If you look at the NASA Web site that has the Space Shuttle Earth Photos (I
don't have the URL with me right now) there are a couple of pictures
illustrating what Peter mentions here -- The Caspian Sea photographed from
space in the early 1980's at the beginning of the Space Shuttle program,
and more recently in the 1990's. The receding waterline is immediately
evident and rather significant.  Studying the impact of aquatic
environments from space offers a unique perspective.
Rich

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Peter Egerton [log in to unmask]
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2003 19:49:41 -0700
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Caspian Sea?


Patty,

According to an article I read a while ago (National Geographic? or was it
on the Web?), the
Caspian sea is an ecological disaster zone right now. The reason you
saw no towns and villages beside it, and it looks so desolate, is that it
has
been drying up and shrinking drastically over the last decades...the once
thriving villages on its shores are now nowhere near the new shoreline.
It would be interesting to view  this from an airplane as you did.

Peter


At 11:04 AM 10/06/2003 +1000, you wrote:
>Dear All,
>
>Following a sad family occasion three weeks ago, I found myself in a Boeing
>747 flying about 10km up in the air over a completely cloudless central
>Asian continent. As we left the snowy mountains of Afghanistan behind, and
>the little villages of Georgia, we flew over the Caspian Sea. I found
>myself wondering, peering out of the window, are there any shells in this
>utterly desolate place? On the shores of this inland sea, I did not spot a
>single village, on the water, I did not see a single boat (admittedly, it
>must have been about 5am..). The shores and the water looked so lifeless it
>seemed like the ocean equivalent of a desert.
>
>Has anyone ever seen any of these shores close up, or know anything about
>them? Are there any shells in the Caspian Sea?
>
>just wondering
>
>Patty
>
>
>Dr. Patty Jansen
>
>Bookshop: http://www.booksofnature.com
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>
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>Lindfield NSW 2070
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>
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>
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--
Peter Egerton, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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               (including "Seashells of British Columbia")
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