Sea level changes from the course of atmospheric processes - abrupt changes in pressure, systems of petras, etc. Sharp changes in atmospheric pressure or strong winds cause regular periodic fluctuations in the level, called seiches or standing waves.
The seiches of the Aral Sea have the correct shape and often do not fade for weeks. The period of one full swing is about 24 hours. The level change is 10-15 cm. Even Soviet scientists believed that the most significant seiche level fluctuations occur along the long axis of the Aral Sea.
The wind causes non-periodic level fluctuations - surges and surges. In the Aral Sea, surge oscillations occur mainly along the major axis of the sea and are mainly associated with northeastern winds.
The direction of the surge almost coincides with the direction of the wind. Observations show that the rise in the level in the southwest corner corresponds to a drop in the level in the northeast corner. Changes in the level of the Aral Sea change its geographical appearance. A very sharp rise in sea level led to the formation of the Akpetkinsky archipelago.
Although the Aral Sea lies in temperate latitudes, ice forms on it every year. Ice formation begins directly at the coast. The sea freezes from the northern shores in the third decade of November. The southern part freezes around December 10, the western part about January 20.
Ice conditions can be varied during the winter. In severe winters, the entire sea area is covered with broken floating ice. During warm winters, the southern and western regions have an unstable floating ice cover: ice appears and disappears.
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Water temperature and wind conditions determine the timing of ice breaking. The southern part of the sea “disappears on average on March 29, the northern part on April 18. The entire sea is cleared of ice within three weeks. The rapid rise in air temperature leads to intense ice melting and complete cleansing of the sea.
The Aral Sea is small in size, but has not yet been fully explored. Local problems have not been resolved. Meanwhile, in the Aral Sea, there are also problems of general theoretical significance, such as the relationship between the level and the wind, mixing, biochemical processes in seawater and in the ground, and general water circulation.
Unfortunately, at the moment the Aral Sea can no longer boast of its former greatness - after a series of mistakes made by Soviet engineers, it has dried up quite a bit, breaking up into several parts.
For the whole world, it was a great ecological disaster. It is hoped that nothing like this will happen with other bodies of water in the future.
