Turkmenistan and Iran have become drier. Dust storms pick up large amounts of salt and dust as they pass over the Kara-Kum desert and the Caspian Seashore, depositing it in the Volga River valley where it impairs the fertility of arable land.

Turkmenistan and Iran have become drier. Dust storms pick up large amounts of salt and dust as they pass over the Kara-Kum desert and the Caspian Seashore, depositing it in the Volga River valley where it impairs the fertility of arable land.

Turkmenistan and Iran have become drier. Dust storms pick up large amounts of salt and dust as they pass over the Kara-Kum desert and the Caspian Seashore, depositing it in the Volga River valley where it impairs the fertility of arable land.

The Caspian area is the world’s main producer of wild caviar (83% in 2003) and supplies the three largest markets, the European Union, Japan and the USA. The construction of several hydroelectric power plants and dams along the Volga river significantly altered the flow of water into the delta and destroyed about 90% of the sturgeon’s spawning grounds, which can be as far as several hundreds of kilometres upstream. This graphic displays the repor...

The Caspian area is the world’s main producer of wild caviar (83% in 2003) and supplies the three largest markets, the European Union, Japan and the USA. The construction of several hydroelectric power plants and dams along the Volga river significantly altered the flow of water into the delta and destroyed about 90% of the sturgeon’s spawning grounds, which can be as far as several hundreds of kilometres upstream. This graphic displays the repor...

The Caspian area is the world’s main producer of wild caviar (83% in 2003) and supplies the three largest markets, the European Union, Japan and the USA. The construction of several hydroelectric power plants and dams along the Volga river significantly altered the flow of water into the delta and destroyed about 90% of the sturgeon’s spawning grounds, which can be as far as several hundreds of kilometres upstream. This graphic displays the repor...

Oil slicks glittering on the surface of the sea and thousands of hectares of soil penetrated by oil leaking from abandoned wells are just part of the pollution that people living around the Caspian Sea must endure. In addition there are various industries, particularly chemicals and mining, large-scale irrigated farming and untreated household waste. Combined with the effects of the oil, all these forms of pollution have a serious impact on the w...

Oil slicks glittering on the surface of the sea and thousands of hectares of soil penetrated by oil leaking from abandoned wells are just part of the pollution that people living around the Caspian Sea must endure. In addition there are various industries, particularly chemicals and mining, large-scale irrigated farming and untreated household waste. Combined with the effects of the oil, all these forms of pollution have a serious impact on the w...

Oil slicks glittering on the surface of the sea and thousands of hectares of soil penetrated by oil leaking from abandoned wells are just part of the pollution that people living around the Caspian Sea must endure. In addition there are various industries, particularly chemicals and mining, large-scale irrigated farming and untreated household waste. Combined with the effects of the oil, all these forms of pollution have a serious impact on the w...

On 30 January 2000 a tailings dam at the Aurul Mine in Romania overflowed and released 100,000 cubic metres of effluent containing cyanide into the Tisza River. By the time the overflow was detected, the alarm raised and emergency measures taken to staunch the flow, heavily contaminated wastewater had reached the Danube River and was on its way to Hungary and beyond. Traces of cyanide, albeit at a very low level, were still detected in the rive...

The graphic shows the watershed area of the Bor and Timok rivers, and the areas potentially affected by pollution.The southeast Serbian municipality of Bor is paying a high price for the century-old industrial exploitation of its copper resources. The citizens and the municipality of Bor have recently embarked on a participatory process in order to identify and tackle their most threatening environmental problems.

Overview over the transboundary Daugava/Zapadnaya Dvina and Nemunas/Neman river basins in North Eastern Europe. These basins span the countries of Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Poland, and the rivers drain to the Baltic Sea. This map was prepared for the DatabasiN project, which will coordinate spatial information for transboundary river basin management.

The icebreaking date for the Tornio River in Finland has been recorded since 1693. With the increased greenhouse effect, impacts on the cryosphere are likely. One impact will be less ice on rivers and lakes. Freeze-up dates will be delayed, and break-up will begin earlier. The period of river-ice could be shortened by up to a month. Many rivers within the temperate regions could become ice-free or develop only intermittent or partial ice coverage...

Sudden releases of water into the Spitamen district from Kyrgyzstan are regularly endangering the neighboring Tajik arable land downstream and villages along the river. The Tajik communities are convinced upstream Kyrgyz communities are responsible for the flooding. However, local experts suggest that increased water levels in spring the later years may also be due to increased and rapid ice and snow melt down caused by a warmer climate in the hi...

Snow and the various forms of ice - the cryosphere - play different roles within the climate system. The two continental ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland actively influence the global climate over time scales of millennia to millions of years, but may also have more rapid effects on, for example, sea level. Snow and sea ice, with their large areas but relatively small volumes, are connected to key interactions and feedbacks at global scales...

The Himalayas–Hindu Kush, Kunlun Shan, Pamir and Tien Shan mountain ranges function as water towers, providing water to people through much of Asia. The glacier-fed rivers originating from the Himalaya mountain ranges surrounding the Tibetan Plateau comprise the largest river run-off from any single location in the world. While the mountains are homes to some 170 million people, the rivers that drain these mountains influence the lives of about 4...

The lower curve shows the correspondence between river flow and water levels under open-water conditions. The much greater maximum water levels possible under ice-jam conditions are illustrated by the upper curve. The transition in break-up severity from dynamic to thermal break-up effects (see text) is depicted by the gradually shaded area between the two curves. Dots are observed annual maximum water levels during the spring break up. The 1990...

Snow and the various forms of ice - the cryosphere - play different roles within the climate system. The two continental ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland actively influence the global climate over time scales of millennia to millions of years, but may also have more rapid effects on, for example, sea level. Snow and sea ice, with their large areas but relatively small volumes, are connected to key interactions and feedbacks at global scales...

Data and maps on poverty, sanitation, safe and clean water and the incidence of cholera were used to help contain the spread of cholera in the Kwazulu Natal province in January 2001. Poverty and cholera data sets showed that the cholera outbreak followed a river flood plain and moved through and towards poor areas.

Nutrient loading is projected to become an increasingly severe problem, particularly in developing countries. Nutrient loading already has major adverse effects on freshwater ecosystems and coastal regions in both industrial and developing countries.