 2021.

Also known as the Zaliv Kara-Bogaz-Gol, Garabogazköl Gulf, and
Garabogazköl Bay, the extremely salty and shallow basin sits in an arid
location in Turkmenistan. The Garabogazköl Basin was once relatively
well-connected to the dark waters of the Caspian Sea, allowing water
fresh water to flow freely into the basin. Drought and diversion of
water from the major rivers that feed the Caspian Sea (the Volga and
Kur Rivers) caused the level of the Sea waters to lower, slowing the
freshwater intrusion into the Garabogazköl. In 1980, a dam was
completed which completely blocked the connection between the Caspian
and the basin, creating rapid evaporation which reduced that
Garabogazköl to about 1/3 of its former size and dropped the average
depth to less than 50 cm (19.5 inches). The dam was destroyed in 1992
and today the Caspian Sea and the Garabogazköl share a narrow
connection that allows survival of the water in the shallow basin.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 11/19/2021
Resolutions: 1km (554.2 KB), 500m (1.5 MB), 250m (995.6 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-11-20

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