Problems and Perspectives of Saving Sarez Lake

Abstract

The paper discusses the risks associated with a possible catastrophic event of the collapse of Sarez Lake. The lake was formed in a narrow mountainous area after ground subsidence, which resulted from the severe earthquake in the valley of Murghab in February 1911. Currently, the lake has approximately 17 km(3) of water, with a maximum depth of 500 m. Sarez Lake is situated in a seismically active zone, and the possibility of the take collapsing could lead to the destruction of an area of 52,000 km(2), affecting more than 5 million people in the territory of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It also would cause complicated ecological problems.