Comparison of Crop Evapotranspiration and Water Productivity of Typical Delta Irrigation Areas in Aral Sea Basin

The intensity of agricultural activities and the characteristics of water consumption affect the hydrological processes of inland river basins in Central Asia. The crop water requirements and water productivity are different between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins due to the different water resource development and utilization policies of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which have resulted in more severe agricultural water consumption of the Amu Darya delta than the Syr Darya delta, and the differences in the surface runoff are injected into the Aral Sea. To reveal the difference in water resource dissipation, water productivity, and its influencing factors between the two basins, this study selected the irrigation areas of Amu Darya delta (IAAD) and Syr Darya delta (IASD) as typical examples; the actual evapotranspiration (ETa) was retrieved by using the modified surface energy balance algorithm for land model (SEBAL) based on high spatial resolution Landsat images from 2000 to 2020. Land use and cover change (LUCC) and streamflow data were obtained to analyze the reasons for the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of regional ETa. The water productivity of typical crops in two irrigation areas was compared and combined with statistical data. The results indicate that: (1) the ETa simulated by the SEBAL model matched the crop evapotranspiration (ETc) calculated by the Penman–Monteith method and ground-measured data well, with all the correlation coefficients higher than 0.7. (2) In IAAD, the average ETa was 1150 mm, and the ETa had shown a decreasing trend; for the IASD, the average ETa was 800 mm. The ETa showed an increasing trend with low stability due to a large amount of developable cultivated land. The change of cultivated land dominated the spatio-temporal characteristics of ETa in the two irrigation areas (3). Combined with high spatial resolution ETa inversion results, the water productivity of cotton and rice in IAAD was significantly lower than in IASD, and wheat was not significantly different, but all were far lower than the international average. This study can provide useful information for agricultural water management in the Aral Sea region.

Temporal/Spatial Variation of Terrestrial Water Storage and Groundwater Storage in Typical Inland River Basins of Central Asia

In this study, the Amu Darya river basin, Syr Darya river basin and Balkhash lake basin in Central Asia were selected as typical study areas. Temporal/spatial changes from 2002 to 2016 in the terrestrial water storage (TWS) and the groundwater storage (GWS) were analyzed, based on RL06 Mascon data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite, and the sum of soil water content, snow water equivalent and canopy water data that were obtained from Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). Combing meteorological data and land use and cover change (LUCC) data, the joint impact of both human activities and climate change on the terrestrial water storage change (TWSC) and the groundwater storage change (GWSC) was evaluated by statistical analysis. The results revealed three findings: (1) The TWS retrieved by CSR (Center for Space Research) and the JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) showed a decreasing trend in the three basins, and the variation of TWS showed a maximum surplus in spring (March–May) and a maximum deficit in autumn (September–November). (2) The decreasing rates of groundwater storage that were extracted, based on JPL and CSR Mascon data sets, were −2.17 mm/year and −3.90 mm/year, −3.72 mm/year and −4.96 mm/year, −1.74 mm/year and −3.36 mm/year in the Amu Darya river basin, Syr Darya river basin and Balkhash lake basin, respectively. (3) In the Amu Darya river basin, annual precipitation showed a decreasing trend, while the evapotranspiration rate showed an increasing trend due to an increasing temperature, and the TWS decreased from 2002 to 2016 in most areas of the basin. However, in the middle reaches of the Amu Darya river basin, the TWS increased due to the increase in cultivated land area, water income from flooded irrigation, and reservoir impoundment. In the upper reaches of the Syr Darya river basin, the increase in precipitation in alpine areas leads to an increase in glacier and snow meltwater, which is the reason for the increase in the TWS. In the middle and lower reaches of the Syr Darya river basin, the amount of evapotranspiration dissipation exceeds the amount of water replenished by agricultural irrigation, which leads to a decrease in TWS and GWS. The increase in precipitation in the northwest of the Balkhash lake basin, the increase in farmland irrigation water, and the topography (higher in the southeast and lower in the northwest) led to an increase in TWS and GWS in the northwest of the Balkhash lake basin. This study can provide useful information for water resources management in the inland river basins of Central Asia.

