Which of the following has/have shrunk immensely/dried up the recent past due to human activities?

1. Aral Sea

2. Black Sea

3. Lake Baikal

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

The correct answer is 1 only (Aral Sea).

Detailed Explanation:

1. Aral Sea:
Located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea was once the fourth-largest lake in the world. Beginning in the 1960s, Soviet irrigation projects diverted the rivers that fed it (the Amu Darya and Syr Darya) to irrigate cotton fields in the desert. As a result of these intensive human activities, the Aral Sea has lost over 90% of its volume and split into smaller remnants, making it one of the most famous examples of human-driven ecological disasters.

2. Black Sea:
The Black Sea is a large inland sea bounded by Southeastern Europe, Anatolia, and the Caucasus. It is connected to the ocean system through the Bosphorus Strait and the Mediterranean Sea. It has not shrunk or dried up immensely in the recent past.

3. Lake Baikal:
Located in southern Siberia, Russia, Lake Baikal is the world's deepest and largest freshwater lake by volume. While it faces environmental challenges such as pollution and localized water-level fluctuations due to dam management, it has not shrunk immensely or dried up like the Aral Sea.

Thus, among the given choices, only the Aral Sea has shrunk immensely due to human activities.