New data on evolution of the Aral Sea and its relations with the West Siberian plain through the Holocene.

The article focuses on a new factual data on the evolution of the Aral Sea and its connections with the West Siberian Plain through its Holocene. Borehole M-2 drilled in 2003 on the exposed former bottom of the Aral Sea retrieved a sedimentary sequence 20 meter thick in total composed of light gray clay, dark brown fine-grained clayey sand, and yellowish gray sandy silt with jarosite spots. It highlights seven ostracod taxa such as Limnocythere inopinata, and Tyrrhenocythere amnicola wherein all these taxa are typical examples of the Aral invertebrate fauna. Single molluscan shells are documented in intervals of 0.0-0.80 meter and 4.15-20.0 meter. The application of the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) method to date ostracods and small gastropod shells is discussed.