Questions tagged [desert]
concerned with the formation of deserts (areas receiving very little precipitation) and processes occurring specifically within deserts
46
questions
1
vote
1
answer
80
views
How can an artificial river turn desert into arable land?
Egypt is planning to create a new delta on the left of the old one by building an artificial river that redirects agricultural waste water into the desert. The water should gradually turn the desert ...
- 213
3
votes
2
answers
139
views
If all land mass was desert would the world be hotter or colder than it is now?
Its normally said that deserts cool planets because they reflect more radiation back to space. According to this logic if all the land mass in the world was desert the world should be colder.
Is it ...
- 31
3
votes
1
answer
436
views
At what theoretical depth of sand would pressure turn the sand into rock?
Thinking about the movie Dune (this is not a sci fi question) got me to wondering.
In the theoretical situation where you had a desert of sand with an unlimited depth here on Earth. At what depth ...
- 131
1
vote
3
answers
102
views
Hypothetical: Can we rehabilitate arid/desert landscapes through the artificial precipitation from exhausts of hydrogen powered airplanes?
Note: I know this question sounds fit for aviation stack exchange, but other aspects of this question like cloud formation, atmospheric behavior, precipitation and overall water cycle can be better ...
- 427
1
vote
1
answer
449
views
Arabian Desert rock formation
I'm interested about this rock formation in Arabian desert. The rock looks like melting chocolate.
Not sure where the exact Location, the source says it around Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia. Here the image ...
user21860
6
votes
2
answers
370
views
Could saltwater be useful for greening deserts and sequestering CO2?
Desert greening is the conversion of deserts into moister environments with more vegetation. This could be used to combat desertification and (by sequestering CO2) climate change, and also to increase ...
- 166
6
votes
1
answer
237
views
If we could green the Sahara, would it be able to sustain itself?
Let's say at some point in the future we have an abundance of fresh water (for example because we have enough energy to power many desalination plants) and we can turn the Sahara into green land by ...
- 71
24
votes
2
answers
8k
views
How do oases form in the middle of the desert?
I am wondering if there are any theories about the formation of oases, and I am also curious about why an oasis can even last for a very long period of time.
I have heard that fresh water exists on ...
- 343
2
votes
3
answers
83
views
Why is reverse osmosis desalination the dominant method used and not heat-based methods? Also why is brine being dumped back into the ocean? [closed]
So I was recently watching this video regarding desalination efforts around the world and the viability of desalination as a means to provide humans with freshwater. I had a few questions:
1 - They ...
- 123
4
votes
2
answers
231
views
When was it ever considered that the desert might be "man-made", or otherwise anthropocenically-induced?
This answer pointed me to the Wikipedia page for Farouk El-Baz in which the desert research and theories subsection says:
During the past 20 years in his research at Boston University, El-Baz has ...
- 7,148
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How can the Simpson Desert be the largest sand dune desert in the world?
In the Wikipedia article for the Simpsons Desert in Australia in the first paragraph it says:
It is the fourth-largest Australian desert, with an area of $\small\mathsf{176,500}$ $\small\mathsf{km^...
- 251
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
What is this big Black Mass in Syria, as seen on google maps? [duplicate]
What is this big black dot on the satellite view of google maps, located in Syria at about 4:00 from Damascus?
- 113
15
votes
1
answer
815
views
Is this a former volcano in the Hamad Plateau, in the Syrian desert?
On my random explorations of google maps, I came across this interesting terrain:
(link to map here)
Apparently, this is part of the so-called Hamad Plateau, in the Syrian desert. If so, the rock ...
- 756
1
vote
2
answers
143
views
Reversing the desertification
What will be the effect on a desert-like area if it is covered with millions of umbrella-like structures like the following one?
Would it play any positive role in reversing the desertification?
user12774
1
vote
1
answer
215
views
Are there areas of desert sands which experience blizzards?
