Using geoinformation system and space imagery to monitor environmental changes in the Aral Sea ecological disaster area

The introduction of a GIS provides a new set of analytical tools and this enabled previously accumulated data concerning the Aral Sea area to be viewed both as a problem in spatial statistical analysis, and via GIS technology. The Aral Sea GIS is developing in the frame of corresponding UNESCO project. The aim of this project is to provide scientific background for ecological restoration of the most damaged areas in the Aral Sea arid region - Amudarya and Syrdarya river deltas. The Aral Sea GIS uses tiered mapping structure that complements the sampling design and remote sensing land and landscape characterization. Due to the very high rate of environmental changes last 30 years the studied area presents excellent terrain for dynamic analysis and modelling. To do this the GIS incorporates several layers of dynamic maps for the period between 1960 and nowadays, including dynamics of desertification processes, deltaic wetlands and solonnchaks, surface and groundwater, soils and vegetation. On this basis, using regression, correlation and factor analysis the authors are trying to calculate trends of development of certain ecosystems and predict some negative effects of desertification in future. In the Aral Sea GIS project the authors use ARC/INFO software to input and process vector data, as well as IDRISI to handle space imagery and provide some analytical operations, available only in raster format, and FOX-PRO for data base compilation