Traces of the Dahaean and Sarmatian Cultural Legacy in Ancient Turan and Old Rus

This study examines the migrations of the Dahae and Sarmatians—the two related early nomadic peoples of Middle Asia and Eastern Europe—directed to the south and west of their homeland. Archaeological, written, and folkloric sources make it possible to trace the migrations of the Dahae and Sarmatians over several centuries preceding the spread of Islam in Central Asia and of Christianity in Old Rus. The study focuses on mortuary monuments, temples, and sanctuaries, cross-shaped in plan view, of migrants and their descendants. A detailed analysis of the major southward migration of Dahae from the Lower Syr-Darya in the late 3rd to early 2nd BC is presented. This migration had a considerable effect on ethnic and cultural processes in Middle Asia. The migration aimed at conquering the lands of Alexander the Great’s descendants, who were rapidly losing control over them. Features of Dahaean culture are noticed in town planning, architecture, mortuary rites, armor, etc. over the entire territory they had captured. Southward migration of the descendants of the Dahae—people of the Kaunchi and Otrar cultures—from the Syr-Darya, led by the Huns, was part of the Great Migration. The Kaunchi people headed toward the oases of Samarkand and Kesh, the Otrar people toward the oasis of Bukhara, and those associated with the Dzhetyasar culture toward the Qarshi oasis. It is demonstrated that while the cross-shaped plan view of religious structures turned into the eight-petaled rosette, the fu neral rite did not change, remains of burials and charcoal are observed everywhere. Relics of the ScythoSarmatian legacy are seen in the culture of Old Rus. For instance, remains of the sanctuaries of Perun are walls and ditches arranged in a cruciform or eight-petaled fashion, fi lled with charcoal and bones of sacrifi ced animals, with a statue of the supreme Slavic deity, in the center. Early sanctuaries of Perun in Kiev and Khodosovichi were cruciate in plan view, while later ones on the banks of the Zbruch and the Volkhov rivers had octopetalous plans. Apparently they were infl uenced by the architectural traditions of Dahae and Sarmatians, who took part in the ethnogenetic processes in both Old Rus and Turan.

Some Medieval and Post-Golden Horde’s Towns of the Itil (Volga) and Syr-Darya Basins According to the Arabic and Chinese Maps

Research objectives: The earliest depictions of the towns of the Itil (Volga) and Syr-Darya Basins in medieval cartography are found on the Idrisi map (1154). The post-Golden Horde towns in these areas are found in the Jenkinson map and the Kunyu wanguo quan tu (Map of the Ten Thousand Countries of the Earth, 1602) by Matteo Ricci. In 1772, the Qianlong neifu yutu 乾隆内府舆圖 (Terrestrial Map of the Imperial Repository of Qianlong), which used modern cartographic techniques, enriched the geographic information of Central Asian countries and filled the gaps in contemporary European maps. Research materials: Influenced by the map of Al-Idrīsī’, the geographic gaps and blind spots on the European maps were filled, reconstructed, and connected with the new world geographic knowledge, forming a relatively complete world map. At the end of the Ming and early Qing dynasties, a large amount of overseas geographic knowledge was introduced by Western missionaries who entered China. Results and novelty of the research: The analysis of Arab, European, and Chinese maps made it possible to assess the degree of accuracy of their information about the post-Golden Horde cities of the Itil (Volga) and Syr-Darya basins. The authors managed to determine the geographical ideas of Arab, European, and Chinese geographers about Central Asia. Specifically, this article examined the place names of the Itil Basin (including Western Siberia) and the Qazaq Steppe (including adjacent regions) in the European-Russian imperial maps and in the Qing Chinese maps. Historical maps provide rich resources of knowledge that graphically encode information about the state of a fraction of the real world at a certain point in time.

Trends in Snow Cover Duration Across River Basins in High Mountain Asia From Daily Gap-Filled MODIS Fractional Snow Covered Area

High Mountain Asia (HMA) has the largest expanse of snow outside of the polar regions and it plays a critical role in climate and hydrology. In situ monitoring is rare due to terrain complexity and inaccessibility, making remote sensing the most practical way to understand snow patterns in HMA despite relatively short periods of record. Here, trends in snow cover duration were assessed using MODIS between 2002 and 2017 across the headwaters of the region’s primary river basins (Amu Darya, Brahmaputra, Ganges, Indus, and Syr Darya). Data limitations, associated with traditional binary mapping and data gaps due to clouds, were addressed with a daily, spatially and temporally complete, snow cover product that maps the fraction of snow in each pixel using spectral mixture analysis. Trends in fractional snow cover duration (fSCD) were calculated at the annual and monthly scale, and across 1,000 m elevation bands, and compared to trends in binary snow cover duration (SCD). Snow cover is present, on average, for 102 days across all basin headwaters, with the longest duration in western basins and shortest in eastern basins. Broadly, snow cover is in decline, which is most pronounced in elevation bands where snow is most likely to be present and most needed to sustain glaciers. Some of the strongest negative trends in fSCD were in the Syr Darya, which has 13 fewer days between 4,000–5,000 m, and Brahmaputra, which has 31 fewer days between 5,000–6,000 m. The only increasing tendency was found in the Indus between 2,000 and 5,000 m. There were differences between fSCD and SCD trends, due to SCD overestimating snow cover area relative to fSCD.

