south aral sea was the name for the southern part of the aral sea. because of diverting water for irrigation starting in the 1960s, the aral sea began to dry up. in the 1980s, a dam was built, splitting it into a small north aral sea, and the large southern part. in the 2000s, the souhern part split into a western and eastern half, but has mostly dried up. the desert that grew from it is called aralkum today.