Aziz Art May 2016

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Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iranian Azerbaijan, Iran and near Iran's border with Turkey.The lake is between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its full size, it was the largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth largest saltwater lake on earth with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km² (2,000 mile²), 140 km (87 mi) length, 55 km (34 mi) width, and 16 m (52 ft) depth.[5] The lake has shrunk to 10% of its former size due to damming of the rivers that flow into it and pumping of groundwater from the area. Lake Urmia, along with its once approximately 102 islands, are protected as a national park by the Iranian Department of Environment. long cores from Lake Urmia has revealed a nearly 200 kyr record of vegetation and lake level changes. The vegetation has changed from the Artemisia/grass steppes during the glacial/stadial periods to oakjuniper steppe-forests during the interglacial/interstadial periods. The lake seems to have had a complex hydrological history and its water levels have greatly fluctuated in the geological history. Very high lake levels have been suggested for some time intervals during the two last glacial periods as well as during both the Last Interglacial as well as the Holocene. Lowest lake levels have occurred during the last glacial periods. Ecology Lake Urmia is located in Iran UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Iran See also: Geography of Iran and Environmental issues in Iran Palaeoecology A palynological investigation on 20
Modern ecology Lake Urmia is home to some 212 species of birds, 41 reptiles, 7 amphibians, and 27 species of mammals, including the Iranian yellow deer. It is an internationally registered protected area as both a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a Ramsar site. The Iranian Dept. of Environment has designated most of the lake as a National Park. The lake is marked by more than a hundred small, rocky islands, which serve as stopover points during the migrations of several wild birds including flamingos, pelicans, spoonbills, ibises, storks, shelducks, avocets, stilts, and gulls. A recent drought has significantly decreased the annual amount of water the lake receives. This in turn has increased the salinity of the lake's water, lowering the lake viability as home to thousands of migratory birds including the large flamingo populations. The salinity has particularly increased in the half of the lake north of the causeway. By virtue of its high salinity, the lake no longer sustains any fish species. Nonetheless, Lake Urmia is considered a significant natural habitat of Artemia, which serve as food source for the migratory birds such as flamingos.In early 2013, the then-head of the Iranian Artemia Research Center was quoted that Artemia Urmiana had gone extinct due to the drastic increases in salinity. However this assessment has been contradicted. Falling level and increasing salinity The lake is a major barrier between two of the most important cities in West Azerbaijan and East Azerbaijan provinces, Urmia and Tabriz. A project to build a highway across the lake was initiated in the 1970s but was abandoned after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, having finished a 15 km causeway with an unbridged gap. The project was revived in the early 2000s, and was completed in November 2008 with the opening of the 1.5 km Urmia Lake Bridge across the remaining gap.The highly saline environment is already heavily rusting the steel on the bridge despite anticorrosion treatment. Experts have warned that the construction of the causeway and bridge, together with a series of ecological factors, will eventually lead to the drying up of the lake
Page 1 and 2: A ni sh Ka p o or Lake Urmia Iran M
Page 3: Shirin Neshat born 1957 is an Irani
Page 6 and 7: creating stark visual contrasts thr
Page 8: , and to the Kulturhuset, Stockholm
Page 12 and 13: Sir Anish Kapoor CBE RA born 12 Mar
Page 14: A35-metre-high piece installed in t
Page 17 and 18: Kapoor's earliest public commission
Page 19 and 20: 2016 SoHo Spring Painting Contest E
Page 21: http://www.farsophone.org.uk
Page 26: Environmental protests The prospect

Aziz Art May 2016

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