Building off of another question I recently asked (Is there sand in Antarctica?) I want to ask a broader question coming from the same motive described there.
Are there desert sands that experience ...
- 1,178
1
vote
0
answers
53
views
Global climate change
We all know that global climate change is becoming a big real change that is affecting the world's ecosystems and life cycles.
Will global climate change affect the hot areas of the world or deserts ...
5
votes
2
answers
3k
views
What percentage of Earth's surface is arid?
Is there available information on how much of Earth surface is arid climate?
- 1,137
11
votes
2
answers
688
views
Is Atacama Desert cloudy or cloudless most of the year?
I saw many contradictions everywhere.
For example, my geography textbook says that Atacama Desert is a desert where foggy weather is common, and it persists almost the whole year. Whereas every ...
- 557
12
votes
4
answers
12k
views
Why are many fossils found in deserts?
Why are deserts famous for fossils? Is it a coincidence? Some examples:
Giant Catfish Fossil Found in Egyptian Desert
Chile's stunning fossil whale graveyard explained
Giant Dinosaur Fossil Found ...
- 647
2
votes
1
answer
212
views
What are these features in the Tombouctou Region?
I’ve recently been very interested in globe-trotting via Google Earth. At first I was using it to plan out hikes to possible mineral deposits locally, or potential fossils/ archeology sites. However I ...
- 499
4
votes
1
answer
83
views
Can the formation of gypsum evaporites (sand roses) be simulated in the lab?
Has the process of formation of sand roses been simulated in laboratory conditions, or does it take too long?
- 221
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Hypothetically, would digging a big trench from the ocean and flooding desert areas be a bad solution to combatting sea level rise? [duplicate]
My question is basically the title. Ignoring most of the feasibility of the enormous engineering and earthmoving requirements (I guess I mean to say, given an unlimited budget) in very hot areas, ...
- 161
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
When was the first not-icy desert formed?
For how long have deserts existed and which one would be the first to be created? I'm talking about arid, dry deserts, not the Antarctic or Arctic or any other icy deserts.
user8390
3
votes
1
answer
257
views
Is there any place on Earth that is permanently a desert?
I am interested to know if there is any place on Earth that is permanently a desert (except Antarctica). By permanent I do not mean to be the physical meaning of forever. It means the place has to be ...
- 704
12
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What is this weird looking structure in Ethiopian desert?
I was surfing through Google Maps around Ethiopian desert region (close to the town of Werder/Wardheer) and I found this weird looking structure. It seems like a dried up lake bed, but I can't guess ...
- 231
20
votes
4
answers
11k
views
Was Judea as desertified 2000 years ago as it is now?
The ancient fortress of Masada is currently so dry and forbidding that is hard to imagine anyone living there. Was the climate in the surrounding area more wet 2000 years ago, or was it as much a ...
- 1,804
8
votes
1
answer
246
views
Identifying a desert landform
I saw this landform on Google Earth on the border of Algeria/Tunisia/Libya and wondered what it is called (so that I can read up on it and find out how it forms - I am not a geologist):
Here is a 3D ...
- 183
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why do the vast majority of the world's deserts fall on the tropic of capricorn or cancer?
I noticed on google maps today that the earth has two very distinct regions on which the majority of deserts are located. These fall on the tropic of capricorn and cancer. Illustrated here:
What ...
user2687
4
votes
2
answers
786
views
Desalination and Weather Impact?
I have a question I've always been curious about regarding the topic.
As I understand it, the desalination process is that they take the salt water, create usable water from it and then salt sludge ...
- 41
10
votes
1
answer
445
views
Large scale structures in the Sahara – what are they?
In Google Earth we can see some very clear lines in the Sahara. In the screenshot below you can clearly see these lines starting at the top going southward, then gently curving westward towards the ...
- 103
4
votes
0
answers
150
views
Desert greening - Do we have long term (several decades) data on precipitation around the Sahara?
