SIC ICWC Expedition to the Eastern Territory of the Aidar-Arnasoy Lake System

As part of SIC ICWC’s research plan, a field expedition was organized from 10 to 14 August to monitor the state of water bodies in the eastern part of the Aidar-Arnasoy Lake System (AALS).

The AALS is one of the largest inland water systems in the Republic of Uzbekistan, which is of key economic, hydrological and biospheric importance. Since 2008, the AALS and its surrounding areas have been included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

The primary objectives of the field research were to monitor and compare the status of inflows to lakes Tuzkan and Arnasoy over the past two years.

The expedition was conducted with the assistance from the territorial branches of the Ministry of Water Resources and the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

A total of 10 observation points were georeferenced, and the expedition routes were recorded using a Garmin eTrex 30x portable GPS navigator. Water samples were collected and analyzed rapidly using a ProCheck portable salinity meter.

The collected field data, including hydrological measurements, rapid water-quality analysis results, mapping data, and photographs, are currently processed for a comprehensive final report to be prepared by SIC ICWC. The report will become available on cawater-info.net.

The expedition’s findings will contribute to evidence-based assessment of dynamics of AALS ecosystem amid ongoing climate change. The forthcoming expert recommendations will be disseminated among relevant water management and environmental agencies.