Interdisciplinary approach to studying written nomadic sources in the context of modern historiology

This article uses an interdisciplinary approach to analyze textual sources from nomadic civilization. Linguistic analysis has been increasingly used due to the emergence of a huge array of autochthonous and authentic written sources. It is impossible to extract the necessary historical information from those sources without using a new research method. This study aims to apply discourse analysis to medieval textual sources called edicts published in 1400–1635 by the leaders of the Central Asian states. This approach is expected to enable a detailed study of the structure of edicts, as well as speech patterns and terms used in the text. The results of the study revealed the structure of the examined edicts, as well as socio-cultural, economic, and communicative features of the nomadic society. First, the discourse repertoire of Edicts from Sygnak is rather unique, as evidenced by comparative analysis of patents from the cities of Sygnak, Sayram and Turkestan located in the Syr Darya basin. Second, edicts in this study reflect the result of the mutual influence of sedentary and mobile lifeways. Third, the arguments behind certain speech patterns used in the examined edicts emerged under the influence of Turkic traditions.

Results of tick testing for detection of viruses of Karshi, Tamdy, Issyk-Kul fever, Syr Darya valley fever

In Kazakhstan natural foci of Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever is located on the territory of Turkestan, Kyzylorda and Zhambyl regions. Whereas preventive measures are taken, this disease is diagnosed annually among people, but there is a group of viruses such as Karshi, Tamdy, the Issyk-Kul fever virus and Syr Darya valley fever which are less known. In this regard the goal was set to identify the prevalence of viruses of Karshi, Tamdy, Issyk-Kul fever and fever of the Syr Darya valley in hemorrhagic fever endemic in the Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever to determine the main hosts and vectors of infection. Ticks captured in areas natural foci of the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. The species composition of captured ticks was represented by 9 species: Hyalomma scupense, Hyalomma asiaticum, Hyalomma turanicum, Hyalomma anatolicum, Haemaphysalis sucata, Haemaphysalis punctata, Dermacentor niveus, Rhipicephalus pumilio, Rhipicephalus schulzei. Preliminary work was carried out on the selection and design of oligonucleotide primers for the identification of viruses by molecular genetic analysis. As a result of the studies, positive samples were found for viruses of Tamdy and Syr Darya valley fever in ticks H. asiaticum, H. scupense from the Turkestan region. The Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus was detected in H. asiaticum and H. scupense ticks from Zhambyl and Turkestan regions.

SOME FACTS ABOUT ZH. NURMUKHAMEDOV

In this publication, based on the involvement of numerous primary sources, episodes of the most important military operations of the insurgent Kazakhs under the leadership of the legendary batyr Zh.Nurmukhamedov in the struggle against the Khivans, Kokands and Tsarist Russia are traced. The most significant periods in history of the Kazakhs' struggle for freedom and independence are traced. The authors come to the conclusion that the national liberation movement of the Kazakhs under the leadership of Zhankozha Nurmukhamedov acquired a mass character and was directed against the colonial expansion of the tsarist colonialists. The insurgents included not only the Shekti clan, but also Kazakhs of other clans, in particular, Karasakal and Tortkara. The uprising was attended not only by the sedentary population of the Syr Darya, but also by nomadic divisions and communities from the Kazaly regions and the Aral Sea.

Memories of Social Mobility and Environmental Change: Dam Builders of the Naryn–Syr Darya

Central Asia, a landlocked region characterised by a generally arid or semi-arid climate and a relatively low rainfall, is traversed by two major river systems. Together, the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya sustain millions of lives and a wide variety of ecosystems. Over three decades in the mid to late twentieth century, a series of increasingly large dams was built on the Syr Darya, radically transforming the river's appearance, behaviour and habitat. In this article, a historian and an anthropologist join forces to explore the impact of these ambitious hydropower projects on the human lives most directly impacted: the dam labour force, many of whom were recruited from across the Soviet Union, but ended up settling in the new towns adjacent to the power plants. How did the dam workers themselves experience the projects to which they contributed their labour? How did they relate to the river that they were called upon to transform?