What is the significance of the caspian sea

It is estimated that the Caspian contains 48 billion barrels of oil and 8. As such, there are numerous existing oil and natural gas projects in the region, and all of the Caspian littoral states are significant energy producers.

However, much of the offshore oil and natural gas resources in the Caspian Sea have not been tapped, as there are disputes between the five bordering states over where to demarcate the maritime borders and how to split up the energy resources. Negotiations to establish maritime borders have gone on for nearly two decades. Many proposals and counterproposals have been considered, but these negotiations have not yet produced a solution agreeable to all five states.

Europe has especially been interested in the energy supplies from the Caspian. In particular, energy exploited by Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan and shipped via the strategic Southern Corridor route is seen as a way to diversify from Russia's energy grip on the continent. But opposition from Iran and particularly Russia has prevented such moves, with both countries objecting to projects like the Trans-Caspian natural gas pipeline.

This has created a tense geopolitical environment in the region, with the Caspian Sea serving as an important area of competition between Russia and the West. The recent standoff in Ukraine has only increased the importance of the Caspian Sea in this regard. This account already exists, you can try logging on with this email.

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Subscribe for instant access. Human-constructed dams built during the last two centuries have also changed water levels. Scientists theorize that tectonic movement and sedimentation changes could be other factors. In recent years, climate change has played a major role. More extreme weather patterns have increased rainfall in Russia, which brings more water into the Volga River and Caspian Sea.

But scientists have also seen evidence that overall warmer temperatures could cause the Caspian Sea to dry up. Scientists estimate that human-caused factors, including oil spills, which limit evaporation by covering the water with a thin film, account for 3 to 5 percent of water level variation, according to Natural History Magazine.

There are approximately 50 small, mostly uninhabited islands in the Caspian Sea, according to New World Encyclopedia. Most are in the north, but the largest island, Ogurja Ada, is in the south. The Caspian Sea is next to the world's largest lagoon, according to Lakepedia.

The 6,square-mile 18, square km Kara-Bogaz Gol lagoon is on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea and is separated from it by sand bars. A dam was built between the Caspian Sea and Kara-Bogaz Gol in but it was removed in because of the changes it caused to water levels. Despite its name, the Caspian Sea can be called either a lake or a sea. Kukral refers to it as a lake, as do many scholars. It has historically been considered a sea because of its size and its saline water, but it embodies many characteristics of lakes.

Much of the confusion comes because there are no internationally agreed-upon definitions for seas or lakes.

Seas are often defined by connection to the ocean or another sea via salt water, which the Caspian Sea is not. Seas are usually partially enclosed by land, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , but the Caspian Sea is entirely enclosed by land.

Seas are typically salt water. While the Caspian Sea is not fresh water, its salty water is diluted by the inflow of fresh water, especially in the north. The question of whether it is a lake or a sea has political and economic ramifications, wrote Hanna Zimnitskaya in a Journal of Eurasian Studies article.

If the Caspian Sea is a lake, then the United Nations and international law have no control over its waters, she wrote. If it is a sea, international organizations can have input on its use. This is especially important because its energy resources. If the Caspian Sea is a lake, it contains 40 percent of all lake water in the world.

The Caspian Sea is a remnant of the ancient Paratethys Sea, part of the Tethys Ocean that existed 50 million to 60 million years ago. Over millennia, continental platforms shifted, and the Tethys Ocean lost its connections to other oceans. Much of it evaporated during hot and dry periods, and eventually the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and the Aral Sea formed. The Caspian Sea is estimated to be about 30 million years old. The salt water from the Tethys Sea remained and accounts for the Caspian Sea's salinity.

According to the New World Encyclopedia, archaeologists estimate that humans inhabited the area around 75, years ago. It is named after the Caspi Tribe, which settled on its southwestern shore. Europeans learned of the resource-rich area and began traveling to the Caspian Sea to investigate in the 16th century. The first offshore oil well was drilled in Today, the oil and gas industry is prominent in the area. Other businesses include salt extraction, fishing and tourism along the coasts.

From the midth to late 20th century, the water level varied by more than 12 feet 3. In , the Caspian Sea flooded and caused widespread destruction.

Since then, several more floods have occurred. Since , the water level has risen almost 7. The Caspian Sea is known for its biodiversity, Kukral said.

It is considered an independent zoogeographical region because of its unique qualities, according to the World Wildlife Fund. In many areas, the shores are dotted with shallow saline pools in which birds, small fish, crustaceans and invertebrates thrive. Birds are present throughout the year, and many species use the Caspian Sea as a migratory refuge. Nearly 2, species and subspecies of animals live in and around the Caspian Sea, according to Casp Info. About of them are endemic to the area, including the Caspian gull, Caspian turn, spur-thighed tortoise, Horsfield's tortoise, Caspian white fish, Caspian salmon and Caspian seal, the only aquatic mammal in the area.

Nearby petroglyphs suggest that dolphins and porpoises may have once lived in the Caspian Sea, according to the Smithsonian Institution. The most famous and financially valuable animal in the region is the beluga sturgeon, sometimes called the European or Caspian sturgeon.