This article of desert greening states that some areas around the Sahara have seen increased plant growth in recent decades, caused by global warming. The causal chain would be warmer air can hold ...
- 1,244
14
votes
6
answers
15k
views
Where did the sand in the Sahara come from?
If the Sahara used to be fertile and has since experienced minimal rainfall causing the current desert conditions, where did all the sand come from?
I assume the original dirt is still there, just ...
- 243
21
votes
4
answers
24k
views
What would be the effect of bringing seawater pipes to the Sahara desert?
This is a childhood dream.
What would happen if pipes were installed (similar in principle to the Great Man-Made River, but for seawater) to continuously pump seawater into the Sahara desert.
Let'...
- 311
7
votes
3
answers
2k
views
In general, does the presence of vegetation increase/decrease gross water loss (evapotranspiration) compared to barren land (evaporation only)?
I am doing some literature review on desertification. However, I could not find any information related to my question. Based on my knowledge, barren land faced greater heating and wind than vegetated ...
- 704
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is there a buildup of static electricity in a sandstorm?
In a sandstorm, is there a buildup of static electricity? If so, does that produce lightning strikes? Also if you were to be inside the storm what would the build of that level of static feel like?
- 139
8
votes
3
answers
635
views
Seeking details for the "historical rate" of arable land loss
In doing research on the issue of desertification (aka land degradation) I keep running across the same basic sentence but no source or detail to support or clarify it:
"Arable land loss is ...
- 221
2
votes
1
answer
136
views
Possibility to influence oceanic evaporation to protect Sahel/Sahara [closed]
When reading about the projects that want to plant trees on the Sahel-Sahara border, for protection of the Sahel, I wonder what other possibilities there are.
Like, would it be possible to influence ...
- 121
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why is the Sahara so much larger than the other horse latitude deserts?
Every continent has a dry strip between about 15º and 35º on its west coast, but they vary drastically in size:
The Baja/Mojave and Atacama are fairly narrow, stretching about 300 miles inland at the ...
user331
10
votes
1
answer
133
views
Cell Size of Salt Pan Tessellations
Salt Pans (such as in Badwater Basin of Death Valley, California) often show a tessellation pattern which forms presumably due to contraction of the deposited salt crust forming irregular cracks ...
- 203
10
votes
1
answer
660
views
How important is Sahara dust for the Amazon?
A recent article by Yu et al. estimated that 28 million tons of dust from the Sahara fall to the surface over the Amazon basin per year out of the 132 million tons that remain in the air when the dust ...
- 15.4k
16
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What are these lake-like blue patches in the desert, visible in satellite image?
I found some blue patches in the Arabian desert in Google Earth. It looks like as if they were lakes with sand dunes rising out of the water. But there isn't water in the desert, at least not this ...
- 682
14
votes
1
answer
382
views
What is this strange feature on Mars in Valles Marineris
While I was browsing Mars on Google Earth, I stumbled upon an interesting feature on one of the slopes of Valles Marineris. The feature seems unique in the sense that I couldn't find any similar ...
- 141
12
votes
4
answers
4k
views
How will climate change affect the extent of the Sahara Desert?
Will it increase the size of it? (perhaps by increasing the extent of the Hadley Cells)?
- 7,827
7
votes
1
answer
149
views
Does over-cropping large areas really change the amount of rainfall?
I heard that at one time the Sahara desert was cropped in wheat for the Roman Empire, and that cropping without adding back to the soil was what caused the desert to form. I also heard that this is ...
- 399
11
votes
1
answer
229
views
Fine particulate matter - Why the lack of attention? What can be done to tackle it?
If fine particulate matter as a pollutant from industrial or natural sources (e.g. a desert) can be such a cause for concern in terms of (further) desertification as well as health impacts, is there a ...
- 221
12
votes
1
answer
475
views
Are sandstorms like regular storms?
What's the difference between sandstorms and regular storms? Are they more than just strong wind within deserts?
- 719