ANTHROPOGENIC ENVIRONMENTAL ALTERATION OF THE SEA OF AZOV

The authors concentrate on four aspects of environmental alteration of the Sea of Azov. First, they trace the Azov's problems back to Soviet resource-use conflicts. Second, they present several examples of anthropogenically induced environmental disruption of the Azov's ecosystem. Third, modeling is utilized to project possible future salinity conditions within the Azov. Fourth, in their attempt to evaluate the various ameliorative efforts that have been made or are being proposed, they challenge the overall ecologic-economic effectiveness of the proposed dam across the Kerch' Strait designed to regulate the salinity of the Azov. Finally, they conclude it is unlikely that the Azov ever will be returned to its previous “natural” condition. This article should be read in conjunction with Pecherin's article also in this issue of Soviet Geography. (Illustrations by Elinore Mathews, University of Washington, Seattle.)