Documents

The Caspian Sea, abundant with natural living and fossil resources, its coastal areas home to more than 15 million people, faces a series of environmental challenges.

This State of the Caspian Sea Environment Report should be seen and considered as a first try out and starting point towards the creation of a shared environmental information system promoting and securing data collection, monitoring, analysis, harmonization and public communication in support of full implementation of the Tehran Convention and its protocols. We hope that it will improve the Caspian information base, enhance the quality, accessibility and relevance of data and ultimately, contribute to strengthening the regional environmental governance framework.

The Caspian Sea SoE 1 Report in higher resolution can be dowloaded here. 

Исследования, результаты №4 (76)

Review of Kazakhstan's activities in fulfillment of obligations under the Tehran Convention

The article examines recent Caspian Sea level change by using both satellite radar altimetry and satellite gravity data. The altimetry record for 2002–2015 shows a declining level at a rate that is approximately 20 times greater than the rate of global sea level rise. Seasonal fluctuations are also much larger than in the world oceans. With a clearly defined geographic region and dominant signal magnitude, variations in the sea level and associated mass changes provide an excellent way to compare various approaches for processing satellite gravity data. 

This study is an attempt to develop an integrated methodology to predict the impact of the Caspian Sea on flooding using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and hydrodynamic modeling. A rise in the sea level might lead to major flooding events, and have a severe impact on the spatial development of cities and regions. The feasibility of simulating a flood event along a drain channel is evaluated near residential development areas along the Chapakroud drain.

The study shows that at these elevations environmental and social problems arise with regards to the drain. The results also indicate that GIS is an effective tool for floodplain visualization and analysis. It should be noted that the mixture of salt and soft water, as a result of rising sea water level, is a problem that was not investigated in this study and should be examined in the future.