by
Ana Klasnja MA - Senior
Multimedia Producer
18/06/02
Dreaming of a life full of
adventure? Interested in a
career that's anything but
boring? Well, my friend Lilyana
is living proof that maths and
sciences can help you reach
those goals.
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Lilyana Spasic-Gril,
Photo: Gibb Ltd., UK |
Lilyana is a renowned dam and
geo-technical specialist living
in England. In 2000 she joined
an international team of equally
adventurous scientists—including
a hydrologist, geologist and
seismologist— and set off to
gather data at the Usoy Dam,
located in the Pamir Mountains
of southern Tajikistan.
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Lake Sarez, Tajikistan |
One of the most
earthquake-prone regions in the
world...
Usoy Dam is not man-made. It's a
natural dam that formed after an
earthquake triggered a massive
landslide in 1911. Over 2.5
cubic km of rock and debris slid
into the Murgab River and buried
the village of Usoy. By blocking
the river, the dam caused a new
lake to form—Lake
Sarez—currently 60 km long
and up to 500 m deep.
Located in one of the most
earthquake-prone regions in the
world, there is a possibility
the dam could rupture. The
result would be catastrophic
flooding along the Pyandzh,
Bartang and Amu Darya rivers.
Over 5 million people in parts
of Tadjikistan, Afghanistan,
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
could be at risk and damage to
the environment would be
devastating.
...there is a possibility the
dam could rupture.
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Lilyana's camp in the
Pamir Mountains |
Lilyana and the team comprising
engineers from JacobsGIBB Ltd (UK),Stucky
(Switzerland)
and Bureau Technique Norbert
(Switzerland) and the local
engineers were sent to assess
the state of the dam and
recommend measures to ensure its
safety. At an altitude of over
3000 m above sea level, in one
of the remotest parts of the
Pamir Mountains, the Usoy Dam
and Lake Sarez can only be
reached by helicopter during a
brief "warm weather window" each
year. Lilyana described the
team's flight there as
"breathtaking." After they had
performed an aerial survey, the
team members were set down with
their equipment. What followed
was two weeks of eerie isolation
from the rest of the world.
Lilyana explained, "The lake is
exceptionally beautiful but it's
a desolate and hostile place,
frequently shaken by landslides
and earthquakes. No vegetation
or animals live there. There's
risk of developing
high altitude illness." The
team's survival depended on the
cook's capability to make meals
from the scarce supplies they
were able to bring with them.
Hikes and climbs in order to
inspect the area were serious
undertakings; there was no one
to help if someone became
injured.
The team members hoped to
avert disaster
By
exploring the area and gathering
lots of data, the team members
hoped to avert disaster. Until
recently, very little
information about the precarious
situation of the dam had passed
beyond the borders of
Tajikistan. Since 2000,
an international effort has
been made to assess the risk to
the millions of people who live
below the mountaintop dam and
lake, and to develop a set of
short-term measures to minimize
the hazard. At the same time,
more long-term solutions to this
complex problem are being
sought. Suggestions have
included lowering the lake level
gradually as a preventative
measure.
The
work done by Lilyana and her
team forms the foundation of
ongoing research about the Usoy
Dam and Lake Sarez. As a
geo-technical specialist, it's
only one of the science
adventures she's been able to
take part in around the world |