The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia

Igor S. Zonn, Aleksey N Kosarev, Michael Glantz, Andrey G. Kostianoy

Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Jun 23, 2010 - Science - 525 pages

“The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia” is the second one in the new series of encyclo- dias about the seas of the former Soviet Union published by Springer-Verlag. The ?rst volume – “The Aral Sea Encyclopedia” was published by Springer in 2009. The series will be continued by “The Black Sea Encyclopedia” in 2010. Today the Caspian Sea is known to readers thanks to its oil and gas resources, sturgeon and caviar, signi?cant sea-level variations, socio-economic and political problems. The Caucasus and Central Asia (http://eurodialogue. org/?les/fckeditor_?les/Caspian-s- map2. png) vii viii Introduction For more than 250 years the Caspian Sea was shared by two states: Russia (the Soviet Union) and Persia (Iran). After the disintegration of the USSR in 1992, the new independent states of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have radically changed the political and economic situation in the region. In addition to Russia and Iran, who had determined the situation on the Caspian for a long period, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are now interested parties, beginning a new stage in the historical development of the Caspian region. This increase in the number of the Caspian legal entities from two to ?ve has given rise to a whole tangle of geopolitical, economic, international legal, ethnic and environmental problems, each of which demands its own approach and settlement mechanism.

About the author

Prof. Igor S. Zonn is the General Director of Engineering Scientific-Production Center for Water Economy, Reclamation and Ecology in Moscow, Russia. His research has focused on the case studies about desert development, desertification, reclamation and water management in the arid lands, on regional climate change, socio-economic and environmental problems of the Aral, Caspian and Black seas.
Prof. Andrey G. Kostianoy is a Chief Scientist at the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, in Moscow, Russia. He is a specialist in physical oceanography. His research has focused on satellite monitoring, oceanography of coastal zones, regional climate change and environmental problems of the Black, Caspian and Aral seas.
Prof. Aleksey N. Kosarev is a Principal Scientist at the Department of Oceanology, Faculty of Geography, Moscow State University, Russia. He is a specialist in physical oceanography. His research has focused on hydrology and ecology of the seas, and hydrological and ecological problems of the Aral, Caspian and Black seas.
Prof. Michael H. Glantz is the Director of the Consortium for Capacity Building at the University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado). He recently transferred from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder where he served as director of programs involved in climate, water and weather impact assessments. In 1990 he was selected as a UNEP Global 500 laureat for the environment.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia; Encyclopedia of Seas
• Authors: Igor S. Zonn, Aleksey N Kosarev, Michael Glantz, Andrey G. Kostianoy
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2010
• ISBN: 3642115233, 9783642115233
• Length: 525 pages
• Subjects: Political Science / Public Policy / City Planning & Urban Development; Political Science / Public Policy / Regional Planning; Science / Earth Sciences / Geography; Science / Earth Sciences / Geology; Science / Environmental Science; Science / Life Sciences / Ecology; Science / Paleontology; Technology & Engineering / Environmental / General